Look up runcible in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
"Runcible" is a pseudoword invented by Edward Lear. The word appears (as an adjective) several times in his works, most famously as the "runcible spoon" used by the Owl and the Pussycat.[1] The word "runcible" was apparently one of Lear's favourite inventions, appearing in several of his works in reference to a number of different objects. In his verse self-portrait, The Self-Portrait of the Laureate of Nonsense, it is noted that "he weareth a runcible hat".[2] Other poems include mention of a "runcible cat",[3] a "runcible goose" (in the sense of "silly person"),[4] a "runcible wall",[4] and "the Rural Runcible Raven".[5]
They dined on mince and slices of quince, which they ate with a runcible spoon.[1]
Another mention of this piece of cutlery appears in Edward Lear's 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[6]
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.
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" as a fork with three broad curved tines and a sharpened edge, used with pickles or hors d'oeuvres, such as a pickle fork.[7] It is used as a synonym for "spork". However, this definition is not consistent with Lear's drawing, in which it is a ladle, nor does it account for the other "runcible" objects in Lear's poems.
In other uses, a so-called runcible spoon is a fork shaped like a spoon, a spoon shaped fork, a grapefruit spoon (a spoon with serrated edges around the bowl), or a serving-spoon with a slotted bowl. Cutlery of this design (but not name) is evidenced as early as 1817.[8]
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable defines a runcible spoon as: "A horn spoon with a bowl at each end, one the size of a table-spoon and the other the size of a tea-spoon. There is a joint midway between the two bowls by which the bowls can be folded over."[9] The Merriam-Webster dictionary[which?] defines it as "a sharp-edged fork with three broad curved prongs".[10] Neither dictionary cites a source for these definitions.
The "Notes & Queries" column in The Guardian also raised the question "What is a runcible spoon?" The fanciful answers proposed by readers included that it was a variety of spoon designed by Lear's friend George Runcy for the use of infants, or that it was a reference to a butler named Robert Runcie whose job included polishing the silver spoons. The final contribution pointed out that neither of these explained the runcible cat in "The Pobble Who Has No Toes" and simply suggested that "runcible objects (spoons or cats) exist no more than pobbles or feline-hiboutic matrimony".[11]
The Straight Dope, while treating "runcible" as a nonsense word with no particular meaning, claims that an unspecified 1920s source connected the word "runcible" etymologically to Roncevaux — the connection being that a runcible spoon's cutting edge resembles a sword such as was used in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. The Straight Dope adds that "modern students of runciosity" link the word in a different way to Roncevaux: The obsolete adjective "rouncival" (an alternative spelling of rounceval), meaning "gigantic", also derives from Roncevaux, either by way of a certain large variety of pea grown there, or from a once-current find of gigantic fossilized bones in the region.[12][13]
In popular cultureedit
The whimsical feel of the word "runcible" has led to its appearance in diverse arenas.
RUNCIBLE is also the name of a computer program compiler for an early (late 1950s) programming language. Donald Knuth published the flowchart of the compiler in 1959;[14] this was his first academic paper.
In the Pretty Things's psychedelic 1968 album, S.F. Sorrow, the song "Baron Saturday" features the lyrics: "'neath a sky of milk/You're drinking silk/You've lost the runcible spoon" in describing a part of the character's journey into his own subconscious mind.
Frabjoy & Runcible Spoon were a short-lived musical duo in the late 1960s consisting of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. The pair were signed by Marmalade Records, and started work on an album with musicians Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart before Marmalade shut down. The four musicians continued to collaborate and eventually evolved into the band 10cc.[15]
In The Good Life (1975 TV series) episode Just My Bill, The Runcible Spoon is the name of a restaurant to which Tom Good, played by Richard Briers, attempts to sell his surplus produce.
In The Deadly Assassin, a serial from the 14th season of the classic series of Doctor Who (1976), the reporter Runcible is one of the Doctor's old classmates from the Prydonian Academy, and the Doctor refers to him as "Runcible the Fatuous."
Arthur C. Clarke's short story Playback makes the reference as the degrading psychic recording of a dead space pilot struggles to remember how to describe a human body with the line "The head, now. It is perfectly spherical, and weareth a runcible cap..."
In Bloomington, Indiana, there is a restaurant called the Runcible Spoon, a local Bloomington staple and cultural landmark (1976).[16]
In the 1994 feature film Richie Rich, the family butler introduces his full name as “Herbert Arthur Runcible Cadbury”.
In Neal Stephenson's 1995 novel The Diamond Age, Runcible is a code name for the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, an educational computer.
In the 1996 board game Kill Doctor Lucky, a runcible spoon is one of the weapons players can use to kill Doctor Lucky.
In Neal Asher's Polity series of novels, including Gridlinked (2001), runcible is the name given to an interstellar wormhole generator/teleporter, as an homage to the ansible. The central field for these devices is also known as the runcible's spoon.
Paul McCartney's 2001 album Driving Rain includes the track "Heather" which features the lyrics: "And I will dance to a runcible tune / With the queen of my heart". McCartney has explained the connection to "The Owl and the Pussycat" in various interviews since its release.
