Cover of The Technicolor Time Machine, Harry Harrison
New English Library Edition, 1970
The Painting is by the Great Bruce Pennington (See his Website), taking a break from his more serious work to produce this wonderfully fun, witty, energetic piece which portrays fictional actress Slithey Tove. Now is that pronounced Sly-thee or Sli-thee? Only Harry Harrison can possibly tell us.
It hangs on my wall and gives me a disturbing level of glee.
UPDATE:
It turns out the name Slithy Tove is derived from the poem The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll and he actually gives some guidance on pronunciation:
[Let] me take this opportunity of answering a question that has often been asked me, how to pronounce "slithy toves." The "i" in "slithy" is long, as in "writhe"; and "toves" is pronounced so as to rhyme with "groves." Again, the first "o" in "borogoves" is pronounced like the "o" in "borrow." I have heard people try to give it the sound of the "o" in "worry." Such is Human Perversity.
Also, in an author's note (dated Christmas 1896) about Through the Looking-Glass, Carroll wrote:
The new words, in the poem "Jabberwocky", have given rise to some differences of opinion as to their pronunciation: so it may be well to give instructions on that point also. Pronounce "slithy" as if it were the two words, "sly, thee": make the "g" hard in "gyre" and "gimble": and pronounce "rath" to rhyme with "bath."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky
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