OXFORD ROALD DAHL DICTIONARY

Wordplay has its day in this extra-usual compilation of lexicographical delights drawn from Dahl’s works.

“ONLY REALLY INTERESTING WORDS are allowed in this dictionary,” writes compiler Rennie, and the contents cleave to that stricture with a wacksey (“splendidly huge”) mix of those conventional but nonetheless gloriumptious locutions (like “aardvark” or “sneeze,” printed in black) and wondercrump original coinages (in blue) with which the master’s prose is laced. Every entry comes with a brief definition and one or more sentences from a specified work quoted to demonstrate usage. Each also includes part of speech, alternate forms, and, very often, either cross references (“Another mushious fruit is the snozzberry”) or a linguistic excursion into grammar, the history of words, real-world cognates, or derivations. One frequently recurring extra feature challenges would-be versifiers to find “Ringbelling Rhymes,” and another offers examples and guidelines for making any writing zippfizz along by “Gobblefunking with Words.” Major characters, creatures, and candies also earn diddly (“individual or distinct”) slots in the alphabet. That the pages are positively festooned with Blake’s color cartoon illustrations, all drawn from the novels, just puts the golden ticket into the Wonka bar.

Snapperwhippers aren’t the only readers who will find this equally delumptious as a dictionary, a source of inspiration, and a way of revisiting a shelf of phizz-whizzing classics.