The fine art of gobblefunking!

Gobblefunking: Roald Dahl loved to mix up two words and invent completely new bizarre ones. The art is called gobblefunking.

Kaboom: What does it sound like when there is an explosion? We like this word because it means exactly that. When the word sounds like the action it describes, that’s onomatopoeia.

The Japanese are big fans of onomatopoeia. In their language ‘doki doki’ describes the heart and ‘zaa zaa’ is the sound of pouring rain. Well, in fact, Hindi isn’t too far behind either, is it? How about ‘dhak dhak’ for heart beat?

Feeling a little impatient? Quit saying “Damn it” or “Oh  my god!”. How about “Fiddle dee dee”? I know it’s a word that was used long  before our time, but it’s good to bring back something from the past once in a while. Plus it has immense amusement value.

Hullabaloo: Tell me you didn’t smile when you said the word! It simply has
that effect on people. Hullabaloo refers to an uproar or a fuss.

Quidnunc: Do you know a person who gossips? Call him/her a Quidnunc – a literary word from the 18th century –and they will never know it’s an insult.

Hobbledehoy: An awkward, gawky young fellow Have a younger sibling? Call  him/her a Hobbledehoy.

Hippomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: This is the word that means fear of long  words. What were people who gave you long complicated words to chew on  thinking?

Methionylthreonylthseonylg......isoleucine: Phew! Somebody with hippomonstrosesquippe-dalio-phobia will definitely get a fright after reading this word. The word has, take a deep breath, 189,819 letters. (No way, I was going to write the whole word!). It is the chemical name of the largest known protein. The second largest word is no competition to this one – it has only 183 letters.

Orange: Did you know that absolutely nothing in English rhymes with orange? This word is a real challenge for poets.

There is a rare surname Garringe and a mountain in Wales named Blorenge. Floccinaucinihilipilification: The word has 29 letters. It is also the longest non-technical word in the first edition of the Oxford English  dictionary. It means the act or habit of estimating or describing something  as worthless.


S Gayatri,
9th Std., MPES,
Bangalore