From stardust to moondust and beyond

Regular readers know by now I have a bit of a thing for aliens and their potential reality. Here's a wonderful line from The BFG by Roald Dahl, coming out of nowhere in the book.

'I'll bet you is also finding it hard to believe in quogwinkles,' the BFG said, 'and how they is visiting us from the stars.'

I is not finding it all that hard to believe, even if living in an age of science has me demanding a proof of the thing, and one requiring multiple layers of trust.

For we dreamers, there's speculative fiction as well as action. Secure Immaturity today applies the usual analysis to a sci-fi staple in a stimulating article about Star Trek and metaphor. Not everyone's cup of tea it's admitted even there.

The blog as a whole might not seem to be one of ours, but the authors are as much like us as we are each other. After all, even the quogwinkles are made of stardust.

More jabbelling

The answers then to yesterday's quiz on The BFG by Roald Dahl.

• crodscollop – in among the extras at the back of the version I'm reading (still) we're told the word means 'mouth-watering', but there's no definition in the text itself as far as I can see; it's used for the taste of a certain nationality and for me the vagueness is the joke
• schnozzle – this is a noun, probably 'nose'
• scuddle – a verb used to describe something ants do, almost certainly 'move' or 'walk', and most likely the BFG mispronouncing 'skedaddle' - what would it say about Dahl's creativity and passion for language and fun if he couldn't leave alone even a word as odd as that?
• uckyslush – you know as well as I do now this is an adjective, probably meaning 'bad-tasting' or – in the context of the whole book – 'disgusting'; I'm glad The Happy Whisk was sensitive enough to peace among nations that we were spared the next sentence, in which the word is also used as a noun
• whizzpopper – the explosive finale – this may be produced when drinking frobscottle, a fizzy drink in which the bubbles move downwards...

How did you do? I hope it wasn't a trogglehumper.

The BFG, not BFG

That's right, it's not Battlefleet Gothic. I really do mean The BFG, by Roald Dahl. The Happy Whisk reminded me I'd started re-reading it a few weeks back and still haven't finished. Go check out the blog and forget about eternal war for just a moment.

Now The BFG might seem completely unrelated to wargaming and roleplaying, but it's not. There's violence, giants and mysterious far-off lands in this book too. In fact, it's a tour de force both of and in imagination. The sense of hidden space is a highlight and even the stuff dreams are made of is finally revealed. If you have a copy, dig it out. In fact, if you have any Dahl, you're likely to enjoy the return journey, chiddler or not. It's Old School, and easily has what it takes to set off another great Renaissance.

Anyway, for now I thought it would be fun to test your memories of Dahl's neologisms and feeling for onomatopoeia. What do these words mean then? There actually might not be a definitive answer so forget absolute success.

• crodscollop
• schnozzle
• scuddle
• uckyslush
• whizzpopper

Exunckly. And you was thinking you knew the langwitch...