manxome means fearsome, monstrous. It carries an Arena rating of 1416, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, manxome ranks #23 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #350 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #366 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #1,586 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
Why “manxome” is a great word
Fearsome and monstrous in a nonsensical or fantastical manner. A nonsense word coined by Lewis Carroll in his 1871 poem "Jabberwocky"; its construction is opaque, though often speculatively analyzed as a blend of 'fearsome' and 'monstrous'. Unlike "fearsome," which suggests a real and sober terror, or "grotesque," which fixates on comically distorted appearance, *manxome* is a creature of pure lexical invention. It is the slithy tove, the frumious Bandersnatch glimpsed through the tulgey wood, and the very sound of a threat children understand perfectly. Some monsters are too serious for reality, and too silly to be merely frightening.
Etymology
Coined by British author and scholar Lewis Carroll in his nonsense poem “Jabberwocky” (see quotation below).
adj
- fearsome, monstrouse.g.“He took his vorpal sword in hand: / Long time the manxome foe he sought— / So rested he by the Tumtum tree, / And stood awhile in thought.” — 1871 December 27 (indicated as 1872), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “[Looking-Glass House.] Jabberwocky.”, in Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, London: Macm
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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