What does the word "Vorpal" come from?

The Definition of 'Vorpal'

At work today I heard the best answer to the question 'What does Vorpal mean?'.

I was near the front counter packaging up saw blades for UPS shipping. A customer comes to pick up his order, with young child in tow. The kid is like maybe 6 or 8, and is telling (apparently) his Dad about all the words he learned in vocabulary class today and what they meant. He ends it with 'I knows all the words there are!', and was quite proud of this. His Father just 'Uh-uhs' him and keeps talking up the salesman. The kid sundenly gets all crest-fallen.

So I lean over (and thinking about this very thread) say 'All of 'em, huh?'

'Yuppers'

'Do you know what Vorpal means?'

The kid looks confused for a few minutes, and his Dad starts paying real close attention to me. To illuminate, I look like an unkempt version of Grizzly Adams. And after the heat, sweat, grease, dirt and hard work of the day, probably smell like 'im too.

So I say to Dad 'Its a word Lewis Carrol used in the poem Jabberwocky, in Alice in Wonderland.'

Dad looks realived, like this hairy reject isn't some child-napper, just a poetry nut. And we know their all harmless. :rollseyes

The kid says 'Nope. I don't know that one' and seems all mystified by the sound of it. He keeps sayin it to himself for the next couple of minutes.

Dad starts to wrap it up, and the kid says to him 'Dad what does Vorpal mean?'

Dad looks annoyed. He says 'I don't know. And I ain't wasten time to figure it out." So kid turns to me, 'What does Vorpal mean?'

'If I tell you the poem, think you can figure it out?'

'Yuppers' Kid seems happy, like finally someone takes him seriously.

His Dad 'You ain't smart enough to figure it out (child saddens)... -sigh- ... If you figure it out I'll get you a Kit-Kat.' Dad rolls eyes.

At this point I decided no matter what the child thought Vorpal meant, yuppers that was what I would say it meant. Roll your eyes, I'll roll your head... mental mumble grumble...

So I recite Jabberwocky.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
...
and so on, and so on...

The Father was actually amused, the kid was enthralled, my BOSS had walked in looked pretty upset (I was goofing off apparently).

'So what does Vorpal mean?'

'It means, ummm, I Cut Your Head Off!'

I swear images of a prepubescent ninja flipping out and totally cutting my head off went through my mind. I laughed, the kid busted out, and even Dad ha-ha-ed.

"You got in one little dude.'

Kid had Kit-Kat and all is happy. Unless Daddy learns how to read a dictionary in next few days...


I Cut Your Head Off. Snicker-Snack.

EvilE
 

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evileeyore said:
'So what does Vorpal mean?'

'It means, ummm, I Cut Your Head Off!'

Legend!

"Not smart enough". Pah.

(And on the way out of the store, the small voice comes drifting back: "Dad, what does 'mimsy' mean?")

-Hyp.
 
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Dogbrain said:
Haven't quite recovered from that humorectomy?

[Kelso]BURN! Dude, you just totally burned Gary Gygax![/Kelso]

... although I have to confess, your original post read as serious to me too...

-Hyp.
 

OK. I'll probably put a foot and a half in my mouth here, and I don't care. My mum always said "if you're not worth a laugh, you're not worth a lot".

I read somewhere (RGFD ?) many years ago that Vorpal was an anagram for

Victory
Over
Ruin
Pain
And
Lust

With Mr. Gygax here, maybe he could enlighten me on that.
 

Col_Pladoh said:
As a non-contraversial example, and speaking as a gastronome, dining in Lyons, France, at Paul Boucouse's restaurant.

As a Frenchman, it's my personal duty to protect spelling and chefs-cuisiniers, so... It's Bocuse!

Trainz said:
I read somewhere (RGFD ?) many years ago that Vorpal was an anagram...

Well, the only hidden meaning to vorpal I would accept is one that would be told to me by Lewis Carrol himself. Because it could mean anything. The verbal/gospel thing, for example (should I crank up a gesbel sword?). Or that. Or "Vous Observez ma Rapière Pendant Au Loquet". Or VORacious and PALatable. Or... I can keep up making up stupid meanings.

I think it's just a cool-sounding name. Like opal, but more biting.
 
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Way off topic!

Gez said:
As a Frenchman, it's my personal duty to protect spelling and chefs-cuisiniers, so... It's Bocuse!

Thanks, and I needed that:)

Are you familiar with the top restaurants in Lyon? I dined at one in the heart of the city, a place with much dark wood. If so, can you suggest a possioble name, asit has slipped my mind. To me the cuisine there was superior a 10 rather than a 9.5, and I enjoyed it more than I did at Paul Bocuse's fine establishment, despite the latter having better views and more elaborate table settings.

Cheers,
Gary
 

Dogbrain said:
Thus, instead of being some great brutal cleaver, the vorpal sword may very well be a light, lithe, thrusting sword.
A well-argued and amusing (humorous?) explanation but I don't think it's right. The illustration by Tenniel (sp?), which IIRC was approved by Dogson, depicts a two-handed sword. Rapier it ain't. ;)
 

Col_Pladoh said:
Are you familiar with the top restaurants in Lyon? I dined at one in the heart of the city, a place with much dark wood. If so, can you suggest a possible name, as it has slipped my mind. To me the cuisine there was superior a 10 rather than a 9.5, and I enjoyed it more than I did at Paul Bocuse's fine establishment, despite the latter having better views and more elaborate table settings.

If it's in the heart of the city, it's not Trois-Gros' hotel, so it could be Les Terrasses de Lyon, La Tour Rose, or Le Relais Gourmand Pierre Orsi, or maybe Léon de Lyon.
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorpal

Vorpal is a word coined by Lewis Carroll for the poem "Jabberwocky," used in the phrase "his vorpal sword." It is commonly assumed to mean "sharp," and has been used this way in a number of role-playing games and similar.

In Dungeons & Dragons, a vorpal weapon is one which has a high tendency to inflict critical hits or behead foes.

dictionary.com lists an entry as well, but only for subscribers. I suspect it will refer to something akin to the above.
 
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