Vocabulary for
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Part Three
The Last Quest of Gilgamesh
with Sniffy the Hamster, resident wordsmith
Printable Version (opens in new window).
Sniffy Says: "You may not know this but I'm a quester. I like to go on quests, to search for things, to seek out new places or new knowledge—to boldly go where no hamster has gone before! Sometimes, unfortunately, my quests get me in trouble. Last week I went on a quest to the back arbor to see what was there. I ventured across Mr. Draeger's vast backyard and then I scurried up the wisteria vines—they were thick— and when I reached the top of the arbor I came face to face with a rat—now this rat looked at me with furious eyes—and he was bigger than me and without warning he grabbed my stubby tail and tossed me off the arbor. You probably heard my screams. Luckily I had my hamster double-o-seven parachute on (this comes in handy when you're on quests) and landed softly in grass—beside a snake! I bolted under the garden fence, across the patio into the house and back to my cage. That was enough questing for me."
Sniffy Says: "You may not believe me, but I am one of the immortals, one of the gods to be exact. The great thing about being an immortal is that you get to have immortality—you don't have to die. You see my real name is not Sniffy, but Sneezeus (it rhymes with Zeus, one of the Greek gods). You may think that gods like Ishtar and Enlil don't need pets, but they do, however a god can't have a mortal pet so they have pets that are gods too. Unfortunately gods, even though they live forever, have short tempers, particularly Ishtar (as you know). When she caught me building a nest in her silk curtains she banished me to Mr. Draeger's house and this cage. At least I'll live forever—assuming the dog doesn't get me."
Sniffy Says: "Should I talk now? Okay. Ahhhh, hi. Actually, I'm not Sniffy. Sniffy defiantly told Mr. Draeger he didn't want to do this word—said he needed a vacation—told Mr. Draeger that he works him too hard. My name's Bouncy, I live in the next cage. I'm a hamster too. Anyway, Sniffy can be very defiant. He doesn't like to be told what to do. Once I saw him stand on his back legs, raise and shake his front paw at Mr. Draeger and say, 'I refuse to run in that wheel. Run, run, run, run and I never get anywhere. That's it!' I think he likes to defy Mr. Draeger just for the fun of it, but he better watch out because he's just a little too bold sometimes. That's probably why I live in the best cage—I'm just a nicer hamster than Sniffy—no offense intended."
Sniffy Says: "Ahhh, paradise. You know what that is? It's a big, soft pile of cotton balls, lots of tunnels with beautiful plants, a nice hamster swimming pool heated to a comfortable 84 degrees and lots of food: sunflower seeds, carrots, pecans, walnuts and plenty of good water to drink from a beautiful waterfall. That would be utopia, heaven on earth, perfect bliss and happiness. Instead, however, I live in a wire cage and I have to drink my water from steel tube. I'm calling the President!"
On-Line Dictionaries
The Free Dictionary: This is now my favorite on-line dictionary (the box above links to this dictionary). Not only does it provide you with audios to pronounce the word, but it also gives you examples of the word used in context. They also have a "References in classic literature" section which provides entire sentences from classic literature in which the word is used. Also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedia and more.
Answers.com: This is not just a dictionary, but it has a dictionary and the reason I list it is because the dictionary has an audio pronunciation feature which is very helpful when one comes across words that are difficult to pronounce or have never been seen before. Access is free.
The Dictionary of Difficult Words: Good resource for those words that your dictionary doesn't have or that other on-line dictionaries do not have.
A Latin Dictionary: This is great resource for Latin. There is even a downloadable version for your computer that will do both Latin/English and English/Latin.
Dictionary.com Free Access. You can purchase additional features.
Merriam-Webster Free Access.
WordSmyth A children's dictionary is also available. This dictionary requires registration. Free Access.
Oxford English Dictionary The best English dictionary in the world! This dictionary requires paid subscription. $29.95 per month or $295.00 per year.
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