Wonderland Glossary[]
This glossary contains words, phrases, locations and holidays used both in Lewis Carroll’s books and in the Tim Burton films.
Key[]
TB – from the Tim Burton films.
LC – from the original books by Lewis Carroll.
Non-italic parentheticals are speculation. Italic parentheticals are indications of evidence in text or clarifications of book vs. film canon.
Main Glossary []
bandersnatch – n. – A creature under the Red Queen’s control. It is large, with a barrel chest and fore-paws that are quite dexterous. Its covered in pale, shaggy fur with dark grey spots, and has a somewhat flat (though not pug) face, with a wide mouth that has multiple rows of teeth and a long tongue. It does not speak, but seems at least somewhat intelligent. Unknown whether the Bandersnatch is a singular creature, or merely one of a species. (def. from TB; Bandersnatch is mentioned in LC poem.)
borogove – n. – A ‘shabby-looking’ bird with its feathers sticking out all around, that resembles ‘something like a live mop’. (LC)
brillig – n. – About four o’clock in the afternoon; the time you begin broiling things for dinner. (LC)
buttered fingers – n. – An ingredient in pishsalver. Appear to be severed fingers twice the size of average fingers, cooked or preserved, presumably in butter. (TB)
ezel – high, go up (unclear whether this is a preposition or a verb) (TB)
fairfarren – intj. – May you travel far under fair skies. (synonymous with English ‘farewell’, presumably.) (TB)
frumious – adj. – Filthy, and with a very bad smell. (LC)
futterwacken – 1. n. A dance of great joy; 2. v. To do this dance. (TB)
gallymoggers – adj. – Crazy. (TB)
gimble – v. – To make holes, as though with a hand-drill. (LC)
guddler – n. – Thief.
gyre – v. – To ‘go round and round like a gyroscope’; to spin. (LC)
jabberwocky – n. – The Red Queen’s champion. The Jabberwocky looks to be a sort of dragon, with six limbs: four legs and two wings. It speaks in a low voice, and has a forked, snake-like tongue (it may also have a corresponding Jacobson’s organ, from the movements of the tongue in the film), as well as forward-facing eyes. Its wings are observably used as much for walking as flying, and its blood has highly magical properties. The Jabberwocky is the subject of a poem, and from there we can surmise that it is also native to the Tulgey Wood. There is only one Jabberwocky. (def. from TB; Jabberwocky did appear in LC poem, and appeared as a sort of dragon)
jubjub bird - n. – A monstrous bird, under the control of the Red Queen. It has a large crest, stubby, broad wings, and seems to be a very primitive bird, possessing teeth and a well-developed tongue as well as a beak, and long legs that resemble those of a theropod dinosaur. Its plumage is heavily striped, which may be to confuse prey, and it has a long neck and large red eyes. Conrasting to its long legs and neck, the Jubjub has a relatively short tail. It makes a low, husky shriek. (def. from TB; Bird was mentioned in LC poem)
klotchyn – intj. – Listen up!; Pay attention! (TB)
mimsy – adj. – A portmanteau of ‘flimsy’ and ‘miserable’. (LC)
noge – v. – To go low, or down. (unclear whether this is the preposition ‘down’ or something more like ‘duck!’) (TB)
nunz – intj. – Don’t go! (immediateness implied; or perhaps ‘nunz’ means either ‘don’t go’ or ‘not now’, depending on cnotext, rather than always meaning both at once.) (TB)
Oraculum – n. – A Calendar of all the days of Underland, from its beginning to end, each day having its own title and illustration. (TB)
orgal – prep. – To the left. (TB)
outgrabe – v. – Past tense of ‘to outgribe’, which is ‘something between bellowing and whistling, with a sneeze in the middle’. (LC)
