Baby Talk Dictionary

“	Sunny was at an age where one mostly speaks in a series of unintelligible shrieks. Except when she used the few actual words in her vocabulary, like "bottle," "mommy,' and "bite," most people had trouble understanding what it was that Sunny was saying.	”
	— The Bad Beginning, Chapter One

Below is a compilation of the words spoken by Sunny Baudelaire (and, in few instances, Beatrice Baudelaire II^[1]) in baby-language, as well as their definitions, sources, and possible allusions. Sunny communicates through these words to compensate for not being old enough to speak in complete sentences.

Canon Dictionary[]

A[]

Abax: form of agreement. (The Austere Academy, Chapter Eleven)
Absurdio: "Philosophers live at the tops of mountains or in ivory towers, not underneath the sea." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Five)
- From "absurd."
Ackroid: "Roger!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Nine)
- From The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie.
Aeginu: "And the assistant that looks like neither a man nor a woman." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Five)
Afficu: "And the only way we'll get into the Library of Records is if we talk to Babs, so it's a risk we have to take." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Four)
Afoop: "No." (The Reptile Room, Chapter Eight)
Agery: "Well, we can't keep on walking forever." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter One)
- Likely a phonetically-spelled "agree."
Aget: "Please stop fighting!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Five)
Agoula: "What for?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eight)
Aguen: "Could you saw through the bars of the cage?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eight)
Aha: "Aha!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Ten)
Aklec: "Let's move out." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Nine)
Akrofil: "And they're not afraid of heights, that's for sure." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Two)
- From "acrophile", lover of heights.
Albico: "And let's solve the mystery of V.F.D. that the Quagmires told us about!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Seven)
Alias: "Maybe she's listed under a different name." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
- Reference to the word "alias."
Amnesi: "You're forgetting something!" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Thirteen)
- From "amnesia."
Anais: "In the flesh." (The End, Chapter Eight)
- Given the translation, this may refer to Anaïs Nin, a writer of erotica.
Andiamo: "I'd be happy to take you there." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Six)
- Italian, "let's go".
- in a similar way, ‘let’s go’.
Archo: "And the stain never really came out." (The Reptile Room, Chapter Three)
Aregg: "What? I can't believe it." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Two)
Arigato: "I appreciate your help, Quigley." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Japanese, "thank you".
Armani: presumably something akin to "I found Jerome's neckties." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Seven)
- Armani is an Italian clothing designer and store.
Aronec: "And we're not getting any closer to learning anything about V.F.D., or Jacques Snicket." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Three)
- Anagram of "cornea"; may allude to the V.F.D. Eye.
Arrete: "STOP?" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter One)
- From French arrête, "stop".
Asklu: "We never would have found her if you hadn't figured out that Olaf was using anagrams." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)
- An anagram of "Klaus".
Aubergine: "I've concocted a plan involving this eggplant, and it doesn't matter if I tell you about it because you never understand a single word I say." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Synonym of "eggplant".
Ayjim: "I love my suit. Thank you very much." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Three)
Azzator: "Don't worry - your secret is safe with us!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Three)

B[]

