Manxome foe.
In the latest book I'm reading (American author this time), upon finally arriving at a destination she'd been longing for, she joyously exclaimed 'O frabjous day!'.
Clearly that's an exclamation of joy at her achievement, but I hadn't remember ever hearing it before. Furthermore, 'frabjous' appeared to me to be a strange conglomeration.
But when I surfed about I found the following:
frabjous (FRAB-juhs) adjective
Wonderful, elegant, superb, or delicious.
[Coined by Lewis Carroll in "Through the Looking-Glass"; perhaps meant to
suggest fabulous or joyous.]"Ah, my friends, rejoice. These are frabjous days."
Ivins, Molly, Needed: one strong stomach, The Progressive, 1 Mar 1995.
It must be over 35 years since I read Alice through the Looking Glass - so I don't feel too bad about forgetting this one.Still, it's as though it's a nice new phrase I can now use.
O frabjous day!!!!!!!Here is a word I discovered recently: farraginous. Having to do with farrago, a confused mixture.
One of the great poems of the English language,
Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll:`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.And I would be, indeed, a frumious bandersnatch if I did not point out that few people have ever invented a better word than "galumphing." Maybe Gelette Burgess, who invented a whole book of new words, including "blurb," comes close ... but the mother lode is in Jabberwocky.
I'm probably wrong, but I'm thinking "manxsome" and Gelett. Trivial, I know. Of course, I don't wish to accusnmje Lewis Carroll of misspelling his own words. SS
Oh Bob, what a wonderful poem. Whenever I make up words for my convenience I use the excuse that "I'm a technical writer so I can make up any words I want". It is of course a stupid excuse, but it is just as valid as the words I devise. But now - you've introduced me to my new hero. I've only ever read Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (and like I said before, that was several light years ago), but now you've inspired to look more deeply into Carroll's work.
But SS, the 'dare to be so bold' award must go to you - for correcting the spelling of words that don't exist - haha!!!
My apologies ESC if I used 'farrago' the wrong way...
There are a couple of sites (no doubt millions, but only a few that I know) that specialise in dopey and questionable words, such as 'Worthless Word for the Day - home.mn.rr.com/ wwftd/" - today's worthless word being: frugivorous
[from L. frux, fruit + -vorous] /fru JIV o rous/
feeding on fruit, as birds or other animals;
fruit-eating"Philippics against frugivorous children after
dinner, are too common."
- Sydney Smith, The Edinburgh review"Choughs are frugivorous and insectivorous. They make
mud-walled nests and live on sea cliffs and mountains
from Europe to East Asia, but are now rare."...and another one I quite like is Luciferous Logolepsy - www.kokogiak.com/ logolepsy, which also is a font of useless knowledge.
OK, well that's my pointless contribution for the day.
Misspelling Gelett was from (my faulty) memory, but I've found "manxome" in a couple of places. There's a good site with Jabberwocky parodies, etc., at
waxdog.com/ jabberwocky/
You're right about manxome. This is the spelling that Lewis Carroll used. I don't know why he misspelled it. SS