Outlandish – 1. n. An old language spoken only in the Outlands, adopted by the Underland underground resistance as a secret code in the revolution against the Red Queen; 2. adj. Someone from the Outlands (second definition extrapolated; superficially resembles Scottish Gaelic or Old English in sound; may be the primary language of the Jabberwocky poem.) (TB)
pishsalver – n. – A potion that makes one shrink. (TB)
rath - n. – A green pig. (LC)
rocking-horse fly – n. – 1. An insect made entirely of wood; it gets about by swinging itself from branch to branch. (LC) 2. An insect that resembles a live rocking horse with wings; its urine is used as an ingredient in pishsalver. (TB)
saganistute – n. – A wise person of poetry and vision. (may be a portmanteau or slurring of ‘sage’ and ‘astute’) (TB)
scut – n. – Vulgar slang for buttocks. (‘scut’ is a real English word, referring specifically to the tail/bottom area of a rabbit, deer, or other short-tailed mammal.) (used in TB)
shukm – 1. v. To excrete. 2. n. Excrement. (TB)
slithy – adj. – A portmanteau of ‘lithe’ and ‘slimy’. (LC)
sloth – adv. – Slowly. Outlandish. (TB)
stang - prep. – On the right side; to the right. Outlandish. (TB)
slurvish – adj. – Selfish; self-centered. (TB)
tove – n. – A creature native to the Tulgey Wood. A cross between a badger, a lizard, and a corkscrew. They make their nests beneath sundials and live on cheese. (LC)
unbirthday - n. - Any day that is not one’s birthday. (LC)
upelkuchen – n. – A cake that makes one grow. (TB)
wabe – n. – The grass plot around a sundial. (LC)
wishful thinking – n. – An ingredient in pishsalver. Appears to be a white substance with the consistency of crème fraîche or clotted cream. Measured in teaspoons. (TB)
worm fat – n. – An ingredient in pishsalver. Kept in a shaker, which means it is likely a powder or particulate. (TB)
yadder – adj. – Far away; beyond. ‘It’s way yadder the crossing in Snud.’ (TB)
zounder – intj. – Behind you! (implied ‘you’? Possibly just the preposition ‘behind’?) (TB)
Places []
Crims – The central land of Underland. Salazen Grum is located in Crims. (TB)
Grampus Blues - Also known as Trotter’s Bottom. A city in Snud. (TB)
Gummer Slough – A dangerous swamp of thick, viscous mud. (TB)
Iplam - A south western land, near Tulgey Wood. (TB)
Marmoreal – The land where the White Queen’s castle is located. (TB)
Outlands – An untamed land to the west of Witzend. Said to be both barren and barbarous. (TB)
Queast – A land to the east, but not in the least. (Unknown what ‘but not in the least’ means.) (TB)
Salazen Grum– A port city; where the Red Queen lives. (TB)
Snud–A land in the south of Underland, where Trotter’s Bottom is located. (TB)
Trotter's Bottom - A city in Snud; also known as Grampus Blues. (TB)
Tulgey Wood – A thick wood in Underland. (LC)
Underland – The real name for the place Alice originally called Wonderland. (TB)
Witzend – A western land where the Mad Hatter and the March Hare were born. Witzend is right next to the mountain range separating Underland from the Outlands. (TB)
Phrases []
Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid! – ‘Down with Bloody Big Head!’ (referring to Red Queen) – The slogan of the Resistance. Outlandish. (TB)
Naught for usal – ‘It’s no use trying.’ Outlandish. (TB)
Slurking urpal slackush scrum – Bad word of the most foul meaning. Outlandish. (TB)
Days []
Horunvendush Day – The day the Red Queen took control of Underland. (TB)
Gribling Day – n. – The day Alice will return to Underland. (TB)
Quillian Day – The day following Alice’s return. (TB)
Frabjous Day – The day Alice slays the Jabberwocky and frees Underland from the oppression of the Red Queen. (def. from TB; Frabjous Day was in LC, unclear in LC whether it was similar in meaning to ‘happy day!’ or whether it referred to a specific day.)