Babganoush: "I concocted an escape plan with the eggplant that turned out to be even handier than I thought." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Thirteen)
- Baba ghanoush is a dip made of eggplant.
Ballywot: "She's Count Olaf in disguise!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Nine)
Bamboozle: "I'm confused." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Three)
- Synonym of "confused".
Bangemp: "If it weren't for the Quagmires, we would have been in his clutches a long time ago." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Seven)
Bark: "If you're up there, Quagmires, just hang on, and we'll get you out first thing in the morning." (The Vile Village, Chapter Four)
- Reference to "barking up the wrong tree". Snicket refers to this explicitly in the text.
Batex: "But we're not laying eyes on one another!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Four)
Bax: "I'm nervous about meeting a new relative." (The Reptile Room, Chapter One)
Beans: "Count Olaf is spouting pure nonsense." (The End, Chapter One)
Becer: form of agreement (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Six)
Beriu: "What about me?" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
Bero: "Are you crazy?" (The Wide Window, Chapter Eleven)
Bicuspid: "Should I drag my teeth against the ice, too?" (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Thirteen)
- Rather than bicuspid teeth, which babies don't have, this may be a reference to her two (bi-) fang-like canines, also known as cuspids.
Bikayado: "What new evil plan have you cooked up to steal our fortune?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Four)
Bildungsroman: "Since that moment, our story has been a long, dreadul education in the wicked ways of the world and the mysterious secrets hidden in all of its corners." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Eleven)
- Reference to the Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age, genre.
Bishuy: "Or maybe he is in one of the other apartments, and we just didn't hear him." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Blake: "And the poem is written in Isadora's distinct literary style!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Four)
- Possibly a reference to the poet William Blake.
Blized: "It's nothing." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Bloni: form of agreement (The Austere Academy, Chapter Three)
Bluh: "Please continue, Klaus." (The Wide Window, Chapter Eight)
Blusin: "We don't have much choice." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Two)
Boiklio: "Do you think you could make some more welding torches, to melt the bars? You made some excellent ones when we lived with the Squalors." (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
Book: 1. "Please don't forget to pick out a picture book for me." (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Three) 2. "Would somebody please wipe my face?" (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Six)
Boswell: "Your life doesn't interest me." (The End, Chapter Seven)
- James Boswell was an 18th-century biographer, and "Boswell" can be used generically to refer to a biographer.
Bram: "And our last name is Baudelaire." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Three)
- Likely for Bram Stoker, who wrote The Lair of the White Worm.
Brewol: "And I'll go back to sleep." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Eleven)
Brioche: "And bread!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
- A type of light sweet pastry or bun of French origin.
Brummel: "In my opinion, you desperately need a bath, and your clothing is in shambles." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
- From the context (with "Busheney"), this may be a portmanteau of two political figures?
Burb: "Anywhere, as long as it's out of town." (The Vile Village, Chapter Thirteen)
- Short for "suburb", an area outside of a city.
Busheney: "You're an evil man with no concern whatsoever for other people." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
- A combination of the surnames of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, the controversial 43rd president and 46th vice president of the United States, who were in power at the time the book was published.

C[]

Calten: "I wouldn't return there for all the tea in China!" (The Vile Village, Chapter One)
Carmelita: "You're making a monstrous decision!" (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Thirteen)
- Refers to the character Carmelita Spats, who is notorious for making monstrous decisions
Casca: "That's not very reassuring." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter One)
Ceju: "We have to find out." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Thirteen)
Ceyune: "We've been wandering around the hospital all morning, and we're no closer to rescuing our sister." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
Chabo: "I know this is humiliating, but at least our disguises are working!" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Three)
- A reference to her disguise, as Chabo the Wolf Baby
  - Regional German slang term for a male, borrowed from the Romani word "Chavo," meaning "boy."^[2] Its Romani origin is likely the reason it was chosen as Sunny's false name, as the Romani culture is often stereotyped with fortunetellers, mystics, and traveling carnivals.
Chekrio: unknown. (The End, Chapter Fourteen)
Chelish: "I'm too big to fit inside a shoe." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
Chesro: "But if she's a fake, how did she know that one of our parents was alive?" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Six)
Chift: unknown, possibly words of comfort. (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
Chithvee: "But I can't help thinking about our parents." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Five)
Chittol: "That's true. We should stop complaining and go change into our new outfits." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Three)
Choin: "That seems a little drastic, even for Count Olaf." (The Wide Window, Chapter Four)
Chonex: "Then we're all alone." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter One)
Chorn: "And his voice sounds nothing like Count Olaf's." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Five)
Chow: "Before we're thrown to the lions!" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Five)
- Slang term for food.
Chuni: "Let's go to the kitchen and get it!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Six)
Cigarn: "Look at this note!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Two)
Cind: form of agreement (The Wide Window, Chapter Ten)
Cinderella: "I've had to do all of the chores, while being humiliated at every turn." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- An obvious reference to the fairytale of Cinderella.
Co: "Or maybe Gunther managed to trick one of the other residents of 667 Dark Avenue into letting him into their apartment, and then he tied them up and is sitting there hiding in the kitchen." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Coastkleer: "It's safe to come out now." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Phonetic spelling of "Coast clear."
Coik: "Thinking about all this is making me dizzy!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Eight)
Contraire: "I can think think of something else we can do- hold me up to the window latch!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Four)
- Sunny is correcting her sibling with a version of the French phrase au contraire, "to the contrary".
Correctiona: "Fiona was right, too- we'd better hurry if we want to escape from the Carmelita before Olaf notices we're not the brig." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Thirteen)
- Combination of the words "Correct" and "Fiona".
Cose: "That was close." (The Vile Village, Chapter Twelve)
Cra: "She probably means the beak of a V.F.D. crow." (The Vile Village, Chapter Five)
- “Cra” can be heard as the call sound from a crow’s beak.
Crife: "I hope I can find something to bite." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Two)
- A possible combination of the words “find, crave and bite”, meaning that Sunny wants to find something to bite as she is craving it at the moment.
Croif: "It was lucky that I could defend us from Dr. Orwell's sword, if I do say so myself." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Thirteen)
Cuisi: "I'm looking forward to examining the kitchen." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Four)
- Shortened form of cuisine, French for "kitchen".
Culech: "Getting in the trunk is the same thing as getting captured!" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Thirteen)
Curoy: "Besides, the Quagmire triplets are far, far away, and we only have a few pages of their notebooks. We need to find the real meaning of V.F.D." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Four)

