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Torrible

Noun
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A strange, invented-sounding place name in the poem "The Battle of Blenheim"; it may suggest a grotesque or otherworldly setting, adding a folkloric or whimsical tone, and highlighting the poem's ironic stance on war.

Detailed Definition
Torrible is used as one of Lear’s whimsical place names, alongside other fantastical locations. It does not refer to a common real-world place, so readers may need help identifying it as part of the poem’s nonsense geography.
Example
Example in poetry:
“For they’ve been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone” uses “Torrible” as a comic, exaggerated place-name; The strange capitalized noun makes tourism sound mock-heroic; “Torrible Zone” suggests a fanciful region of danger or discomfort; Nonsense geography can satirize travel clichés and adult seriousness
Additional Notes
The quoted phrase contains an unusual place name that is not standard modern vocabulary.; Found in the poem, The Jumblies by Edward Lear
Also Known As
terrible dreadful horrible atrocious
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