tulgey

English

WOTD – 17 October 2008

Etymology

Nonsense coinage by Lewis Carroll.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈtʌl.d͡ʒi/, /ˈtʌl.ɡi/

• Audio (US); /ˈtʌl.d͡ʒi/:

  (file)

• Audio (US); /ˈtʌl.ɡi/:

  (file)

Adjective

tulgey (not comparable)

1. Thick, dense, dark (originally in reference to a wood).
   • 1871, Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-glass, "Jabberwocky":

     The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, / Came whiffling through the tulgey wood

   • 1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Don't Point That Thing at Me, Penguin 2001, page 69:

     I battled for a while with Professor Aschloch's tulgey prose – only German poets have ever written lucid German prose – then closed my eyes, wondering bitterly which of my enemies the nice American worked for.