thebajarunner - 8-8-2025 at 07:28 AM
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg
boojum
PRONUNCIATION:
(BOO-juhm)
MEANING:
noun: An imaginary or elusive goal whose pursuit may lead to ruin.
ETYMOLOGY:
After an imaginary animal in Lewis Carroll’s poem “The Hunting of the Snark”. In the poem, the Boojum is a particularly dangerous type of Snark,
whose sudden appearance causes the hunter to “softly and suddenly vanish away”. Earliest documented use: 1876.
USAGE:
“Wheeler would find a new boojum to hunt, and be hunted by.”
Harry Blank; The Breach Goes On: Deadlined Hub; 2024.