Lewis Carroll
British writer
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
'Then you should say what you mean,' the March Hare went on. 'I do,' Alice hastily replied; 'at least, — at least I mean what I say — that's the same thing, you know.' 'Not the same thing a bit!' said the Hatter. 'Why, you might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see!"'
—Lewis Carroll, British writer, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1865
Posted on May 3, 1999 at 10:07 PM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
"Impenetrability! That's what I say!"
"Would you tell me, please," said Alice "what that means?"
"Now you talk like a reasonable child," said Humpty Dumpty, looking very much pleased. "I meant by 'impenetrability' that we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life."
"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone.
"When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."
—Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, 1872
Posted on February 10, 1999 at 4:58 PM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
(The Bellman on the "unmistakable marks" of the Snark:)
The third is its slowness in taking a jest.
Should you happen to venture on one,
It will sigh like a thing that is deeply distressed:
And it always looks grave at a pun.
—Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark, 1872
Posted on January 5, 1999 at 4:02 PM
WORDS ABOUT WORDS
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."
—Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
Posted on December 5, 2001 at 8:31 PM
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