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  1. jabberwocky love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Nonsensical speech or writing.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. meaningless, worthless
  2. adj. absurd, nonsense, non-sensical

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. nonsensical language (according to Lewis Carroll)

Etymologies

  1. From Jabberwocky, a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll (Wiktionary)
  2. After "Jabberwocky,” a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Nowadays the word jabberwocky is used to mean nonsensical language in general. †"V Venkata Rao, Ahmedabad”

    The Times of India

  • “But those winds were futile as a device for prying away such an inspissated couple for once they were together this man and woman babbled to each other a mutually pleasurable one word jabberwocky despite the fiercely driven rains, hail, and the flash flood at their feet.”

    An Apostate: Nawin of Thais

  • “Saatchi, of course, had a merry group of fawning lackeys to give him confidence, to spout on his behalf the jargon and jabberwocky of the contemporary curator.”

    Evening Standard - Home

  • “The word "jabberwocky" was coined by Lewis Carroll as the title of a poem in "Alice in Wonderland.”

    The Friday Brain-teaser from Credo Reference

  • “For one thing, the virus is spread through words, resulting in the kind of jabberwocky that makes experimental ninth-grade creative writing classes sound like The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”

    Quelle Horreur! Summer Fright Flicks are DOA

  • “He nominated these two guys -- if I may call them that -- he nominated these two guys after the deadline so he has to wait until 2004 and I just think we're in some kind of jabberwocky world where you nominate some one who declares a war for the Peace Prize.”

    CNN Transcript May 8, 2003

  • “Yes, this musical "jabberwocky" sounded like a work from twenty years ago.”

    Sequenza21/

  • “7. The word "jabberwocky" was coined by Lewis Carroll as the title of a poem in "Alice in Wonderland.”

    March 2009

  • “a bit of "jabberwocky" .. but the truth is, as I wrote, that netanyahu is the lesser of the evils.”

    Israelated - English Israel blogs

  • “God as he had appeared in the shape of man extended his hands towards her and for a moment there was peace, levied upon fierce tidal waves of crimson,, hellish jabberwocky.”

    Fictionaut: Madness is a Story with No Tagline

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hypernyms (5)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. hokum
  1. nonsense
  1. nonsensicality
  1. meaninglessness
  1. bunk

tagging (30)

Words tagged ‘jabberwocky’

  1. Bandersnatch
  2. Tumtum
  3. bandersnatch
  4. beamish
  5. borogoves
  6. brillig
  1. burbled
  2. callay
  3. callooh
  4. chortled
  5. frabjous
  6. frumious
  1. galumphing
  2. gimble
  3. gyre
  4. jabberwock
  5. jubjub
  6. manxome
  1. mimsy
  2. mome
  3. outgrabe
  4. raths
  5. slithy
  6. snicker-snack
  1. toves
  2. tulgey
  3. uffish
  4. vorpal
  5. wabe
  6. whiffling

Wordmap

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Word visualization

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘jabberwocky’.

More lists containing ‘jabberwocky’

Comments

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  • reesetee Oh crablouse day! Sep 2, 2009

  • chained_bear oroboros, you are a friggin' genius. Sep 1, 2009

  • oroboros Jabberwocky Spell-checked

    `Twas billing, and the smithy toes
    Did gyre and gamble in the wage:
    All missy were the brogues,
    And the mime rats outrage.

    "Beware the Jabber Wick, my son!
    The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
    Beware the Jujube bird, and shun
    The furious Bender Snatch!"

    He took his viral sword in hand:
    Long time the Manxwomen foe he sought –
    So rested he by the Tutu tree,
    And stood awhile in thought.

    And, as in offish thought he stood,
    The Jabber Wick, with eyes of flame,
    Came whiffing through the tulle wood,
    And burbled as it came!

    One, two! One, two! And through and through
    The viral blade went snicker-snack!
    He left it dead, and with its head
    He went galumphing back.

    "And, has thou slain the Jabber Wick?
    Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
    O crablouse day! Callow! Allay!'
    He chortled in his joy.

    `Twas billing, and the smithy toes
    Did gyre and gamble in the wage;
    All missy were the brogues
    And the mime rats outrage.

    --via futilitycloset.com Sep 1, 2009

  • reesetee Yikes! Don't let gangerh see that page! ;-> Thanks, frindley. Apr 7, 2008

  • plethora I believe that the first stanza of the poem is repeated at the end. At least, that's how I learned it. Apr 6, 2008

  • frindley
    Here there be a link to an ever-growing list of translations of this marvellous poem. Everything from Afrikaans to Yiddish, and not neglecting Esperanto, Latin and Klingon.
    Apr 6, 2008

  • uselessness And now it's available twice. Yep. Jun 15, 2007

  • picklechipsluva5 '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 bit, 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 though.

    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 though slain the Jabberwock?
    Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
    O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
    He chortled in his joy.
    -Lewis Carroll
    (A poem that preceeds Through the Looking Glass) Jun 15, 2007

  • uselessness ...which, thanks to innovative new Poetrie technology, is already available on this site. :-) Jun 15, 2007

  • picklechipsluva5 If you have not read the poem, The Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll, please do. I love love love that poem!
    Jun 15, 2007

  • sonofgroucho Indeed! Jan 7, 2007

  • gloriaha Who doesn't love this word? Jan 5, 2007

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‘jabberwocky’ has been looked up 3253 times, loved by 4 people, added to 56 lists, commented on 12 times, and has a Scrabble score of 34.