Seuss Or Not?

One of the hallmarks of the great Dr Seuss are his playfully wonderful made up words. But what if you just saw one of those words on its own? Would you be able to tell if it's a real word or one Dr Seuss made up? It's harder than you think.

Lerkim

Real or Seuss?

Andres Ayrton, Pexels

Seuss: The Lorax

"You won't see the Once-ler.

Don't knock at his door.

He stays in his Lerkim on top of his store".

B Rosen, Flickr

Jertain

Real or Seuss?

Greg Williams, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons

Suess: There’s A Wocket In My Pocket

"Sometimes I feel quite certain there's a jertain in the curtain".

Journalist 3rd Class Matthew R. Schwarz, Wikimedia Commons

Cattywampus

Real or Seuss?

Gene Lester, Getty Images

Real

It means "going badly, awkwardly, or in the wrong direction". For example: "I didn't need this, especially on a morning when everything else had already started out going cattywampus".

Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels

Zong

Real or Seuss?

Ivan Samkov, Pexels

Seuss: Oh The Thinks You Can Think!

"Think, think, and wonder

Wonder and think

How much water can 55 elephants drink?

You can wonder, how long is the tail of a Zong?"

ZikG, Shutterstock

Snickersnee

Real or Seuss?

KoolShooters, Pexels

Real

It's the name of a large sword-like knife. 

Thichaa, Shutterstock

Gallinipper

Real or Seuss?

Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels

Real

This is a term for various insects that sting or bite, especially a large American mosquito.

Egor Kamelev, Pexels

Obsk

Real or Seuss?

Tima Miroshnichenko, Pexels

Seuss: If I Ran The Zoo

"I'll go to the far-away Mountains of Tobsk 

Near the  River of Nobsk, and I'll bring back an Obsk".

FPG, Getty Images

Agraffe

Real of Seuss?

Thirdman, Pexels

Real

This is used principally on grand pianos. The agraffe is a guide at the tuning-pin end of the string, screwed into the plate, with holes through which the strings pass.

RUBEN M RAMOS, Shutterstock

Collywobbles

Real or Seuss?

Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robert Stirrup, Wikimedia Commons

Real

It refers to an uncomfortable feeling in the stomach caused by feelings of nervousness or slight fear.

Perfect Wave, Shutterstock

Glikker

Real or Seuss?

Christine Cabalo, Wikimedia Commons

Seuss: On Beyond Zebra

"Glikk as in Glikker, who lives in wild weeds and spends his time juggling with cinnamon seeds".

Stars & Splendid Antique MallsFollow, Flickr

Schlopp

Real or Seuss?

U.S. Navy photo, Wikimedia Commons

Seuss: Oh The Thinks You Can Think!

"And you don’t have to stop.

You can think about SCHLOPP.

Schlopp. Schlopp. Beautiful schlopp.

Beautiful schlopp

with a cherry on top".

Lance Cpl. Andrew D. Thorburn, Wikimedia Commons

Jogg-Oons

Real or Seuss?

Mate Airman Juan Antoine King, Wikimedia Commons

Seuss: On Beyond Zebra

"And JOGG is my letter for spelling Jogg-oons

Who doodle around in the far desert dunes

Just doodle around, crooning very sad tunes

About peppermint, peanuts and pebbles and prunes".

Scott Olson, Getty Images

Tartle

Real or Seuss?

Larry Bessel, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Real

It's a Scottish term meaning "the act of hesitating while introducing someone because you've forgotten their name".

PeopleImages.com - Yuri A, Shutterstock

Tittle

Real or Seuss?

Al Ravenna, World Telegram staff photographer, Wikimedia Commons

Real

It's a small mark that is written or printed above or below a letter, or is attached to it. For example, the dot on a lowercase letter "i" or "j".

Ron Lach, Pexels

Kweet

Real or Seuss?

Wirestock Creators, Shutterstock

Seuss: Scrambled Eggs Super!

"I went for the kind that were mellow and sweet. 

And the world’s sweetest eggs are the eggs of the Kweet. 

Which is due to those very sweet trout which they eat".

Airman 1st Class Alexis Siekert, Wikimedia Commons

Quimney

Real or Seuss?

spatuletail, Shutterstock

Seuss: There’s A Wocket In My Pocket

"And that Quimney

up the CHIMNEY

I don’t like him,

not at all".

U.S. Navy photo, Wikimedia Commons

Fartlek

Real or Seuss?

Steve James, Flickr

Real

It refers to a system of endurance training in which a runner alternates periods of sprinting with periods of jogging.

Tembela Bohle, Pexels

Squitsch

Real or Seuss?

Airman 1st Class Tom Brading, Wikimedia Commons

Seuss: If I Ran A Zoo

"Which  they  grabbed  with  a  tool  ’which  is  known  as  a  Squitsch 

'Cause  those  eggs  are  too  cold  to  be  touched  without  which".

Bureau of Land Management, Wikimedia Commons

Nerd

Real or Seuss?

Pavel Danilyuk, Pexels

Both

Okay, this was a bit of a trick question because while the tern "nerd" is obviously a real word today, that wasn't the case back in 1950 when Dr Seuss wrote the first ever documented appearance of the word in in his book, If I Ran A Zoo:

"And then, just to show them, I’ll sail to Ka­troo 

And bring back an It­Kutch, a Preep and a Proo, 

A Nerkle, a Nerd and a Seersucker too". 

Lance Cpl. Cory D. Polom, Wikimedia Commons