Cragfast
Stuck?  In a tight corner? No going forward … or back? Call yourself Cragfast. A sheep cornered on a crag, to starve in the absence of rescue. It happens to people too, hope never to me or you. In Arthur Ransome’s Winter Holiday an intrepid boy edges...
Gummocks
This glorious word being no longer current, I invite you to revive it the next time someone does something daft or useless. Perhaps combine it alliteratively with ‘galoot’. ‘Fair couple of gummocks, I’d call you,’ said Mrs Dixon. ...
Trim, trig and tickety-boo
Came across the upright word ‘trig’ in another of Arthur Ransome’s charming children’s adventure stories, Winter Holiday, which I read on suitably cold, blustery nights. It seems the word is used only in Scotland or in northern English dialect...
Mutton-headed galoots
Arthur Ransome’s characters have some out of date but still appealing ways to describe their own, or others’, stupidity. I had never heard ‘galoot’ before reading his children’s books, and quite like the combination with...
Leadership as multi-tasking
You get to steer the ship because you can handle multiple tasks at once. Here, John demonstrates his leadership skills: tiller in one hand, pork pie in the other, and lemonade secure between his knees. A CEO in the making, or at least an Admiral.The Arthur Ransome...
A waste of an island
Wonderful notion this, from one of the best of Ransome’s enchanting children’s books. Of course if you land on an island, you should light a fire, or what good is the landing?’They had landed on the island near which they were anchored. They had...
Catspaw
Seems to be a type of wind, quite distinct from the more common term of ‘cat’s paw’ which refers to someone used to do someone else’s dirty work.  In Arthur Ransome, however, I found: ‘There was very little wind, though now and again a catspaw hurrying from the south...
Roger
‘A Roger is the Norfolk name for a sudden squall which makes a loud hissing noise as it comes sweeping over the reeds.’ Source: Arthur Ransome, Coot Club (London: Jonathan Cape, 2009 (1934)), p....
A blank map
‘You’ll start with a blank map, that doesn’t do more than show roughly what’s water and what isn’t.’What a metaphor!  Doesn’t that describe so many of the journeys we begin?  The book even includes a black ink sketched version of this rudimentary map, allowing you to...
Publishers, monkeys, monkeys, publishers
I love the way Captain Flint sees his mission to find a monkey for the children as a refreshing change from tramping around London looking for a publisher for his book. That line: ‘I’ll go and look at monkeys by way of a change from...
Arthur Ransome – cover illustrations
If you’ve been following WritingRedux, you may have noticed a number of pawky playful gems from Arthur Ransome’s children’s books. By now I’ve read four of the many he wrote, giving me enough material to write a review and to share dozens of...
Sea-boot rough
Winter sea hoarseness and tight-swallowing soreness.‘My throat’s as rough as the inside of a sea-boot.’For more of a taster of these timeless classics, see our review here, or simply enjoy some splendid cover illustrations for the books. Source: Arthur Ransome, Secret...
