Tag Archives: writing

Six Splendiferous Words Added to the OED as Roald Dahl Turns 100

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oompa_loompa

You can now look up “oompa loompa” in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Every three months, editors at the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) unveil a list of new words to be added to their dictionary. The latest list was especially scrumdiddlyumptious. In honor of Roald Dahl’s hundredth birthday, the OED added six words created or popularized by the beloved children’s author. Here’s a look.

Dahlesque
This word refers to Dahl’s writing—which is “typically characterized by eccentric plots, villainous or loathsome adult characters, and gruesome or black humour,” notes the OED. The literary magazine Books Ireland first used the word in 1983.

Golden Ticket
The term “golden ticket” dates back to 1801, according to the OED, but the classic movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), and its endearing song, “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket,” ensured that the phrase went mainstream.

Human Bean
Human bean is the mispronunciation of human being (and brings to mind Dr. Suess’s lovely play on “roast beast” in How the Grinch Stole Christmas). As the giant in The BFG said, “We is having an interesting babblement about the taste of the human bean. The human bean is not a vegetable.”

Oompa Loompa
Think small orange men with green hair and dungarees, singing a very catchy tune. Even though the word is just now debuting in the dictionary, it’s been popular since 1971, when you-know-which-movie came out starring Gene Wilder.

Scrumdiddlyumptious
The OED’s take: “Extremely scrumptious; excellent, splendid; (esp. of food) delicious.” Although it originally appeared in 1942’s American Thesaurus of Slang, scrumdiddlyumptious became a household word after the release of The BFG: “Every human bean is diddly and different. Some is scrumdiddlyumptious and some is uckyslush.”

Witching Hour
Shakespeare gave us witching time, but Dahl came up with witching hour. The BFG defines witching hour as “a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every grown-up was in a deep deep sleep, and all the dark things came out from hiding and had the world to themselves.”

If that’s not enough Roald Dahl for you, check out the OED’s revisions to these four Dahlesque words:

  • Frightsome
  • Gremlin
  • Scrumptious
  • Splendiferous

 

Post based on Quartz, Sept. 12, 2016.

Writer Rushes into Burning Building to Save 2 Novels

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Writer Gideon Hodge dashes into his burning apartment building to save 2 novels, his “life’s work.”

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 15—Gideon Hodge was at work when a fire in his New Orleans apartment building broke out. On learning about the 3-alarm blaze, Hodge rushed to the scene with only one thing in mind: save the laptop that contained his two novels.

Dozens of firefighters were on the scene, trying to control the blaze, but 35-year-old Hodge, clad in a Batman T-shirt, was not daunted. Dashing past billowing smoke and firefighters yelling for him to stop, the self-described playwright, novelist, and actor managed to rescue his laptop and save his two novels.

“Anybody that’s ever created art, there’s no replacing that,” Hodge said. “It’s got pretty much my life’s work.” Hodge did not hesitate before running in. “Despite my better sense, I just ran inside and grabbed it. I didn’t think to be scared,” he said.

The computer was intact with no water damage. The charger was a loss.

No injuries were reported.

The New Orleans Advocate, 9/15/16