On Sat, 17 Aug 2002, Sean wrote: #'Twas brillig, #and the slithey toves did gyre and and gimble in the wabe #All mimsy were the borogroves #And the mome raths out gabe # #Lewis Carrol - from "Jabberwocky". (from memory too, so please don't get #upset if it's not perfect) # #I've heard these words called "port_man_teau" -- spelled wrongly <= ; ) no #doubt -- meaning they are nonsensical combination words - slithey - maybe a #combination of slimey and slither (we can only guess; Carrol doesn't explain #his words). "Portmanteau" is a Victorian word for a large suitcase; from French, literally, a coat-carrier. IIRC Humpty Dumpty tells Alice that these words pack up two meanings in them, just as you pack things into a portmanteau. -- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian, Orthoepist, and Philological Busybody a.k.a. Mark A. Mandel