Beware the Jub Jub Bird

Lewis Carroll's famous poem, Jabberwocky, is a conundrum and the language, though confusing, is perfectly reasonable when you listen to his strange explanations.

When he warns us to "shun the frumious Bandersnatch" he doesn't indicate what sort of animal that is – but he does explain that "frumious" is the word you get when you try to say fuming and furious at exactly the same time without giving emphasis to either.

And so to square dancing.

I was at a dance recently when the caller was distracted at a critical moment. She called, "Shoot the star and slip the clutch." Some of us shot the star, some of us slipped the clutch, and some of us just wondered whether this was a new movement and, if so, was it "slip the star" or "shoot the clutch"?

It could work. If the boys shot the star and the girls slipped the clutch simultaneously it would be like fan the top from a two-faced line and would lead smoothly into a roll promenade with your corner. Maybe it wasn't a mistake.

Perhaps we now have a new higher level coming in above A1, A2 and Challenge. We can dance "D" level. That's D for Dozy!

Look at the possibilities.

"Everybody zum!" That's a U-turn back combined with a zoom and it's like getting a piece of blank paper with " PTO" written on both sides. You would run around in ever-diminishing circles till the music stopped. (Or until, like the dodo bird, you just disappeared.) It would be great for the caller who could then find time to pop out for a cuppa during the confusion.

Then there's "Heads sweep around". Called during a promenade the heads wheel around and sweep a quarter. It leaves them facing out doing a fast crab walk so that the sides don't tromp on them as they keep promenading.

How about "Hinge back." In-facing dancers do a scoot back and hinge leaving them in a mini-wave in the middle while their partners can chat with each other along the line.

Of course, all this isn't really new.

I remember back in the 'fifties doing a movement called "Wash the Clothes." It was like simultaneously doing a California Twirl and a Star Thru.

I went gee when I should have gone haw and my partner and I ended up sitting on the floor. I apologised and bought her a milk shake.

She said her name was Daizy and she's still here.

I guess combining moves isn't all bad after all.