Member-only story
Alicorn, Unicorn, and Pegasus.
Know the difference.
“It’s not a unicorn Grandma! It’s an alicorn”.
My five year old granddaughter’s voice had an edge of exasperation and superiority as she said that in response to my comment about the plastic horned figurine she was playing with.
“Oh! Really! And what’s an alicorn?” I like to think I have a good vocabularly and was surprised I had never heard the word before, and frankly doubted its existence.
She went on to explain in the tone of voice I might have used when talking to a small child like her who didn’t get the point.
“An alicorn is a flying unicorn. It’s what happens when a unicorn and a pegasus get together. So it’s like a unicorn but it has wings. Or like a pegasus but with a unicorn horn” . There — the plain facts!
Although delivered clearly and with authority, I was unsure if this information was in fact true. and not just made up by a little girl who loves mystical creatures.
As soon as I had the chance I opened my copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary….alack followed by alacrity…..no alacorn; and Alice (as in Wonderland) followed by alicyclic …. no alicorn. But, I thought it’s an old edition of the dictionary and just maybe it’s a new word.