In the webcomicQuestionable Content, J. Edward Runcible (an amalgamation of "Edward Lear" and "Runcible") is the name of a 19th-century conspiracy theorist (2007).[17]
In the webcomicGirl Genius, Gilgamesh Wulfenbach uses a "hand-cranked runcible gun" that shoots sporks during a staged fight (2008).[18]
The Runcible Spoon is a food magazine published in the District of Columbia. It was founded in 2010.[19]
Runcible was a smartphone pocket watch under development in 2016 by Monohm Inc.[20]
In the webcomicDominic Deegan, Runcible Spoon is a professor and staff member at the School of Arcane Arts, in particular, the Arcane Elemental Research Department. He loves hearing "CURSE YOU RUNCIBLE SPOON!!!" from an elemental that he launches fireballs at.[21]
^"The Runcible Spoon". Runciblespoonrestaurant.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
^"Questionable Content". Questionablecontent.net. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
^"Girl Genius". Girlgeniusonline.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
^Spoon, The Runcible. "The Runcible Spoon - ABOUT". Therunciblespoon.info. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
^. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
^"Dominic Deegan: Oracle For Hire :: Archive". Dominic-deegan.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
^"Ni no Kuni 2 Higgledies Guide - Best Higgledies, Best Hiddlegies Abilities Guide". USgamer.net. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
January 01, 1970
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Look up runcible in Wiktionary the free dictionary Runcible is a pseudoword invented by Edward Lear The word appears as an adjective several times in his works most famously as the runcible spoon used by the Owl and the Pussycat 1 The word runcible was apparently one of Lear s favourite inventions appearing in several of his works in reference to a number of different objects In his verse self portrait The Self Portrait of the Laureate of Nonsense it is noted that he weareth a runcible hat 2 Other poems include mention of a runcible cat 3 a runcible goose in the sense of silly person 4 a runcible wall 4 and the Rural Runcible Raven 5 Contents 1 Origin 2 Alternative origins 3 In popular culture 4 ReferencesOrigin edit nbsp One of Edward Lear s drawings depicts the dolomphious duck s use of a runcible spoon Edward Lear s best known poem The Owl and the Pussy Cat published in 1870 includes the passage They dined on mince and slices of quince which they ate with a runcible spoon 1 Another mention of this piece of cutlery appears in Edward Lear s 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 6 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 Alternative origins edit nbsp Sterling silver runcible spoon Eley amp Fearn London 1817 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 as a fork with three broad curved tines and a sharpened edge used with pickles or hors d oeuvres such as a pickle fork 7 It is used as a synonym for spork However this definition is not consistent with Lear s drawing in which it is a ladle nor does it account for the other runcible objects in Lear s poems In other uses a so called runcible spoon is a fork shaped like a spoon a spoon shaped fork a grapefruit spoon a spoon with serrated edges around the bowl or a serving spoon with a slotted bowl Cutlery of this design but not name is evidenced as early as 1817 8 Brewer s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable defines a runcible spoon as A horn spoon with a bowl at each end one the size of a table spoon and the other the size of a tea spoon There is a joint midway between the two bowls by which the bowls can be folded over 9 The Merriam Webster dictionary which defines it as a sharp edged fork with three broad curved prongs 10 Neither dictionary cites a source for these definitions The Notes amp Queries column in The Guardian also raised the question What is a runcible spoon The fanciful answers proposed by readers included that it was a variety of spoon designed by Lear s friend George Runcy for the use of infants or that it was a reference to a butler named Robert Runcie whose job included polishing the silver spoons The final contribution pointed out that neither of these explained the runcible cat in The Pobble Who Has No Toes and simply suggested that runcible objects spoons or cats exist no more than pobbles or feline hiboutic matrimony 11 The Straight Dope while treating runcible as a nonsense word with no particular meaning claims that an unspecified 1920s source connected the word runcible etymologically to Roncevaux the connection being that a runcible spoon s cutting edge resembles a sword such as was used in the Battle of Roncevaux Pass The Straight Dope adds that modern students of runciosity link the word in a different way to Roncevaux The obsolete adjective rouncival an alternative spelling of rounceval meaning gigantic also derives from Roncevaux either by way of a certain large variety of pea grown there or from a once current find of gigantic fossilized bones in the region 12 13 In popular culture editThe whimsical feel of the word runcible has led to its appearance in diverse arenas RUNCIBLE is also the name of a computer program compiler for an early late 1950s programming language Donald Knuth published the flowchart of the compiler in 1959 14 this was his first academic paper In the Pretty Things s psychedelic 1968 album S F Sorrow the song Baron Saturday features the lyrics neath a sky of milk You re drinking silk You ve lost the runcible spoon in describing a part of the