"T was brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe."
"That's enough to begin with," Humpty Dumpty interrupted; "there are plenty of hard words there. Brillig means four o'clock in the afternoon—the time when you begin broiling things for dinner."
"That'll do very well," said Alice; "and slithy?"
"Well, slithy means 'lithe and slimy,' 'Lithe' is the same as 'active.' You see, it's like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word."
"I see it now," Alice remarked, thoughtfully; "and what are toves?"
"Well, toves are something like badgers—they're something like lizards—and they're something like corkscrews."
"They must be very curious-looking creatures."
