Dahl Dictionary: A List of 103 Words Made-up By Roald Dahl

When watching the 90s movie Matilda, you’ll learn how to spell the big word “difficulty” the Miss Honey way. It goes like this: missus D, missus I, missus F-F-I, missus C, missus U, missus L-T-Y. And that’s how you spell “difficulty” with such ease. Gosh, that’s a lot of missuses in one breath, huh? But it sure is catchy. And it even reads like poetry. Thank you, Miss Honey, for this snappy way of spelling.

Interestingly enough, Matilda is an adaptation of a novel called Matilda by Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl is a British author of a lot of stories, not just Matilda. Some of his works include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr. Fox and Esio Trot and James and the Giant Peach. Dahl is a very, very imaginative and interesting person. And here’s a fun fact: he wrote most of his books in his garden shed, and in this outdoor small room is a cosy armchair.



I could say more about the swashboggling Roald Dahl, but this space is not really meant for a Dahl biography. Rather this space is to shine a bright, yellow, warm light on one hundred and three Dahlisms. Aka the one hundred and three words that Roald Dahl came up with. Actually, he made up more than 103. However, this list only has that much as a starting point.

Oh, and one more thing: I want to share with you Matilda’s way of making her favorite reading drink, also known as a mug of Hot Chocolate: Step 1: warm up the milk (preferably warm up the milk in a saucepan, but whichever method of heating the milk comfortably for you is very much okay) Step 2: add the hot chocolate mix (or Ovaltine because Matilda sometimes uses the Ovaltine powder) Step 3: pour the drink into a mug, enjoy your sip, have a great read

• giganticus: something very gigantic + very grand
• whooshey: something very strong + powerful
• wondercrump: something wonderful
• snozzberry: a type of berry
• flushbunking: something nonsensical
• fizzwiggler: a very mean + very cruel person
• redunculous: something ridiculous
• glubbage: something so disgusting that is not made to be eaten
• scrumdiddlyumptious: something scrumptious + delicious
• zozimus: the stuff that makes up a dream
• biffsquiggled: aka confused
• bibble: something that makes a soft bubbling sound
• churgle: a gurgle with laughter
• frumpet: someone old and ugly
• chatbag: a chatterbox; someone who just talks and talks and talks nonstop
• gloomness: aka nighttime
• mideous: something that is horrible + dreadful
• plussy: something or someone that is vibrant and full of life
• hugtight (HUGTIGHT): a very, very, very, very, very sticky glue
• argy: an argument
• mushious: something mushy + delicious
• plexicated: something very complicated
• razztwizzler: something very exciting
• whunking: something very big + very heavy
• whiffsy: something that is always moving
• scrotty: to feel sad + gloomy
• babblement: a conversation; a talk
• sickable: something that makes you sick
• slugburger: a burger made of slugs
• crabcruncher: a creature that lives by the cliff
• sogmire: a very soggy environment
• catasterous: something catastrophic + disastrous
• manhugger: an unfriendly giant
• spliffling: something splendid and magnificent
• ringbeller: a very nice and sweet dream
• dumbsilly: something nonsensical
• huggybee: a term of endearment; aka darling; aka dear; aka sweet honey bee
• bish: to destroy something
• gloriumptious: something glorious and wonderful
• swashboggling: something very special
• pibbling: something small and unimportant
• squishous: something squishy
• kiddle: a very young kid; a very young child
• mispise: something you hate very much
• twizzler: something difficult
• icky-poo: something icky; something disgusting
• witching hour: a very special time, usually sometime around midnight, when people are all asleep and magical creatures come alive
• mintick: a minute
• natterbox: a chatterbox; someone who talks and talks about nothing specific
• notmucher: someone who does nothing
• jumpsy: feeling anxious
• grunion: someone who is grumpy
• gollup: to swallow
• flavory-savory: something delicious
• exunckly: aka exactly
• daddle: to run very fast
• bundongle: something that is filled with air
• crodsquinkled: something that is hopeless
• fluckgungled: aka crodsquinkled; something that is hopeless
• glimp: a quick peek
• horrigust: something horrible and disgusting
• suspichy: aka sus; something suspicious
• frightsome: something that causes fright; something scary
• human bean: aka a human being; a person
• oompa loompa: a creature that lives in Loompaland
• splendiferous: something splendid and wonderful and marvelous
• phizz-whizzing: aka excellent
• swigpill: a disgusting food
• filthsome: something filthy + dirty + gross
• frobscottle: a fizzy drink
• trogglehumper: a very scary dream; a nightmare
• snozzcucumber: a horrible tasting vegetable that giants eat
• rommytot: aka nonsense
• uckyslush: food that is not tasty
• snozzwanger: a very dangerous creature living in Loompaland
• telly-telly bunkum box: aka a television; a telly; a TV
• lickswishy: something delicious
• diddly: something very unique + special
• inky-booky: something that tastes like ink from a book
• glamourly: something very, very interesting
• bopmuggered: something very difficult
• whoppsy-whiffling: something very, very crazy
• hopscotchy: a happy, cheerful feeling
• gobblefunk: to play around
• splatch-winkle: to hurry
• maidmasher: a giant that is not so very friendly at all who also loves to eat children
• muckleberry: a berry that grows where the Minpins live
• squifflerotter: someone who is very mean
• gropeflunking: something that is very difficult to explain
• cloud-men: creatures that live in the clouds
• dogswoggler: someone who is very silly
• delumptious: something delicious
• majester: aka majesty from “Your Majesty”
• whizzpopper: aka a fart
• earbusting: something very, very, very loud that could bust your ears
• splitzwiggled: to get caught for doing something forbidden
• giggler: a little girl
• jiggyraffes: giraffes
• time-twiddler: something that is timeless
• figglers: aka fingers
• squibbling: aka writing
• quogwinkle: an alien; something that comes from outer space
• frosty: a very cold and frosty weather