D[]

Dala: "Did you tell the Council of Elders that we were with you the night Jacques was murdered, so we couldn't have committed the crime?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
Damajat: "Let's hide in that supply closet over there." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
Danya: "Or the bedroom at Count Olaf's house."
Deashew: "And it takes me several hours to open one cabinet with my teeth!" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Five)
Decap: "Do you think they're going to cut off Violet's head?" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
- Reference to Decapitation.
Deepo: unknown (The Reptile Room, Chapter Five)
Déjà: "Déjà vu." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Five)
Déjà vu: "We must be able to think of something that can help us. We've escaped from bloodthirsty crowds before." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Ten)
Delmo: 1. "If you wish, I will bite the telephone to show you that it's harmless." (The Wide Window, Chapter Two)
- 2. "Someone's been to crazy town." (2004 film)
- 3. "Crazy Aunt Josephine." (Netflix Series, "The Wide Window: Part One")
Deluny: "You're not just a bad foreman- you're an evil person!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Twelve)
- Possible reference to 'delusional'.
Demarc: "What does 'facilitator' mean?" (The End, Chapter Three)
- Likely a shortened form of "demarcate," a near-synonym for "define".
Denada: something akin to "No offense taken." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Ten)
- From the Spanish phrase "de nada," meaning, "it's nothing."
Dephinpat: "What are Volunteer Factual Dispatches exactly?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Three)
- Phonetically spelt “define that” or “define patches?”
Derix: "If we can't prevent him from going to Dr. Orwell, we can go with him!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Seven)
Diaspora: "We live in such a distant place that the battle between V.F.D. enemies seems very far away." (The End, Chapter Five)
- English word referring to the dispersion of members of a group.
Dielee: "What are we going to do?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Dinel: unknown (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Ten)
Ditemu: "What other way is there?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Divo soom?: presumably "Uncle Monty?" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Six)
- Possibly Latin? e.g. Devo sum, though that doesn't really work in context.
Dixnik: "Why are you wearing a plaid suit?" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Thirteen)
Dleen: "We can't continue down the staircase- look!" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Twelve)
Doma: form of agreement (The Wide Window, Chapter Four)
Dole: "And I could be a dentist!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Five)
Donax: "But that takes years and years, and if we don't escape, we'll be burned at the stake tomorrow afternoon." (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
Doog: generic cry of frustration (The Reptile Room, Chapter Six)
Douth: "But how are we going to find the Surgical Ward, when the maps of this hospital are so confusing?" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)
Drat: "That is exactly what I was planning on doing." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Twelve)
- 'Drat' is a mild swearword
Dragnet: "But the police think we're murderers!" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter One)
- Reference to Dragnet, a police procedural, or to the police term dragnet.
Dreyfuss: "What precisely are you accusing us of?" (The End, Chapter Six)
- Probably a reference to the Dreyfus affair.
Due: "Two." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Thirteen)
- Italian, "two".
Duna: "Of course you do!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Seven)
Dewstall: "All the research in the world can't help Duncan and Isadora now." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Nine)
Dubious: "I'm not sure that's a very good reason." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Seven)
- synonym for 'doubtful'
Dulch: "And we still haven't figured out what they really mean." (The Vile Village, Chapter Five)

E[]

