Vocabulary in The Hunting of the Snark

Vocabulary in The Hunting of the Snark, a classic poem by Lewis Carroll, includes:

• snark - an imaginary animal invented for humor by the poet (and mathematician) Lewis Carroll
• Bellman - someone who assists guests with luggage and doing small errands
• Barrister - the name used in England for an attorney
• starboard - the right side of a ship when viewed forward from it
• larboard - the left side of a ship when viewed forward from it, better known as its port
• helmsman - pronounced ˈhelmz-mən, he is the person who directs a boat, using a handle or wheel
• bowsprit - a pole extending outward from the front of a boat
• portmanteau - a large leather suitcase opening with two hinged compartments; also a word formed the same way: by merging two separate words
• crag - pronounced krăg, it is a neck or throat, or a steep rock projecting upward or sometimes outward
• clime - pronounced phonetically as klīm, it is short for climate
• uffish - grumpy or ill-tempered, as first coined by Lewis Carroll himself
• grog - an alcoholic drink
• Will-o'-the-wisp - initially a fairy carrying a wisp of light (fire) who could never be caught, and now any elusive goal
• Boojums - pronounced ˈbü-jəm, a desert tree that is tall and spiny, and lives a long time
• cress - leaves used in salads, suc as watercress and garden cress
• conundrum - pronounced kə-nŭn′drəm, a riddle or dilemma
• antediluvian - pronounced ˌan-ti-də-ˈlü-vē-ən, before the Great Flood, or anything ancient and outdated such as a viewpoint or car
• thimble - pronounced thĭm′-bəl, a small metal cup worn to protect a finger during sewing, or a tubular sleeve in machinery, or a metal rung fitted in the sail's eye as protection against chafing.