Categories

Rare & Collectible Books at AbeBooks.com
ADVERTISEMENT
smiling women posing together

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
brown t rex statue

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
    Please install/update and activate JNews Instagram plugin.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Advertise
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
Friday, July 11, 2025
  • Login
A Book Geek
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
    • About
  • Book Club
  • Holidays
  • Quotes & Sayings
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • About
  • Book Club
  • Holidays
  • Quotes & Sayings
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
A Book Geek
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT
Home Book News Controversy

The Case of the Tweedledee Insult

Esther Lombardi by Esther Lombardi
06/24/2023
in Book News, Controversy, Fun
Reading Time: 2 mins read
396 25
A A
0
The Case of the Tweedledee Insult

Just when you may have thought that J.K. Rowling couldn’t get any more epic in her literary insults, she channels Lewis Carroll (pseudonym for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) with her most recent response to President Trumps nonsensible tweet:

‘Contrariwise,’ continued Tweedledee, ‘if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.’

Lewis Carroll, ‘Through the Looking Glass’ pic.twitter.com/EedPNjjn7r

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 31, 2018

It’s not the first time that Rowling has tweeted a tauntingly insulting tweet in response to a Trump post, and it probably won’t be the last. This most recent Tweedledee tweet may become one of our favorites, though. Just look at what she’s saying.

RelatedPosts

Book Tariffs Impact: What You Should Know

The Doomsday Clock: A Literary Journey Through Time’s Most Ominous Timepiece

Blazing Pages: The Fiery Legacy of Wildfires in Literature

The Origins of Tweedledee & Tweedledum

In Lewis Carroll’s books (and in all the many adaptations) Tweedledee is an obnoxious, nonsensical figure, even childish. The other half of the pair is Tweedledum, and they appear in Through the Looking Glass as the nursery rhyme from 1805 rings through Alice’s head “like the ticking of a clock”:

“Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Agreed to have a battle;
For Tweedledum said Tweedledee
Had spoiled his nice new rattle.
Just then flew down a monstrous crow,
As black as a tar-barrel;
Which frightened both the heroes so,
They quite forgot their quarrel.”

Of course, the origin of the names date back to John Byrom’s 18th century epigram, which references the rivalry between George Frideric Handel and Giovanni Bononcini:

“Some say, compar’d to Bononcini
That Mynheer Handel’s but a Ninny
Others aver, that he to Handel
Is scarcely fit to hold a Candle
Strange all this Difference should be
‘Twixt Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee!”

Adaptations and illustrators have taken the images of Tweedledee and Tweedledum in all sorts of interesting directions. Sir John Tenniel (illustrator) saw them as twins, and Martin Gardner saw them as enantiomorphs — three-dimensional mirror images.

Comparative Insults We See

Of course, some of the greatest writes in literature have used the names: Tweedledee and Tweedledum. James Joyce used the names to reference the rivalry between Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung.

Then, in political realms, Helen Keller once said, “Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed, autocrats. We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee.” Then, of course, Ralph Nader called George W. Bush and Al Gore by the names Tweedledum and Tweedledee in the 2000 US Presidential election.

Ah, the stories go on and on. It’s pretty clear, though, that Rowling has just made one of the most memorable Tweedledee insults yet… and we’ll follow her through the lookingglass wherever her words will take us.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Tags: controversy
Share152Tweet95
Esther Lombardi

Esther Lombardi

Esther A. Lombardi is a freelance writer and journalist with more than two decades of experience writing for an array of publications, online and offline. She also has a master's degree in English Literature with a background in Web Technology and Journalism. 

Related Posts

Book Tariffs
Book News

Book Tariffs Impact: What You Should Know

04/11/2025
4k
The Doomsday Clock: A Literary Journey Through Time’s Most Ominous Timepiece
Apocalyptic

The Doomsday Clock: A Literary Journey Through Time’s Most Ominous Timepiece

01/29/2025
4k
Blazing Pages: The Fiery Legacy of Wildfires in Literature
Disaster

Blazing Pages: The Fiery Legacy of Wildfires in Literature

01/09/2025
4k
The Literary Phenomenon of 2024: Unveiling the Unputdownable Bestsellers of the Year
Banned Books

The Literary Phenomenon of 2024: Unveiling the Unputdownable Bestsellers of the Year

12/08/2024
4k
Sinterklaas
Controversy

Sinterklaas Day: Celebrating the Origins, Literature, and Impact on Modern Society

12/05/2024
4k
When Fact Meets Fiction: The Siberian Asteroid and Cosmic Literature
Controversy

When Fact Meets Fiction: The Siberian Asteroid and Cosmic Literature

12/03/2024
4k
Load More

Book News

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
greek mythology

The Impact of Greek Mythology on Modern Culture

11/16/2024
Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson: Examining the Influences and Impact of Her Revolutionary Poetry

05/16/2024
Memorial Day

Never Forgotten: 7 Memorial Day Quotes

05/26/2024
Night

Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’ – Lines of Remembrance

02/24/2024
Practicing Gratitude Quotes

Practicing Gratitude Quotes

39
The Secret Garden of Writing

‘The Secret Garden’ of Writing

29
Little House - Laura Ingalls Wilder

‘Little House’ – Writing the Story of Our Lives

23
Fall Musings

Fall Findings & Autumn Musings #LifeLessons #Quotes

18
smiling women posing together

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
brown t rex statue

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

07/04/2025
gray station wagon parked beside the tree during nighttime

Celebrate Independence Day with Travel Adventures!

07/03/2025
ADVERTISEMENT
AbeBooks.com. Thousands of booksellers - millions of books.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
A Book Geek

What’s Happening?

July 2025
S M T W T F S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Jun    


Recent News

smiling women posing together

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
brown t rex statue

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

What is July? Meaning, Controversies, History, and Impact on Modern Society

07/04/2025


Books A Million Logo

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

AbeBooks. Thousands of booksellers - millions of books.


© 2024 A Book Geek. All rights reserved. The content on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit written permission from A Book Geek. By using this site, you agree with our terms of use. Powered by the passion for literature.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

You cannot copy content of this page

Categories

Rare & Collectible Books at AbeBooks.com
ADVERTISEMENT
smiling women posing together

Unlocking Joy and Success: The Philosophy Behind ‘Fun at Work’

07/08/2025
brown t rex statue

The Enduring Legacy of ‘Jurassic Park’: A Deep Dive into Michael Crichton’s Masterpiece

07/05/2025
    Please install/update and activate JNews Instagram plugin.
No Result
View All Result
  • A Book Geek
  • About
    • Education
    • Summary
    • Experience – Esther Lombardi
  • Advertise with Us
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Book Club
  • Christmas
  • Contact Us
  • Featured
  • Home
  • Media Kit for ABookGeek
  • New Year
  • Privacy Policy
  • Quotes & Sayings
  • Terms of Service

© 2024 A Book Geek. All rights reserved. The content on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, or used without explicit written permission from A Book Geek. By using this site, you agree with our terms of use. Powered by the passion for literature.

Discover more from A Book Geek

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d
      Verified by MonsterInsights