Your experience may vary. Indeed, you may have chosen to memorize some other poem. But if, like me, you chose "Jabberwocky," as you go back and check to see if you still have the memorization down, isn't "whiffling" the hardest word to remember?
Interestingly enough, "whiffle," unlike some other words in "Jabberwocky," is a real English word — and not just a word that became a word because of "Jabberwocky."*
It means (according to the OED), "To blow in puffs or slight gusts; hence, to veer or shift about... To vacillate, to be variable or evasive.... To move lightly as if blown by a puff of air; to flicker or flutter as if stirred by the wind."
There's writing of "wyffling windes" way back in 1568. And The Nation wrote (in 1881), "Who like a manly man, will not whiffle, or quibble, or evade."
And the OED takes note of "Whiffle ball," "n. (a proprietary name for) a light, hollow, perforated ball used to play a variety of baseball." Example from 1970, a caption in Time: "[David Eisenhower] passing the afternoon playing wiffle ball on the south lawn of his father-in-law's White House." In happier times.**
David Eisenhower was 22 and he was the "Fortunate Son" of the Creedence Clearwater recording that played on the radio as he whiffled on the lawn.
_____________________
* The prime example is "chortle," the word I saw just now, which prompted me to check once again to see if my memorization had deteriorated. I saw the word in the comments this morning, in "The 'Elizabeth Warren can't get any traction' conversation at Meadhouse," when Nobody said:
I think she lost because she chortled while telling miners to learn to code.Other words with OED entries that originated in "Jabberwocky":
"Bandersnatch" — "A fleet, furious, fuming, fabulous creature, of dangerous propensities, immune to bribery and too fast to flee from; later, used vaguely to suggest any creature with such qualities." Used by C.S. Lewis: "Always, at the critical moment, a strange knight, a swift ship, a bandersnatch or a boojum, breaks in."
"Galumph" — "Originally: to march on exultingly with irregular bounding movements. Now usually: to gallop heavily; to bound or move clumsily or noisily." Later example: "In the hall was a galumphing lass with a lot of jerseys and a po face," from "Friends in Low Places," a 1965 novel by Simon Raven. And I thought Garth Brooks thought up the bon mot "friends in low places." That's a riff on "friends in high places," which has been a stock phrase since the 17th century.
"Mimsy" — that's defined as "Unhappy" and appearing "Only in Carroll and later allusions," so it doesn't really belong on the list. It's no "chortle," that's for sure. But I'd like to suggest "Mimsy" as a name for Harry and Meghan's new baby. I heard they wanted something unusual. I know, Mimsy seems like a girl's name, but I heard they were looking for something gender neutral. So... just an idea for the Prince who can be President! Prince Mimsy! President Mimsy W. Windsor!
** Less mimsy times.
Posts
43 comments:
Two asp really candies lithe eat oaves
Teach ironed gym baloney wave
Wool mim sewer tabouric roves
Anthem ohm rafts shout grave.
Be wordy job awoke mice awn
Teach Austin biding closet kedge
Voyeur teach up jobber tension
Tough rheumious panders nudge.
Eat duckies forepaw sardine hen
Lung dime domains unvoice ought
Swore aesthete tea biding humdrum dream
Ant study wile untaught.
Endorsing office thawed east too
Teach aver walk wit Aesop blame
Game whipple untruly told she wouldn't
Purple tacit game.
Oo! Onto wand doing truant true
Tabour full-plate wince knickers knack
Hay lifted debt unwitty said
Hay winkle unfang beck.
Unhasty slimey job awoke
Gummed tummy warms maybe mush buoy
Overawed juice steak Aleut galley
Each shorted honest Joey.
Two asp really candies lithe eat oaves
Teach ironed gym baloney wave
Wool mim sewer tabouric roves
Anthem ohm rafts shout grave.
- autopunner
Lovely post involving two favorites, Lewis Carroll and CCR. Thank you!
David was not a Senator’s Son.
Fogerty hated Nixon. But Nixon grew up very poor.
Fogerty is very wealthy. Lives in Beverly Hills.
His kids were born with a silver spoon.
They help themselves.
Fogerty must hate his own children. Or he is a phony.
"David was not a Senator’s Son."
True, by Fogerty was a sly lyricist.
I didn't know there was a specific "Fortunate Son." I thought it referred to every kid who was able to use family influence to get out of the draft.
Back in the day when I was but a mere whipper snapper we used to call buzz cut hair cuts whiffles. We also called chocolate sprinkles on ice cream "jimmies"
Lewis Carroll was a genius. Some writers shape our cultural and enrich it. Others just write forgettable crap - I'm looking at you Norman Mailer.
Fogerty saw the injustice of the Poor dying in Vietnam while the rich went to College or got draft exemptions. Notice that Biden, Trump, Mitt, Cheney and Clinton never put on a uniform.
