Ushuaia
01-04-2009, 05:50 PM
Hello. This is not a literary comment but a language inquiry (I did read the forum rules, it seemed ok to post this here...)
The word "dod" appears several times in this play, and I canīt for the life of me figure out what it means.
First passage (obviously a word-play): "Mr. Icky ... is pottering and doddering among the pots and dods."
Second passage: "There is no sound except an occasional cackle or hiss from the dods as they quarrel among themselves."
Third passage: "Several more of Mr. Icky's children ... trip over the pots and dods."
Fourth passage: "He [Mr. Icky] finds a Bible lying in one of the dods and opening it at random begins to read."
Fifth and last passage (where Mr. Icky talks about not finding a suitable passage in the Bible for his teaching purposes because its being damp): "There was water in the dod. It won't work."
What's this thing which quarrels, can be tread upon and has water inside? Or is it just a nonce-word?
Thank you very much in advance!
The word "dod" appears several times in this play, and I canīt for the life of me figure out what it means.
First passage (obviously a word-play): "Mr. Icky ... is pottering and doddering among the pots and dods."
Second passage: "There is no sound except an occasional cackle or hiss from the dods as they quarrel among themselves."
Third passage: "Several more of Mr. Icky's children ... trip over the pots and dods."
Fourth passage: "He [Mr. Icky] finds a Bible lying in one of the dods and opening it at random begins to read."
Fifth and last passage (where Mr. Icky talks about not finding a suitable passage in the Bible for his teaching purposes because its being damp): "There was water in the dod. It won't work."
What's this thing which quarrels, can be tread upon and has water inside? Or is it just a nonce-word?
Thank you very much in advance!