Echinacea: "Or well-tested herbal remedies." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Three)
- "Echinacea" are medicinal herbs native to the eastern United States.
Ecrif: "I'm scared!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Edasurc: "Maybe someday we can rescue these lions." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Nine)
- "Crusade" reversed.
Efcharisto: likely "Thank you." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Eight)
- Greek, "thank you".
Egress: "Klaus is right - the exit is the other way." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Seven)
- Synonym of "exit".
Egu: exclamation of fear (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Twelve)
Electra: "A family shouldn't keep such terrible secrets." (The End, Chapter Ten)
- Likely a reference to the mythological character Electra.
Elund: "It is certainly perplexing." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Five)
Enigmorama: "It seems this island has plenty of secrets." (The End, Chapter Eight)
- Combination of "enigma" + "-orama", in the sense of "a surfeit of enigmas."
Enipy: "But I'm sure we can manage." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eight)
Entro: "And we don't have enough time to walk around the lake, either." (The Wide Window, Chapter Nine)
Eojip: "I would be thrilled to bite an enormous length of rope into small, workable pieces!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Two)
Ephrai: "But we're in real trouble now." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter One)
Equivalent flotilla: "We're in the same boat." (The End, Chapter One)
- "Flotilla" is a fleet of boats, so this is a literal "translation" of the phrase.
Eroos: "And I bit rocks." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Six)
Eshan: unknown, exclamation (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Seven)
Esmelita: "Along with Esmé Squalor and Carmelita Spats." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter One)
- A combination of Esmé Squalor and Carmelita Spats's first names.
Esoobac: "I don't remember." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Nine)
- "Caboose" reversed.
Etartsigam: "The initials were J.S." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Five)
- "Magistrate" reversed, hinting at Justice Strauss.
Eureka: "I just realized something." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Three)
- A common exclamation of realization.
Evomer: "I can't stand it any longer. Let's tell everyone in this room what is really going on." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Twelve)
- "Remove" reversed.
Expound: "I'm afraid I don't know what that word means." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Two)
- To expound means to describe in detail
Ezan: "Or find out if one of our parents really survived the fire." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Thirteen)

F[]

Familia: "Familiar." (The End, Chapter Nine)
- From word 'familiar
Fata: "What's fata morgana?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Two)
Fiti: "That nameplate doesn't prove anything, of course!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten)
Flush: "Don't worry- I cleaned my teeth before using them as kitchen implements." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Four)
- English, meaning to clean with water.
Flynn: "And I never thought I would become a violent person, but I engaged in a swordfight with Dr. Orwell." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Seven)
- Reference to Errol Flynn, an actor who played many swordfighting characters.
Fonti: exclamation of wonder, (The Wide Window, Chapter Eleven)
Freijip: "How can you think of elevators at a time like this?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Seven)
Frul: presumably, "So long!" (The Wide Window, Chapter One)
Frulk: "It's a jail cell!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
Funcoot: 1. "My gums hurt!" (The Dismal Dinner, Part Three) 2. "I believe I may have seen someone lurking outside." (The Dismal Dinner, Part Three)
Fustianed: unknown. (The End, Chapter Seven)
- In context, possibly referring to Ishmael's garments, see fustian
Fut: "I do not!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Four)
Futa: "I agree!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Four)
Futil: "That is an absolutely impossible chore." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Nine)
- Shortened form of the word "futile."

G[]