I'm just learning now that "po face" doesn't mean (as I'd thought) "poor face."
The OED's etymology is "Perhaps < either poh int. or po n.4 + faced adj.1, or perhaps shortened < poker-faced adj. at poker n.4 Compounds 2 (perhaps after either poh int. or po n.4). Perhaps compare also pie-faced adj."
Now, "poh" is defined as an expression of contemptuous rejection. And that "po n.4" is — of all things — a chamberpot!
Given Althouse’s penchant for analyzing the meaning of words, Breitbart’s report on a Monmouth poll on American attitudes toward socialism and capitalism may be ripe for analysis. It sure seems to show we don’t know what those words mean.
"I didn't know there was a specific "Fortunate Son." I thought it referred to every kid who was able to use family influence to get out of the draft."
It's like "You're So Vain" and "Sexy Sadie" etc. etc.
Somebody inspired it, then it was made to seem general... but the specificity remains and intrigues.
I'm going with the idea that David Eisenhower was the original "son" Fogerty thought about, just as the Maharishi was the original "Sexy Sadie," and I'm tired of hearing about it was Carly Simon's "you."
"Given Althouse’s penchant for analyzing the meaning of words, Breitbart’s report on a Monmouth poll on American attitudes toward socialism and capitalism may be ripe for analysis. It sure seems to show we don’t know what those words mean."
I'd rather delve into the meaning of "weary."
"Old English wérig, corresponding to Old Saxon (sîð-) wôrig weary (with a journey), Old High German wuarag drunk < West Germanic *wōrigo-, -ago-. The root *wōr- seems to be identical with that in Old English wórian to wander, go astray, and in Old Norse órar fits of madness, œ́r-r mad, insane; the primary sense was perhaps ‘bewildered’, ‘stupefied’."
Fortunate we won, son.
"1557 Bible (Whittingham) Matt. xi. 28 Come vnto me all ye that are wearie and laden."
“Harriet complied and read — read the eternal book for all the weary, and the heavy-laden; for all the wretched, fallen, and neglected of this earth — read the blessed history, in which the blind, lame, palsied beggar, the criminal, the woman stained with shame, the shunned of all our dainty clay, has each a portion, that no human pride, indifference, or sophistry through all the ages that this world shall last, can take away, or by the thousandth atom of a grain reduce...”
Dickens, "Dombey and Son."
"Fogerty saw the injustice of the Poor dying in Vietnam while the rich went to College or got draft exemptions. Notice that Biden, Trump, Mitt, Cheney and Clinton never put on a uniform."
And don't forget that those who did not go also spent the next decade after Vietnam disparaging and marginalizing those who came back alive.
For those of old enough to have been around horses, there's also a "whiffle tree" (actually spelled with no space) which indeed "whiffles" as it performs its mechanical duty of translating horse power to the implement being pulled.
rcocean said...Some writers shape our cultural and enrich it. Others just write forgettable crap - I'm looking at you Norman Mailer.
He didn't just write forgettable crap, he also used his influence to free a violent criminal who later murdered a waiter for no good reason. The family of Richard Adan will never forget Norman Mailer.
I was thinking what the name of the new born Sussex prince might be, perhaps Sean, or is it spelled Shawn or Shaun? BTW, the number one gender neutral name for boys and girls in 2017 was Charlie. That would be a sweet nod to the grandpa, but not likely. Spencer also ranks high for gender neutral names, nod to the grandmother. Not that it matters to me -- it'll probably end up being something more conventional like Arthur or James. Royal problems...
He didn't just write forgettable crap, he also used his influence to free a violent criminal who later murdered a waiter for no good reason. The family of Richard Adan will never forget Norman Mailer.
Didn't he also stab his wife?
speaking of Whiffling; Mayor Pete Buttafuc said today that:
he's actually more experienced than both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, saying he has "more governmental experience than Trump and more executive governmental experience than the vice president."
You see, he's been MAYOR of a small town for longer than Trump has been President, AND he's been MAYOR of a small town longer than Pence was Governor of Indiana.
Mayor Pete said: "Pence wasn't even Governor of an important state like Delaware. He was Governor of Indiana; and we can All Agree that No One gives any importance to any experience from That piece of shit state!"
I never tried to memorize "Jabberwocky". At one time, I had nearly every poem that is in the 'restored' Ariel collection of Sylvia Plath memorized (49 out of 56 at a glance at the list), and at least 30 or so of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems. Probably at at least 40-50 others by various poets like Yeats, Shakespeare, Larkin, Wallace Stevens, W. C. Williams etc. I used to run through them in my head as I worked out or was actually running outdoors. I don't do that any longer- stopped 6 years ago- but large sections of most of them are still recallable, and I quickly recognize any part of any of them on hearing them quoted.
mockturtle said...
