Boojum

/ˈbuːdʒəm/ noun

Definition

A fictional creature from Lewis Carroll's 'The Hunting of the Snark'; something elusive, confusing, or impossible to define.

Etymology

A nonsense word created by Lewis Carroll in his 1876 nonsense poem. The word has no pre-Carrollian origin; Carroll invented it, possibly echoing 'bug' or 'bogey,' but it remains fundamentally inexplicable.

Kelly Says

The Boojum is the worst thing the Snark hunters could find—worse than any real danger—because Carroll never explains what it actually is, making abstract terror more frightening than concrete threat.

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