Ga ga goo goo: "I won't be caught, because they think I'm only a helpless baby." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Showing that she will just speak like a baby in the situation.
Gabrowha: "Will that work?" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
Gack: "Look at that mysterious figure emerging from the fog!" (The Bad Beginning, Chapter One) (The Grim Grotto, Chapter 13)
Gaksoo: "There's no point in arguing, because we'll never know whether we're right or wrong until we knock on the door." (The Vile Village, Chapter Two)
Galfuskin: "This is all guesswork- let's go to the fortune-telling tent and see if we can find out anything for sure, and we'd better do it soon before the others get back." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Five)
Galimatias: "Nonsense!" (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Nine)
- A French word for "Nonsense", also borrowed into English.
Galuka: "So yell at Coach Genghis, not at us!" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Nine)
Gargaba: "Maybe the luminous paint is serving as some sort of glowing signal." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Seven)
Ganba: unknown. (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Gans: "Good, because my hives are driving me crazy!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Eight)
Garji: "What in the world does 'endeavor' mean?" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Eleven)
Gavu: "The Quagmires have been found and rescued?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter One)
Gelfidio: "How do you do, Coach Genghis?" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Five)
Geni: "We didn't sail a stolen sailboat across Lake Lachrymose in the middle of Hurricane Herman just to stand nervously at the mouth of a cave." (The Wide Window, Chapter Ten)
Gentreefive: form of agreement. (The End, Chapter Twelve)
- Genesis 3:5 refers to eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which is analogous to what they're discussing.
Gerhit: form of agreement. (The Vile Village, Chapter Four)
Gerja: "Well, let's go find out what Stephano is like!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Three)
Geronimo: 'I don't need to bite my way back down." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten
- Common English phrase used as a cry before leaping.
Ghand: "But Klaus reads many complicated books!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter One)
- Possibly a reference to Mahatma Gandhi.
Ghede: "I almost forgot about the archival library!" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Twelve)
- Interestingly, the name of an All the Wrong Questions character, Ghede.
Gibbo: "And I could have lots of things to bite." (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Five)
Gibbon: "We want to read this history, no matter how miserable it is." (The End, Chapter Ten)
- Edward Gibbon was a historian who referred to history as "little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind."
Gice: "Don't hurt Charles!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Twelve)
Gidoost: "But piles of construction materials don't wander around hospitals." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
Ginawn: "All these clothes are too big for me." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
Gind: "Please don't make us live with this evil man." (The Wide Window, Chapter Six)
Ging: "I would rather eat dirt." (The Wide Window, Chapter Three)
Glaji: unknown. (The Vile Village, Chapter Nine)
Glaucus: "But we can't do that." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
- As she says it in response to Klaus saying, ""In the myth of Hercules, he's trapped between two monsters named Scylla and Charybdis, just like we're trapped between the sliding doors and the floor. But he got out of the trap by turning them into whirlpools," this is a reference to the Greek sea-god Glaucus.
Glaynop: unknown. (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Twelve)
Gluh: "Why are you wasting valuable time studying grammar?" (The Wide Window, Chapter Eight)
Godor: "We don't know where to go, and we don't know how to get there." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Thirteen)
Golos: "It'll have to do, until something better comes along." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Thirteen)
Gonope: "Where are Duncan and Isadora? Where have you taken them?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Thirteen)
Goo goo: "I'm going to pretend I'm a helpless baby, instead of answering your question." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Nine)
- Based off stereotypical baby babble 'goo goo ga ga'
Gounce: "Let's live there!" (The Vile Village, Chapter One)
Grebe: "As usual!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Seven)
Greenhut: "You could be of enormous help." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Thirteen)
- Possibly a surname reference.
Grespo: "Quite a bit of mortar has actually begun to wear away." (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
Grr: 1. "I'll come with you." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Four) 2. "Everybody except Lulu." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Eight)
Grummle: unknown, used to call after a barefoot Klaus (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Seven)
Grun: "I object to your calling it baby talk!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Two)
Guree: form of agreement (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Nine)
- Likely from "agree".
Guweel: "Not me!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Twelve)
Gwit: "They didn't recognize us either." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Ten)
Gwito: "But Mattathias closed the Surgical Ward." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)
Gyba: "You're a genius! But what can I do to help?" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Eleven)
Gykree: "He's had all night to contact us, and we haven't heard from him." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Two)
Gyzan: "Pegs?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)

H[]

Ha: "Ha!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Eight)
Haftu: "Maybe he wants to put the Lachrymose Leeches in our beds." (The Wide Window, Chapter Four)
Hasserin: "And without you, Klaus, we wouldn't know how to save Jacques." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)
Harum: "Harum-scarum?" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Seven)
Hech: "But you didn't keep your end of the deal, either!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Thirteen)
Heebie-jeebies: "Let's get out of here. I'm really getting the creeps." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Six)
- Synonym of "the creeps".
Heece: "Beats me. I'm only a baby." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Eleven)
Hend: "Actually, I worked as an administrative assistant at Prufrock Preparatory School." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Four)
Heni: presumably a warning (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Henipul: "Will you undo Klaus's hypnotism?" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Ten)
Herdiset: "What's a crowbar?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eleven)
Henribergson: "It's more complicated than that." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Ten)
- Henri Bergson was a philosopher. It's possible Sunny is referring to his arguments about direct experience, and that what happened cannot be fully put into words.
Hewenkella: "How will we be able to see our way?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Six)
- Phonetic spelling of Helen Keller; Sunny is pointing out that they won't be able to see.
Hifijoo: form of agreement. (The Austere Academy, Chapter Nine)
Hightail it: "We'd better hurry." (The End, Chapter Twelve)
- 'Hightail it' is a slang phrase meaning 'to move quickly'
Hobson: "I didn't have much choice, given our surroundings." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Seven}
- A Hobson's choice is a choice in which there is really only one option (as explained a few pages earlier).
Honz: "What's a battering ram?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Hooda: unknown, presumably something to do with Count Olaf (The Reptile Room, Chapter Three)
Hurol: presumably "Hurry!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Hux: unknown (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Four)
Hygiene: "Additionally, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for wearing the same outfit for weeks at a time without washing." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
- 'Hygiene' means to keep oneself clean

