Flibbertigibbet. Flipper? Flubber? Chicken giblets? Flibbets from Banjo Kazooie? We may find it a funny sounding word now, but Shakespeare thought it deft enough for the play King Lear.
The History of King Lear. Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Jim62sch
Act 4, Scene 1
“I know it like the back of my hand, every step of the way. Poor Tom has been scared out of his mind. Bless you, good man, and stay away from the devil. Five devils haunted Poor Tom at the same time: Obidicut, the devil of lust; Hobbididence, the devil of mutes; Mahu, the devil of stealing; Modo, the devil of murder; and Flibbertigibbet, the devil of mockery, who causes chambermaids to make silly faces. Bless you, master.”
Say it with me: Flibbertigibbet \fli-bər-tē-ˈji-bət\ noun. A silly, flighty person.
Have you heard about the new movie Anonymous that recently came out on October 28? Anonymous is a political thriller and costume drama that explores the Prince Tudor theory that Shakespeare was not the author of his work.
