A runcible spoon is a fictitious utensil that appears in the nonsense poetry of Edward Lear. More generally, the word "runcible" is also used of objects other than spoons in Lear's work. It is fundamentally a nonsense word.

The word "runcible" is a neologism.

Origin

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Lear's best-known poem, The Owl and the Pussycat, published in 1871, includes the passage

They dined on mince and slices of quince,

which they ate with a runcible spoon.

Another mention of this piece of cutlery appears in the alphabetical illustrations Twenty-Six Nonsense Rhymes and Pictures. Its entry for "D" reads

The Dolomphious Duck,

who caught Spotted Frogs for her dinner

with a Runcible Spoon

Lear often illustrated his own poems, and he drew a picture of the "dolomphious duck" holding in its beak a round-bowled spoon containing a frog (see right).

Other runcible objects

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The word "runcible" was apparently one of Lear's favorite inventions, appearing in several of his works in reference to a number of different objects. In his verse self-portrait, How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear, it is noted that "he weareth a runcible hat". Other poems include mention of a "runcible cat", a "runcible goose", and a "runcible wall".

Attempts to define the word

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Lear does not appear to have had any firm idea of what the word "runcible" means. His whimsical nonsense verse celebrates words primarily for their sound, and a specific definition is not needed to appreciate his work. However, since the 1920's (several decades after Lear's death), modern dictionaries have generally defined a runcible spoon to be a fork with three prongs, such as a pickle fork, which is curved like a spoon, and also has a cutting edge. It should be noted that this definition is not consistent with Lear's drawing of a "runcible spoon", mentioned above, nor does it account for the other "runcible" objects in Lear's poems.

Latin runcāre = "to weed", "to thin out", and if a Latin word runcibulum existed (as an error for runcābulum), it would mean "tool used for weeding".

Other references

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The whimsical feel of the word "runcible" has led to its appearance in diverse arenas including fiction and business.

Fiction

• In the board game Kill Doctor Lucky, a runcible spoon is one of the weapons players can use to kill Doctor Lucky.
• Runcible Spoon is the name of an elemental researching mage in the web-comic Oracle For Hire.
• In Neal Asher's novel Gridlinked, runcible is the name given to an interstellar teleporter.
• In Neal Stephenson's novel The Diamond Age, runcible is a code name for the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer.
• In Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies, Runcible is the last name of daft, drunken Agatha.
• In the Doctor Who serial "The Deadly Assassin", Runicible is the name of a Time Lord.
• In Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow," an exhibition fight with runcible spoons is held.

Business

• Runcible Spoon, a kitchen store in Rhode Island
• The Runcible Spoon, a restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana
• The Runcible Spoon, a bakery in Nyack, New York

See also

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• spork

References

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• The Straight Dope: What's a runcible spoon?, 8 November 1996
• The Owl and the Pussycat Full text online
• Twenty-Six Nonsense Rhymes and Pictures Full text online
• How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear Full text online (note the "runcible hat")
• The Pobble Who Has No Toes Full text online (note the "runcible cat")

Other nonsense words by Edward Lear

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• Scroobious is an adjective which he applied to people in some of his verses. It sees to imply disapproval of their conduct. It may be a pseudo-Latin derivative of screwball. The word has since been used by other people.

Food utensils | Neologisms