Didn't he also stab his wife?
Mailer stabbed his wife. I just learned that while I was looking up Adan's name. Now, Althouse-like, I've learned more than I care to know about that sorry episode in American literary history.
And don't forget that those who did not go also spent the next decade after Vietnam disparaging and marginalizing those who came back alive.
In 1977 I worked with a singer, a funny guy much beloved by the ladies. I had no idea until 30 years later that he was a combat vet with lead still lodged in his butt. He never talked about anything like that. You'd never know.
In fact all the Vietnam vets I know seem perfectly functional to me, not the dysfunctional wrecks they've been made out to be since.
Anyway, looks like Ike advised David to give it a miss.
The borogroves had REASON to be mimsy!
A quarter century before Fogarty wrote that song FDR's sons went into combat in World War II. James should have been exempted from service due to flat feet, but pulled strings (son of the Commander in Chief gives you good strings to pull!) and served in sneakers and thick eyeglasses with Marine Raiders, essentially a commando group, earning a Navy Cross and Silver Star in combat. John got a Bronze Star for valor under fire aboard the Wasp. Elliott was a pilot in the Army Air Corp, and was awarded a DFC. Franklin Jr. was a destroyer commander in the Pacific theater, after serving as a junior officer aboard a destroyer at Casablanca. He earned a Silver Star.
The contrast with "fortunate sons" such as David Eisenhower could not be more stark.
I am Canadian and of of the things I like about our british monarchy is that they are expected to serve in armed for, whenever Britain fights war there will be many young men of nobility doing actual fighting.
jwl writes: I am Canadian and of of the things I like about our british monarchy is that they are expected to serve in armed for, whenever Britain fights war there will be many young men of nobility doing actual fighting.
And in which branch of the armed forced did Justin Trudeau serve? Refresh my memory.
The only usage, outside of Jabberwocky, that I have heard of "whiffle" is, as you mention, "whiffle ball". Every boy played whiffle ball when I was a kid.
"Mimsy Were the Borogoves" is a science fiction short story by Lewis Padgett (a pseudonym of American writers Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore), originally published in the February 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction Magazine.
Al Gore was a Senator’s son, and he served in Viet Nam as a journalist, with bodyguards. I always kind of figured the song referred to him, as he wasn’t always the icon among liberals he is today, and the story may have gone around. His father was a bought and paid for Senator. Al still benefits from the tin mine that Armand Hammer gave his dad. Who knows what his middle initial ‘A’ stands for? I would bet Armand. The way they turned that around on Bush was something to behold, but for the Democrats, the best defense is a good offense.
“I bet you think this song is about you.”
People laugh at that line because they think, “of course it was about you,” but it wasn’t about any of those men, it was about Simon’s incredibly stupid choices in men.
I think that Al Gore’s father was pretty despised by the left as a Dixiecrat at the time that song was written.
Did any of CCR serve? If not, why not?
I am sort of waffling on the meaning of whiffle.
Going back and forth on whether the waffle came before the whiffle or after.
We've enjoyed the Jabberwocky board book for babies and toddlers.
David Eisenhower was in the Naval Reserve in the 70's. So not a Clinton draft dodger.
My father was in the army in WWII. After a while serving as an x-ray tech, a doctor asked him if he had any problems. He told the doc "my feet hurt". Turns out he had flat feet. He returned to civilian life thanks to the doctor. Foot problems are not good for anyone in army boots.
You can imagine the radiation dose he and his coworkers got. They x-rayed thousands of prospective pilots at an air base in So Cal, yet he lived to 94. Perhaps low dose radiation is healthy?
Housemate, a mathematician with low self esteem, has an amazing memory. Ask him to recite anything Lewis Carroll-wise, and he'll do it.
Me, I need a bit of rhythm and melody. He had difficulty with the "Twas Brillig" narrative.
Brother and me used to spend our limited $ on Disney albums. That I could recite what he couldn't based on my shared with him thought processes actually garnered a few in my favor points.
https://youtu.be/KxxuVhq6MZA
Fortunate son = Al Gore, Jr.
I typically don't riff on other's musical tastes because each to his/her own.
But.
CCR makes my skin crawl.
isn't it whuffling though? that's how I've got it memorized.
I use the word 'galumphing' pretty regularly. Usually to describe the walk of a millennial man. Many of whom seem to walk with the same peculiar gait. Galumphing along. Beware the Jabberwock, my son.
Never seen a discussion that used the word galumphing previously, outside of middle(?) school. I feel I've come full circle.
I totally disagree on Whiffling.
I never have trouble memorizing Carroll's nonsense words or dramatic bits -- it's the little connector words that are slightly off from modern usage that get me every time.
Like: "He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the tumtum tree, And stood a while in thought."
I always want to "correct" it to "then rested he..."
Post a Comment