"Snickersnee?"

[fearn]

Weeellll...that's where I came from too. Ahh, misspent youth!

But notice what the vorpal sword "actually" does:

"One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."

Without Gary Gygax to interpret for us, it sure looks like the our hero is using the vorpal blade like a rapier or cut-and-thrust sword: he could easily have dealt the jabberwock four stabs. THEN he cuts off the jabberwock's head, but it doesn't even say what he did it with. For all we know, the dude used his pigsticker to decapitate the jabberwock.

But ever since Gygax (and probably before), the vorpal sword has been a beheading sword. Gotta read the original source.

Anyway, that's when I got curious about what a snickersnee was, if it ever existed.

Best,

F