proverb, and I will show you something that ought to be in
some kind of a home.
[ A Pelican at Blandings, by P. G. Wodehouse ]
+bear*trap
+ Probably most commonly associated with trapping, the leghold
+ trap is a rather simple mechanical trap. It is made up of two
+ jaws, a spring of some sort, and a trigger in the middle. When
+ the animal steps on the trigger the trap closes around the leg,
+ holding the animal in place. Usually some kind of lure is used
+ to position the animal, or the trap is set on an animal trail.
+ Traditionally, leghold traps had tightly closing "teeth" to make
+ sure the animal stayed in place. The teeth also made sure the
+ animal could not move the leg in the trap and ruin their fur.
+ However, this resulted in many animals gnawing off legs in order
+ to escape. More modern traps have a gap called an "offset jaw"
+ and work more like a handcuff. They grip above the paw, making
+ sure the animal cannot pull out but does not destroy the leg.
+ This also allows the trapper to release unwanted catches.
+ [ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]
*bee
This giant variety of its useful normal cousin normally
appears in small groups, looking for raw material to produce
guarded secret, possibly derived from nonhumans (see Dwarfs,
Elves, and Gnomes).
[ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ]
+*booze
+potion of sleeping
+ On waking, he found himself on the green knoll whence he had
+ first seen the old man of the glen. He rubbed his eyes -- it
+ was a bright sunny morning. The birds were hopping and
+ twittering among the bushes, and the eagle was wheeling aloft,
+ and breasting the pure mountain breeze. "Surely," thought Rip,
+ "I have not slept here all night." He recalled the occurrences
+ before he fell asleep. The strange man with a keg of liquor --
+ the mountain ravine -- the wild retreat among the rocks -- the
+ woe-begone party at ninepins -- the flagon -- "Oh! that flagon!
+ that wicked flagon!" thought Rip -- "what excuse shall I make
+ to Dame Van Winkle!"
+ [ Rip Van Winkle, a Posthumous Writing
+ of Diedrich Knickerbocker, by Washington Irving ]
boulder
I worked the lever well under, and stretched my back; the end
of the stone rose up, and I kicked the fulcrum under. Then,
sun god Tezcatlipoca transformed himself into Mixcoatl-Camaxtli
to make fire by twirling the sacred fire sticks.
[ Encyclopedia of Gods, by Michael Jordan ]
+camelot*
+ The seat of Arthur's power in medieval romance. The name is
+ of unknown origin and refers to the castle but also includes
+ the surrounding town. ... Camelot appears, most significantly,
+ as a personal capital as opposed to a permanent or national
+ one. It is Arthur's and Arthur's alone. There are no previous
+ lords and Arthur's successor, Constantine, does not take up
+ residence there. Camelot is actually said to have been
+ demolished after Arthur and Lancelot were gone by Mark. Fazio
+ degli Uberti, the Italian poet, claims to have seen the ruins
+ in the 14th century.
+ [ Encyclopedia Mythica, ed. M.F. Lindemans ]
candy bar
Only once a year, on his birthday, did Charlie Bucket ever
get to taste a bit of chocolate. The whole family saved up
so on. And in this way, Charlie would make his ten-cent bar
of birthday chocolate last him for more than a month.
[ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl ]
+carrot
+ In World War II, Britain's air ministry spread the word that
+ a diet of these vegetables helped pilots see Nazi bombers
+ attacking at night. That was a lie intended to cover the real
+ matter of what was underpinning the Royal Air Force's successes:
+ Airborne Interception Radar, also known as AI. ... British
+ Intelligence didn't want the Germans to find out about the
+ superior new technology helping protect the nation, so they
+ created a rumor to afford a somewhat plausible-sounding
+ explanation for the sudden increase in bombers being shot down.
+ ... The disinformation was so persuasive that the English public
+ took to eating carrots to help them find their way during the
+ blackouts.
+ [ Urban Legends Reference Pages ]
s*d*g*r* cat
Imagine a sealed container, so perfectly constructed that no
physical influence can pass either inwards or outwards across its
there were ridges over the eye sockets, yet he unmistakably
held in his genes the promise of humanity.
[ 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke ]
+dwar* cave*man
+gnom* cave*man
+ 'Twas in a land unkempt of life's red dawn;
+ Where in his sanded cave he dwelt alone;
+ Sleeping by day, or sometimes worked upon
+ His flint-head arrows and his knives of stone;
+ By night stole forth and slew the savage boar,
+ So that he loomed a hunter of loud fame,
+ And many a skin of wolf and wild-cat wore,
+ And counted many a flint-head to his name;
+ Wherefore he walked the envy of the band,
+ Hated and feared, but matchless in his skill.