character s journey into his own subconscious mind Frabjoy amp Runcible Spoon were a short lived musical duo in the late 1960s consisting of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme The pair were signed by Marmalade Records and started work on an album with musicians Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart before Marmalade shut down The four musicians continued to collaborate and eventually evolved into the band 10cc 15 In Thomas Pynchon s 1973 Gravity s Rainbow an exhibition fight with runcible spoons is held In The Good Life 1975 TV series episode Just My Bill The Runcible Spoon is the name of a restaurant to which Tom Good played by Richard Briers attempts to sell his surplus produce In The Deadly Assassin a serial from the 14th season of the classic series of Doctor Who 1976 the reporter Runcible is one of the Doctor s old classmates from the Prydonian Academy and the Doctor refers to him as Runcible the Fatuous Arthur C Clarke s short story Playback makes the reference as the degrading psychic recording of a dead space pilot struggles to remember how to describe a human body with the line The head now It is perfectly spherical and weareth a runcible cap In Bloomington Indiana there is a restaurant called the Runcible Spoon a local Bloomington staple and cultural landmark 1976 16 nbsp The Runcible Spoon in Rye England the sign shows an owl and a pussy cat In the 1994 feature film Richie Rich the family butler introduces his full name as Herbert Arthur Runcible Cadbury In Neal Stephenson s 1995 novel The Diamond Age Runcible is a code name for the Young Lady s Illustrated Primer an educational computer In the 1996 board game Kill Doctor Lucky a runcible spoon is one of the weapons players can use to kill Doctor Lucky In Neal Asher s Polity series of novels including Gridlinked 2001 runcible is the name given to an interstellar wormhole generator teleporter as an homage to the ansible The central field for these devices is also known as the runcible s spoon Paul McCartney s 2001 album Driving Rain includes the track Heather which features the lyrics And I will dance to a runcible tune With the queen of my heart McCartney has explained the connection to The Owl and the Pussycat in various interviews since its release In Lemony Snicket s 2006 The End an island cult eats using only runcible spoons In the webcomic Questionable Content J Edward Runcible an amalgamation of Edward Lear and Runcible is the name of a 19th century conspiracy theorist 2007 17 In the webcomic Girl Genius Gilgamesh Wulfenbach uses a hand cranked runcible gun that shoots sporks during a staged fight 2008 18 The Runcible Spoon is a food magazine published in the District of Columbia It was founded in 2010 19 Runcible was a smartphone pocket watch under development in 2016 by Monohm Inc 20 In the webcomic Dominic Deegan Runcible Spoon is a professor and staff member at the School of Arcane Arts in particular the Arcane Elemental Research Department He loves hearing CURSE YOU RUNCIBLE SPOON from an elemental that he launches fireballs at 21 The first higgledy hero companion that players can acquire in the 2018 PlayStation 4 videogame Ni no Kuni II Revenant Kingdom is named Runcible the Righteous 22 Runcible is the name of a stuffed bear in Wil Wheaton s RPG Titansgrave The bear guides players through the fictional Reed Manor Runcible is the name of the spaceship Wallfish s ship s pig in Christopher Paolini s To Sleep in a Sea of Stars Agatha Runcible is the name of a character in Evelyn Waugh s 1930 novel Vile Bodies Louis Runcible is the name of a character in Philip K Dick s 1964 novel The Penultimate Truth References edit a b The Owl and the Pussycat Nonsenselit org Retrieved 30 September 2017 How Pleasant to Know Mr Lear Nonsenselit org Retrieved 30 September 2017 The Pobble Who Has No Toes Nonsenselit org Retrieved 30 September 2017 a b Mr and Mrs Discobbolos Part Two Nonsenselit org Retrieved 30 September 2017 Twenty Six Nonsense Rhymes and Pictures Nonsenselit org Retrieved 30 September 2017 Twenty Six Nonsense Rhymes and Pictures Nonsenselit org Retrieved 30 September 2017 Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary 1974 Invaluable Auctions Retrieved 23 April 2022 E Cobham Brewer Dictionary of Phrase and Fable Philadelphia Henry Altemus Company 1898 Online at bartleby com Runcible Spoon Merriam Webster Retrieved 3 November 2015 The Weirdest Ever Notes amp Queries ed Joseph Harker Fourth Estate 1997 pp 170 171 also online The Straight Dope November 8 1996 What s a runcible spoon podictionary for word lovers daily stories trivia amp dictionary etymology Podictionary com Retrieved 30 September 2017 Knuth D E 1959 RUNCIBLE algebraic translation on a limited computer Communications of the ACM 2 11 18 21 doi 10 1145 368481 368507 S2CID 8224014 Thompson Dave Frabjoy amp the Runcible Spoon AllMusic The Runcible Spoon Runciblespoonrestaurant com Retrieved 30 September 2017 Questionable Content Questionablecontent net Retrieved 30 September 2017 Girl Genius Girlgeniusonline com Retrieved 30 September 2017 Spoon The Runcible The Runcible Spoon ABOUT Therunciblespoon info Retrieved 30 September 2017 Monohm Inc Third Wave Electronics Runcible Archived from the original on 2016 11 21 Retrieved 2016 11 18 Dominic Deegan Oracle For Hire Archive Dominic deegan com Retrieved 30 September 2017 Ni no Kuni 2 Higgledies Guide Best Higgledies Best Hiddlegies Abilities Guide USgamer net Retrieved 2018 03 26 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Runcible amp oldid 1222120534, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
