I think I was a little disappointed with Roald Dahl's The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets. Maybe I just like his short stories for adults better than his short stories for chilldren. "Lamb to the Slaughter", of Barbara Bel Gettes fame, comes immediately to mind. I did, however, find a couple things to be noted.
Thing:
1) In the days proceeding chocolate: "Consequently, in those days we small boys and girls were much more inclined to spend our money either on sweets and toffees and on some of them of the very cheap and fairly disgusting things … sherbet-suckers and gobstoppers and licorice bootlaces and anise seed balls, and we did not mind the licorice was made from a rat's breath and the sherbet from sawdust. They were cheap and to us they tasted good. So on the whole, we made do with eating sweets and toffees and junk instead of chocolate." (page 71) Poor substitutes indeed.
Word:
1) Conker. "I have also loved this month (September). As a schoolboy I loved it because it is the Month of the Conker. (page 86) Www.dictionary.com: "noun British Informal . 1. a horse chestnut. 2. the hollowed-out shell of a horse chestnut. 3. conkers, a game in which a child swings a horse chestnut on a string in an attempt to break that of another player." Surprise. I figured it was like a helmet worn in soccer or football.
Overall: Now I know what to look for, I'll be more careful in selecting Roald Dahl's short stories.
Last edited by humphreysmar; 06/18/11 04:34 PM.
