The OED entry has the following to offer on this usage:

    10. In senses 8 and 9, with imitative interjections or verb-stems used adverbially, e.g. to go bang, clatter, cluck, crack, crash, patter, smash, snap, tang, whirr, etc.
 
  1791 COWPER Retired Cat 79 His noble heart went pit-a-pat. 1812 H. & J. SMITH Rej. Addr., Theatre 25 Tang goes the harpsichord. 1818 MOORE Fudge Fam. Paris viii. 2 My stays..I knew would go smash with me one of these days. 1887 BARING-GOULD Gaverocks II. xxxiv. 200 Clatter, clatter, went the horses' hoofs. 1889 MRS. E. KENNARD Landing a Prize II. xii. 211 Something seemed to go snap within me. Ibid. III. ii. 30 Whirr went the reel. 1890 M. W. HUNGERFORD Life's Remorse III. xi. 127 Patter, patter, goes the rain. 1891 Daily News 24 Oct. 5/3 A tyre..that will [not] go pop all of a sudden. 1892 Sat. Rev. 2 July 10/2 Crack went the mast.

Senses 8 and 9 have to do with uses like "The clock went twelve", "The bell went", "The cow went moo."  

Interestingly, the usage doesn't predate Carroll by all that much, as word histories go.

Herb



 
Eighth Grade Teacher,

Perhaps rewording the phrases so as to use more customary words would help.

1) The vorpal blade when [sic.] snicker-snack
1') The sharp blade went swish-swish

"Swish" is a noun denoting a prolonged hissing sound, as of a whip cutting the
air.  This would imply that "snicker-snack" is a noun describing some sound
caused by the action of the blade.

2) and with its head/he went galumphing back
2') and with its head/ he went trotting back

"Trot" is a verb, here used in the form of a present participle, to describe
his action.  This would imply that "galumphing" is a present participle
describing his action.

I don't think the problem is with the words themselves.  I think the problem
is
with how to analyze the various parts of the sentence in the first place.  The
dictionary could help.  In both cases we are working with the syntax of "go."
In
the first case it is a verb of very general significance.  We have discussed
this verb before in the meaning of a auxiliary as in "go and make a mistake."
(Without explaining anything this is sometimes called hendiadys.  Perhaps it
helps to have a name for specific syntactic structure, though.)  I cannot find
this first meaning in the dictionary, though it may be closest to "say" used
with oral speech.  In this sense we would make it a transitive verb making the
sound of the blade its object.  But I am inclined to make the noun adverbial
so
that its sense is closer to the "read" meaning of the intransitive verb. In
the
second example the verb "go" seems to be closer to its central meaning: to
move
on a course.  The participle often structures with the main verb to describe
the
subject as "in a certain state or condition."  We are much more accustomed to
his structure.

I hope this helps.

Bruce

>>> [log in to unmask] 10/20/2004 6:16:54 AM >>>

Greetings all!

8th grade teacher of writing (which includes grammar and vocab.) in the
Augusta
(suburbs), Georgia area.  Been reviewing parts of speech with my students, and
this past week, chose the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll as a review of
their skills.  Overall, the students really did a great job deciphering which
words are which parts of speech, but I personally was at a loss for a few
words,
and what part of speech they may be.  I'm come here for some help...

There is a line in the poem ..."and through and through/ The vorpal blade when
snicker-snack"

My first question is the use of the words snicker-snack.  Obvious to the
students, it's an example of onomatopoeia, but not so clear to me is how a
word
of this type is 'labeled.'  Is it an adjective describing the sword?  Is it an
adverb describing how the blade 'went?"  Just not sure.

The other word that gave us some fits is in the line ..."he struck it dead,
and
with its head/he went galumphing back"

The word in question 'galumphing' is, once again, in a position after the
verb.
 I have a tendency to think that the word galumping is being used as a gerund
(as a noun), and therefore, would be in a position of direct object.
Thoughts?

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