Mimzy

'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 hast 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. [edit] Glossary The first verse originally appeared in Mischmasch - a periodical which Carroll wrote and edited for the amusement of his family - claiming to be a piece of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Several of the words in the poem are of Carroll's own invention, many of them portmanteaux. In the book, the character of Humpty Dumpty gives definitions for the nonsense words in the first stanza. In later writings, Lewis Carroll explained several of the others. The rest of the nonsense words were never explicitly defined by Carroll, who even claimed that he did not know what some of them meant. An extended analysis of the poem is given in the book The Annotated Alice, including writings from Carroll about how he formed some of his idiosyncratic words. A few words that Carroll invented in this poem (namely "chortled", "galumphing", "frabjous", and "vorpal") have entered the English language. The word jabberwocky itself is sometimes used to refer to nonsense language. Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.Bandersnatch � A swift moving creature with snapping jaws. Capable of extending its neck.[1] Borogove � A thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round, something like a live mop.[2] The initial syllable of borogove is pronounced as in borrow, rather than as in worry.[3] Brillig � Four o'clock in the afternoon: the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.[2][4] Burbled � Possibly a mixture of "bleat", "murmur", and "warble".[5] Chortled - Combination of chuckle and snort.[2]

Frabjous - Probably a blend of fair, fabulous, and joyous .[6] Frumious � Combination of "fuming" and "furious."[3] Galumphing - Perhaps a blend of "gallop" and "triumphant." (Used to describe a way of "trotting" down hill, while keeping one foot further back than the other. This enables the Galumpher to stop quickly)[6] Gimble � To make holes like a gimlet.[2] Gyre � To go round and round like a gyroscope.[2][7] However, Carroll also wrote in Mischmasch that it meant to scratch like a dog. Jubjub � A desperate bird that lives in perpetual passion.[1] Manxome � Combination of "monstrous" and "fearsome", or possibly "manly" and "buxom". Possibly related to the Manx cat.[citation needed] Mimsy � Combination of "miserable" and "flimsy."[2] Mome � Possibly short for "from home," meaning that the raths had lost their way.[2] Outgrabe (past tense; present tense outgribe) � Something between bellowing and whistling, with a kind of sneeze in the middle.[2][8] Rath � A sort of green pig.[2] (See Origin and structure for further details.) Slithy � Combination of "slimy" and "lithe."[2] The i is long, as in writhe.[3] Toves � A combination of a badger, a lizard, and a corkscrew. They are very curious looking creatures which make their nests under sundials. They live on cheese.[2] Pronounced so as to rhyme with groves.[3] Note that "gyre and gimble," i.e. rotate and bore, is in reference to the toves being part corkscrew, at least by Humpty Dumpty's definitions. Tulgey - Thick, dense, dark. Uffish � A state of mind when the voice is gruffish, the manner roughish, and the temper huffish.[9] Wabe � The grass plot around a sundial. It is called a "wabe" because it goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it, and a long way beyond it on each side.[2]