spork, run into, runcible spoon, tines or prongs

Baby Spork and Spoon Set

James Joyce, writer

"Think you’re escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home."

Edward Lear was born ‪#‎onthisday‬ in 1812. His famous nonsense verse ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ was written for a friend’s three-year-old daughter and features ‘runcible spoon’, a phrase he invented. Do you know what that means? http://bitly.com/1H0qZ0K

Edward Lear’s Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets brought together a variety of nonsense writing, from alphabets and recipes, to botany, verses and stories. Lear was already well known for writing nonsense: his collection of illustrated limericks, A Book of Nonsense (1846), had been immediately popular, and Lear added further limericks to it over the years. ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’, shown here, is one of the best-loved of Lear’s verses and was written for three-year-old Janet Symonds, whose parents were friends of Lear.  

A feature of nonsense writing is the use of invented words and one of Lear’s most famous examples is the ‘runcible spoon’ used by the owl and the pussycat at their wedding feast. The word ‘runcible’ proved to be so popular that it has now moved from being a nonsense word to having a dictionary definition: a pickle fork with three prongs, one of which is sharp and curved for cutting.

- See more at: http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/nonsense-songs-stories-botany-and-alphabets-by-edward-lear#sthash.UwnbFN5s.dpuf

Spork - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spork

A spork is a hybrid form of cutlery taking the form of a spoon-like shallow scoop with two to four fork tines. Spork-like utensils, such as the terrapin fork or ice ...

‎History - ‎Materials and uses - ‎See also - ‎References

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Images for sporkReport images

A three-tine pitchfork. Tines or prongs are parallel or branching spikes forming parts of a tool or natural object. They are used to spear, hook, move or otherwise act on other objects. They may be made of metal, wood, bone or other hard, strong material.

Tine (structural) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tine_(structural)

runcible spoonLine breaks: run|cible spoon

Pronunciation: /ˈrʌnsɪb(ə)l/

Definition of runcible spoon in English:

noun

A fork curved like a spoon, with three broad prongs, one of which has a sharpened outer edge for cutting.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• After reading last week's article on the origin of the spoon/fork combo, known as the spork, Nell of Sarasota e-mailed asking whether I was familiar with the runcible spoon used by Owl and Pussycat to eat quince in Edward Lear's famous poem.

Origin

Late 19th century: used by Edward Lear, perhaps suggested by late 16th-century rouncival, denoting a large variety of pea.

Definition of run into in English:

1Collide with:he ran into a lamppost

MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCESSYNONYMS

1.1Meet by chance:I ran into Moira on the way home

1.2Experience (a problem or difficulty):the bank ran into financial difficulties

2Reach (a level or amount):debts running into millions of dollars

3Blend into or appear to coalesce with:her words ran into each other