在《镜中奇遇》（Through the Looking-Glass）第六章，Humpty Dumpty说他能让一个词儿做好多事儿，爱丽丝请他解释'Jabberwocky（书中的一首诗，也许是英国文学中最伟大的nonsense poem）的诗句：

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

HD解释说，brillig是下午4点做晚饭烧火（broiling）的时间，slithy等于lithe and slimy，而‘Lithe’is the same as ‘active’。（有些词典解释slithy为“柔软有粘性”，显然不是HD的意思；他自己说了，等于active and slimy，即牛津词典说的smooth and active。它形容tove，Carroll原先假想那是a species of Badger. They had smooth white hair, long hind legs, and short horns like a stag: lived chiefly on cheese.（Rectory Umbrella & Mischmasch），HD补充说它还像lizard，也像corkscrew。既然有光滑的皮毛，当然不好说“有粘性”。（其他几个词，请小伙伴自己去听HD同学的解释。）

接着，HD同学说了英语词汇史上的一句名言：You see it's like aportmanteau— there are two meanings packed up into one word. Portmanteau即所谓“包裹词”，用多个词的元素“打包”组成新词（如汉字六书里的“会意”）。Gardner说，这种游戏James Joyce的Finnegans Wake里玩儿了几万个。最有意思的是，他把“解字大师”Humpty Dumpty也玩儿在如下的一个“词”中：

Bothallchoractorschumminaroundgansumuminarumdrumstrumtruminahumptadumpwaultopoofoolooderamaunsturnup!

Jabberwocky