Runcible spoon

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1 Origin
2 Other runcible objects
3 Attempts to define the word
4 Other references
- 4.1 Fiction
- 4.2 Business
5 Other nonsense words by Edward Lear
6 See also
7 References

A runcible spoon is a fictitious utensil that appears in the nonsense poetry of Edward Lear. More generally, the word "runcible" is also used of objects other than spoons in Lear's work. It is fundamentally a nonsense word.

[edit] Origin

Illustration by Edward Lear of The Dolomphious Duck, who caught Spotted Frogs for her dinner with a Runcible Spoon

Lear's best-known poem, The Owl and the Pussycat, published in 1871, includes the passage

They dined on mince and slices of quince,

which they ate with a runcible spoon.

Another mention of this piece of cutlery appears in the alphabetical illustrations Twenty-Six Nonsense Rhymes and Pictures. Its entry for "D" reads

The Dolomphious Duck,

who caught Spotted Frogs for her dinner

with a Runcible Spoon

Lear often illustrated his own poems, and he drew a picture of the "dolomphious duck" holding in its beak a round-bowled spoon containing a frog (see right).

[edit] Other runcible objects

The word "runcible" was apparently one of Lear's favorite inventions, appearing in several of his works in reference to a number of different objects. In his verse self-portrait, How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear, it is noted that "he weareth a runcible hat". Other poems include mention of a "runcible cat", a "runcible goose", and a "runcible wall".

RUNCIBLE is also the name of a compiler for an early (late 1950s) programming language. Donald Knuth published the flowchart of the compiler in 1959; this was his first academic paper.

[edit] Attempts to define the word

Lear does not appear to have had any firm idea of what the word "runcible" means. His whimsical nonsense verse celebrates words primarily for their sound, and a specific definition is not needed to appreciate his work. However, since the 1920s (several decades after Lear's death), modern dictionaries have generally defined a runcible spoon to be a fork with three prongs, such as a pickle fork, which is curved like a spoon, and also has a cutting edge. It should be noted that this definition is not consistent with Lear's drawing of a "runcible spoon", mentioned above, nor does it account for the other "runcible" objects in Lear's poems.

Latin runcāre = "to weed", "to thin out", and:-

If a Latin noun runcibulum existed (as an error for runcābulum), it would mean "tool used for weeding".
If a Latin adjective runcibilis existed (as an error for runcābilis), it would mean "capable of being weeded out".

[edit] Other references

The whimsical feel of the word "runcible" has led to its appearance in diverse arenas including fiction and business.

Recently, the Runcible spoon won the "Best Name For A Spork Or Sporklike Object", which has been published in a blog at Bionicle Zone Power, a Bionicle fan site. "Llamas" came in third place, behind "Knork".

[edit] Fiction

In the board game Kill Doctor Lucky, a runcible spoon is one of the weapons players can use to kill Doctor Lucky.
Professor Runcible Spoon is an elemental researching mage in the web-comic Dominic Deegan: Oracle For Hire.
In Neal Asher's novel Gridlinked, runcible is the name given to an interstellar teleporter.
In Isaac Asimov's novel The Currents of Space, the character Rik and the other workers of Florina Kyrt factories use a (de facto if not by name) runcible spoon to eat.
In Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age, runcible is a code name for the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer.
In Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies, Runcible is the last name of daft, drunken Agatha.
In the Doctor Who serial "The Deadly Assassin", Runicible is a Time Lord.
In Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow," an exhibition fight with runcible spoons is held.
In the roleplaying game Changeling: The Dreaming, "Runcible Shaw" is the name of a Pooka historian and scholar
In Lemony Snicket's The End, an island cult eats using only runcible spoons.
In Jasper Fforde's novel The Eyre Affair the character Runcible Spoon discovers that Mr. Quaverly from Martin Chuzzlewit had mysteriously disappeared.
In the musical Too Much Caffeine by Steve Delchamps, the setting is a small coffee shop called "The Runcible Spoon."

[edit] Business

Runcible Spoon, a chamber jazz ensemble
Runcible Spoon, a kitchen store in Rhode Island
The Runcible Spoon, a restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana
The Runcible Spoon, a bakery in Nyack, New York

[edit] Other nonsense words by Edward Lear

Scroobious is an adjective which he applied to people in some of his verses, including the unfinished "Scroobious Pip." It seems to imply disapproval of their conduct, although the Pip is "the wisest" of whatever sort of beast he may be. It may be a pseudo-Latin derivative of screwball. The word has since been used by other people.