Vocabulary
dejectedly, deject
depressed in spirits; disheartened; low-spirited
A boy bored with life until a mysterious package containing a magical tollbooth thrusts him into a strange land.
Milo
"An open space" in which people were "[picking] their words very carefully".
Word Market
What is the meaning of the phrase "rhyme or reason"?
The phrase means common sense or logic. Without rhyme or reason, things do not make sense.
What year was Minecraft made?
2017
dawdle
to move slowly, languidly, or dilatorily; saunter.
This character sounds an alarm when people waste time or when anything upsetting or dangerous occurs.
Tock
A gray, featureless land where thought and laughter are forbidden and nothing ever gets accomplished beyond a great deal of yawning and napping.
Doldrums
“‘I never knew words could be so confusing,’ Milo said to Tock as he bent down to scratch the dog’s ear. ‘Only when you use a lot to say a little,’ answered Tock.”
Why might this be the "wisest thing [Milo] had heard all day"? How should words be used instead?
Dictionopolis grows and sells letters for placement in words; the city fathers don’t much care if they’re used sensibly as long as they’re used. Milo hears officials speak eloquently in phrases that make little sense, and Tock comments that the realm’s top officers have a knack for using a lot of words to say nothing. This could lead to confusion.
Which metal is found the most at the center of the Earth?
Iron
short shrift
Rapid and unsympathetic dismissal; curt treatment.
Small, humanoid occupants of the Doldrums.
Lethargarians
"A place you must always go to before you get to where you're going".
Expectations
“Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens.”
What does this mean? Are these wise words?
The Whether Man is the first person Milo meets on his strange journey. This man is completely unwilling to make up his mind; instead, to be safe, he predicts that anything might occur. Technically, this is true, but it’s useless. It’s the first of many things Milo will hear that sound wise but lack rhyme or reason.
How many episodes of One Piece are there?
1,167 episodes
disrepute
low regard; disfavor
This character's job was to decide which words should be used by the populace; they became so enthusiastic about their work that they ended up discouraging all speech.
Faintly Macabre, the not-so-wicked Which
A happy kingdom, advantageously located in the Foothills of Confusion and caressed by gentle breezes from the Sea of Knowledge. A place where all the words in the world come from, grown in orchards.
Dictionopolis
“So many things are possible just as long as you don't know they're impossible.”
This quote emphasizes the power of imagination and the importance of believing in possibilities.
During a football game, how many players can a team have on the field at one time?
11 players
macabre
pronouced "muh-kah-bruh"
gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.
of, pertaining to, dealing with, or representing death, especially its grimmer or uglier aspect.
A large, well-dressed character who befriends Milo and Tock. He’s a blowhard who makes up heroic stories about himself. Also, “trying to be in agreement with everybody”, he sympathizes with whatever anyone says in a conversation.
The Humbug
A place where Milo wasn't sure what they were "going to do for all that time", especially without "a checker set or a box of crayons".
Prison, the dungeon
What does the Humbug mean when he says, "A slavish concern for the composition of words is the sign of a bankrupt intellect"?
How is this ironic?
The Humbug believes spelling is unimportant.
Ironically, he uses many large words to make his ignorant statement. "Humbug" means imposter or someone pretending to be more than he is.
Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
Michelangelo
doldrums
a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or slump
One of the book’s main antagonists and "the largest man Milo had ever seen, with a great stomach, large piercing eyes, a gray beard that reached to his waist, and a silver signet ring on the little finger of his left hand".
King Azaz the Unabridged
Milo received a package to be "easily assembled at home, and for use by those who have never traveled" here.
Lands Beyond
“[T]oday people use as many words as they can and think themselves very wise for doing so. For always remember that while it is wrong to use too few, it is often far worse to use too many.”
The Official Which, elderly great-aunt to King Azaz, tried to limit the use of words until the city’s residents stopped talking, which brought ruin. Now imprisoned, she accepts that people need to talk, but she also recognizes that sometimes they say too much. Hers is a lesson in traveling the middle path between too much and too little.
What was the latest Fortnite season released?
Simpsons Crossover Season