I[]

Ificat: "Me too." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Five)
Igal: "And I'll guard Aunt Josephine." (The Wide Window, Chapter Twelve)
Illimi: "I'm scared." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter One)
Imposiyakto: "How can we get to the bottom of the toboggan?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter One)
- Impossible + ??
Impro: "We'll think of something." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Two)
- A shortened form of "improvise."
In medias res: "The Medusoid Mycelium was around before we were born, and our parents prepared for its arrival by adding horseradish to the roots of the apple tree." (The End, Chapter Thirteen)
- A reference to the trope In medias res, in which a story opens in the midst of the plot.
Incredi: "Incredibly Deadly Viper!" (The End, Chapter Six)
- Shortened form of “incredible/incredibly.....”
Ingredi: "Meanwhile, I'll look through all this food and make sure we have everything we need to prepare meals." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Twelve)
- Shortened form of “ingredients” (Sunny trying to find ingredients”).
Intrepid: "Quigley Quagmire was brave and resourceful enough to survive the fire that destroyed his home, and I'm sure he'll survive this, too." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Thirteen)
- Synonym of "fearless".
Irm: form of agreement, presumably "I have also finished my supper." (The Wide Window, Chapter Two)
- Possibly a shortened form of "confirm".
Ivoser: "I bet I can use my four sharp teeth to scrape this paint away and make the walls a bit less ugly." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Three)

J[]

Janiceps: "I'm of two minds about living here." (The End, Chapter Five)
- English, conjoined twins whose heads are fused together, facing opposite directions. From the two-faced Roman god Janus + Greek cephalos, head.
Jidu: "Surely Isadora has given us a hint about how to rescue her." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Jojishoji: "I don't believe that abridging the freedom of expression and the free exercise thereof is the proper way to run a community." (The End, Chapter Ten)
- A man won an auction to have his father's name (Joji Shoji) spoken by Sunny.
Jook: unknown (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Three)
- Synonym for congee, a thick rice porridge or soup. Sunny is eating oatmeal, but they are also discussing what to cook for Olaf's troupe, so it may be a suggestion.
José: "No way!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Seven)
- A reference to the English slang phrase, "No way, José!"

K[]

Kalc: "Don't worry about it. I'm a baby, so I hardly ever use silverware. i doesn't matter that it'll be taken away from me." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Three)
Kalm: "I can't read very well, but I think this one says 'Sequel to Serenity.'" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Six)
- Phonetic spelling of "calm", synonym of "serenity".
Kang tern: "I'm going to move the tiller this way, in order to steer the boat according to Klaus's recommendation." (The Wide Window, Chapter Ten)
- Possibly a phonetic spelling of "[?] turn".
Karneez: something akin to "What about the employees of the Carnival?" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
- A phonetic spelling of the slang term "carnies", people who work for a carnival.
Kaxret: "You got it, Esmé." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
- Possibly a phonetic spelling of "that's right."
Keeb: "I like fruit!" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Two)
Kesalf: "That's Olaf's associate. It sounds like it's entering the Ward for People with Nasty Rashes. We'd better hurry." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Thirteen)
- Possibly an anagram of "flakes", given the context of "nasty rashes" and the anagrams they were dealing with.
Kewtu: something akin to "No!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Twelve)
Kikbucit: "Is he dead?" (The End, Chapter Two)
- Phonetic reference to "kicking the bucket."
Kindal: "Or maybe he's excited about all these things." (The Reptile Room, Chapter Three)
Kiwoon: "I thought i was going to cry when all those people were calling me 'freak.'" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Four)
Kla: "Klaus." (The End, Chapter Fourteen)
Klofy: "Of course. But how?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Knilliu: "That's very considerate of you." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Ko: something akin to "It says 'Until dawn comes we cannot speak.' That means they're attaching the poems in the morning, when the crows roost uptown." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)
Kontiki: "There's no way they'll survive the journey." (The End, Chapter Thirteen)
- The Kon-Tiki expedition involved sailing on a handmade raft, which smashed into a reef. However, everyone returned safely.
Kosbal: "Here comes Carmelita Spats." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Six)
Koundix: "But he can't be in the penthouse. Esmé saw him leave." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Krechin: "And if I used my four big teeth to bite something as sloppily, I wouldn't leave one toothmark!" (The Vile Village, Chapter One)
Kyun: "And that's why we chose this town, in the hopes of finding the secret of V.F.D., rescuing the Quagmire triplets, and defeating Count Olaf once and for all." (The Vile Village, Chapter Three)

