runcible spoon

English

A runcible spoon

Etymology

1871, coined by Edward Lear with no definition, but was applied to the following by 1926.

Noun

runcible spoon (plural runcible spoons)

1. A fork-like spoon that has a cutting edge.
   • 1871, Edward Lear, “Owl & Pussy-Cat”, in Nonsense Songs::

     They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
     Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

   • 2006, Lemony Snicket, chapter 4, in The End, page 87:

     But the Baudelaires accepted their bowls of ceviche, as well as the strange utensils Friday handed them, which were made of wood and looked like a combination of a fork and a spoon.
     "They're runcible spoons," Friday explained. "We don't have forks or knives in the colony, as they can be used as weapons."

Usage notes

• The word runcible, by itself, has no separate meaning, being a nonsense word made up by Lear and used by him in a variety of contexts.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:runcible spoon.

See also

• Splayd, splade
• spork
• rounceval, oversized
• runcina, plane
• runcinate, sawtoothed