Make Your Point: GALUMPH

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pronounce GALUMPH:

guh LUMF

connect this word to others:

To move in a clunky, joyful way is to galumph.

Like how Leeroy Jenkins enters a battle. If you were hanging around the Internet in 2005, you probably caught wind of Jenkins, a video game character famous for galumphing into the fight, gleefully and prematurely, shouting his own name.

(Source)

Epic.

The word galumph, just like the words chortle, beamish, and tulgey, among others, was invented by Lewis Carroll for the poem "Jabberwocky."

Even if you haven't read the poem lately, and even if you're unfamiliar with these words, I bet you can answer these questions just based on how the words sound:

1. Is a chortle more like a chunk or a chuckle?

2. Is someone beamish proud or nervous?

3. Is a tulgey wood full of songbirds or darkness?

4. Is galumphing clumsy or graceful? Ah, you know! But let's explore it anyway. It's such a fun word.

definition:

The writer Lewis Carroll may have blended the words "gallop" and "triumph" when he invented in the word "galumph" for the poem "Jabberwocky" in his 1871 novel Through the Looking Glass. In the poem, a brave young slayer faces the Jabberwock:

"One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."

This young slayer is then greeted by his proud father with shouts of joy and celebration.

So, as you can see, to galumph somewhere is to move with happy but clumsy steps, as if proudly dragging the head of a beast you've just slain. Huzzah!

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Most often a verb, the intransitive kind: "They galumphed onto the stage;" "I was just galumphing gleefully along."

Other forms:

Galumphed, galumphing.

You can also use "galumph" as a countable noun, meaning "a romp: a happy, clumsy movement." That can be literal, as in "The baby took another wobbly-legged galumph across the room." Or figurative, as in "That episode is a bizarre but enjoyable galumph through the dreaming minds of the main characters."

how to use it:

Pick the rare, funny, whimsical word "galumph" to describe movement or progress that's happy and humorously awkward.

"I love those galumphing manatees." "Her minivan galumphs out of the driveway." "With her odd choices in hairstyles and her startlingly creative songs, Billie Eilish galumphed onto the pop music stage."

examples:

"The year ends with Neil, an elephant seal that’s become the latest internet sensation. Neil came ashore on the Australian island of Tasmania... and has since galumphed his way into parking lots, people’s front lawns and the hearts of local residents."
— Linda Poon, Bloomberg, 27 December 2023

"Pierce Brosnan is a welcome and charismatic face up there on the big screen, even when he's galumphing through a screenplay that is horribly rote."
— Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian, 28 August 2014

has this page helped you understand "galumph"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "galumph" without saying "clomp joyfully" or "stomp proudly."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) galumphed (somewhere) and immediately (did something)."

Example 1: "With our ski boots strapped on, we galumphed outside and immediately took off for the lift."

Example 2: "Fischer, spying the chess table, galumphed to the center of the stage and immediately lifted the white queen, testing its weight."
— Frank Brady, Endgame, 2011

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for May is "Color Your Own Colloquialism."

I'll give you the outline of a colloquialism, from English or translated from another language, along with its definition, and you create your own version of it. Your version can be goofy, straightforward, or unrepeatable in polite company: just have fun with it! To see the real version of the colloquialism, scroll all the way down.

Try this one today:

Meaning: "To be caught in an embarrassing situation."

Outline: "To be caught with your (body part) in a (container of some sort)."

review this word:

1. The opposite of GALUMPH could be

A. OBVIATE: to prevent or avoid something.
B. GLISSADE: to move in a graceful, hopping or gliding way.
C. ENRAPTURE: to delight someone, or cast a spell on them.

2. Whether in a fairy tale or a nature documentary, an animal that's likely to be described as "galumphing" is _____.

A. a fox
B. a parrot
C. an elephant

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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