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#14444 01/05/01 07:27 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
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M
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Kiwi, capital fellow that he is, complimented me with great stir, Max

Thank you, it's a gift! As a gesture of appreciation, here's the passage to which you referred:

To be sure I was!' Humpty Dumpty said gaily as she turned it round for him. `I thought it looked a little queer. As I was saying, that seems to be done right -- though I haven't time to look it over thoroughly just now -- and that shows that there are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents --'

`Certainly,' said Alice.

`And only one for birthday presents, you know. There's glory for you!'

`I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. `Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'

`But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'

`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master -- that's all.'

Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. `They've a temper, some of them -- particularly verbs: they're the proudest -- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs -- however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'




#14445 01/05/01 08:14 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
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Max, quoting from Dodgson, said: As a gesture of appreciation, here's the passage to which you referred: ... and [snip].

Thanks Max. It must be 30 years since I read it. Some things just "stick", don't they? I always liked that passage since I could use it to explain away my mondegreens and malapropisms with gay abandon.



The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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