Of Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat of course!
They dined on mince and slices of quinceWhich they ate with a runcible spoon…
How can you not LOVE this word, or even try and conjur up what a runcible spoon looks like? To me it appears to be wooden with oddly shaped slotted grooves and lacquered black lines running through it. It just makes you want to eat something with one, no? Anything, really.
As a vegetarian, the mince wouldn’t work for me – unless it was a mince pie that is such a big hit in England. I think that’s just minced fruit. Not a fan of quince either – also a fruit. But everything must surely taste better for having dined with one, no?
I love Edward Lear’s gobbeldy gook that has the extraordinary ability to appeal to us as small children and stays with us as adults. Now that is a true gift.
I also love that my spell check keeps telling me with its angry red, hiccoughing lines that runcible is NOT a word. Ha!
Doing some research, I found that there’s a cafe in Bloomington Illinois called The Runcible Spoon and here’s the sign outside its door:
Sweet, no?
So. What does a runcible spoon look like to you? And what would you eat with it?
It’s been ages since I read that poem. I love that cafe named themselves after it, though. I wonder how many people get it?
Hi from Nagzilla bloghopping A to Z
Dear Friend,
I’ve no idea who you are, but I’m so very glad to make your acquaintance.
What a winning and delightfully light-hearted post. I have stumbled upon you as I’m perusing the A to Z Challenger list and I have found this post to be a charm-filled pastry with a topping of good grammar and wit. Edward creates lyrical language as well as Ronald Searle illustrates irreverence and whimsy. Both are favorites of mine and your writing is so concise, warm and welcoming that I must return for more.
Thank you for a delightful read.
Your fellow A to Z Challenger. Cheers.
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I adore the Owl and the Pussycat! I imagine runcible to mean tattered, like in the runcible hat. I envision a runcible spoon to be a forefather of the modern “spork” with jagged little teeth on the end of a flattened wooden spoon.