+ Till lo! one night deep in that shaggy land,
+ He tracked a yearling bear and made his kill;
+ Then over-worn he rested by a stream,
+ And sank into a sleep too deep for dream.
+ [ The Dreamer, by Robert Service ]
*centaur
Of all the monsters put together by the Greek imagination
the Centaurs (Kentauroi) constituted a class in themselves.
Hercules confronted him and took him to the world of the
living (as his twelfth and last labor).
chameleon
- Name of a family (_Chameleonidae_) and race (_Chameleo_) of
- scaly lizards, especially the _Chameleo vulgaris_ species,
- with a short neck, claws, a grasping tail, a long, extendible
- tongue and mutually independent moving eyes. When it is
- scared or angry, it inflates itself and its transparent skin
- shows its blood: the skin first appears greenish, then
- gradually changes color until it is a spotted red. The final
- color depends on the background color as well, hence the
- (figurative) implication of unreliability. [Capitalized:]
- a constellation of the southern hemisphere (Chameleo).
- [ Van Dale's Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal ]
+ A small lizard perched on a brown stone. Feeling threatened by
+ the approach of human beings along the path, it metamorphosed
+ into a stingray beetle, then into a stench-puffer, then into a
+ fiery salamander.
+ Bink smiled. These conversions weren't real. It had assumed
+ the forms of obnoxious little monsters, but not their essence.
+ It could not sting, stink or burn. It was a chameleon, using
+ its magic to mimic creatures of genuine threat.
+ Yet as it shifted into the form of a basilisk it glared at him
+ with such ferocity that Bink's mirth abated. If its malice
+ could strike him, he would be horribly dead.
+ [ A Spell for Chameleon, by Piers Anthony ]
charo*n
When an ancient Greek died, his soul went to the nether world:
the Hades. To reach the nether world, the souls had to cross
against the windowpanes.
[ The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas ]
chih*sung*tzu
- A Chinese rain god.
+ A character in Chinese mythology noted for bringing about the
+ end of a terrible drought which threatened the survival of
+ the people. He achieved this by means of sprinkling the
+ earth with water from a bowl, using the branch of a tree to
+ do so. He became the heavenly controller of the rain, and
+ lived with other celestial beings in their paradise on Mount
+ Kunlun.
+ [ The Illustrated Who's Who In Mythology, by Michael Senior ]
chromatic dragon
tiamat
Tiamat is said to be the mother of evil dragonkind. She is
extremely vain.
+citrine*
+ A pale yellow variety of crystalline quartz resembling topaz.
~elven cloak
~oilskin cloak
*cloak*
sicken and die.
[ Mythical Beasts by Deirdre Headon (The Leprechaun Library)
and other sources ]
+*coin
+~creeping coins
+*coins
+zorkmid*
+ The coin bears the likeness of Belwit the Flat, along with the
+ inscriptions, "One Zorkmid," and "699 GUE [ Great Underground
+ Empire ]." On the other side, the coin depicts Egreth Castle,
+ and says "In Frobs We Trust" in several languages.
+ [ Zork Zero, by Infocom ]
+# not "stethoscope"
+cope
+* cope
+ The cope is a liturgical vestment which may be worn by any
+ rank of the clergy. Copes are made in all liturgical colours,
+ and are like a very long mantle or cloak, fastened at the breast
+ by a clasp.
+ [ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]
cornuthaum
He was dressed in a flowing gown with fur tippets which had
the signs of the zodiac embroidered over it, with various
of the Dum-Dum.
[ Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs ]
~dwarf ??m*
+#~dwar* cave*man
dwarf*
-dwar* cave*man
Dwarfs have faces like men (ugly men, with wrinkled, leathery
skins), but are generally either flat-footed, duck-footed, or
have feet pointing backwards. They are of the earth, earthy,
boulders as weapons, hurling them over large distances. All
types of giants share a love for men - roasted, boiled, or
fried. Their table manners are legendary.
-# note: "gnomish wizard" is a monster; cave*man entry doesn't fit nonhumans
+# note: "gnomish wizard" is a monster
~gnome ??m*
+#~gnom* cave*man
gnome*
gnomish wizard
-gnom* cave*man
... And then a gnome came by, carrying a bundle, an old
fellow three times as large as an imp and wearing clothes of
a sort, especially a hat. And he was clearly just as frightened
[ The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, by Diana Wynne Jones ]
gold
gold piece
-zorkmid
A metal of characteristic yellow colour, the most precious
metal used as a common commercial medium of exchange. Symbol,
Au; at. no. 79; at. wt. 197.2. It is the most malleable
[ The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander ]
*spider
Eight legged creature capable of spinning webs to trap prey.
+ []
"You mean you eat flies?" gasped Wilbur.
"Certainly. Flies, bugs, grasshoppers, choice beetles,
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