L[]

Lakry: "There are no ropes."
- could be based off word 'lack'
Laper: form of agreement. (The Vile Village, Chapter Five)
Leep: "Captain Sham threw Aunt Josephine out the window and then wrote this note to hide his crime." (The Wide Window, Chapter Five)
- Phonetically spelled, 'leap'.
Legror: "But what about the lightning?" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Six)
Legru: "All we can do is hope." (The Wide Window, Chapter Twelve)
Lesoint: "I'm nearly done." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Nine)
Lethe: "Opiate?" (The End, Chapter Ten)
- The Lethe is a river in Greek Mythology that runs through the Underworld, and its waters can cause forgetfulness when drunk.
Libo: "Good-bye." (The Reptile Room, Chapter Thirteen)
Libu: unknown (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Six)
Lillik: "Let's go! Don't look behind you! Let's just try to get to Hector and his self-sustaining hot air mobile home before the mob catch up with us and burns us at the stake!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Twelve)
Lindersto: "That'll be tough. We'll have to wander around the hospital looking for her, while other people will be wandering around the hospital, looking for us." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
Lirt: "We can see if any of his assistants are around." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Five)
Loidya: "I'm absolutely sure that nobody approached the tree all night, and at dawn the note dropped down from the branches of the tree." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)
Lorigo: "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Lox: 1. A way of preparing fish. (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Nine) 2. "Count Olaf's been making me do the cooking." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- See Lox.
Leucophrys: "I think I can explain that- the crows are delivering the couplets." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)
- Part of several bird species' Specific epithet, but not any crows'. May refer to the ancient Greek town Leucophrys.

M[]

Machina: "Deus ex machina!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Thirteen)
Malady: "I'm beginning to feel unwell." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Eight)
Mamasan: presumably "Mama said." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Seven)
- May simply mean "Mama", as Japanese mama-san.
Marimo: "I hope there are plenty of things to bite at school, because biting is one of my favorite things to do!" (The Austere Academy, Chapter One)
Matahari: "If I stay, I can spy on them and find out." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Mata Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer who was executed for being a spy during World War I.
Mazee: "We don't have time to hear all these stories, Klaus!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Eight)
Mcguffin: "Your scheming means nothing in this place."
- A reference to the MacGuffin cliche.
Meledrub: "I find that very difficult to believe." (The End, Chapter Four)
Menrov: "Should we try to tell Jerome about Gunther and Esmé and the Quagmire triplets?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Twelve)
Meotze: "But the Squalor library has only those snooty books on what's in and what's out." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Nine)
- May refer to Mao Zedong.
Merd: "That's what we've been trying to tell you." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Thirteen)
- Possible allusion to French merde, a swear.
Merganser: "Tomorrow morning there will probably be another poem from Isadora in the same spot; I want to spend the night underneath the tree. I'm so small that whoever is delivering the poems probably won't spot me, and I'll be able to find out how the couplets are getting to us." (The Vile Village, Chapter Seven)
- A name for many species of diving ducks.
Merrill: "We'd better get out of this trunk." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter One)
Middiow: "What's an elevator shaft?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Seven)
Minda: "Don't be ridiculous, Klaus!" (The Reptile Room, Chapter Four)
Minga: "Three!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Mineak: "Gunther would never take a shower. He's filthy." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Minka: "Answer it, of course!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Four)
Mishap: "Let's be careful." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Six)
- A reference to the word "mishap."
Mission: "Once we find the sugar bowl, our work here is done."
- A mission is a goal to do something, like for example findding the sugar bowl
Meeka: "Good-bye, Mr. Poe. Thank you for driving us." (The Reptile Room, Chapter Two)
Mofee: "I certainly will." (The Wide Window, Chapter Eleven)
Molub: "We're talking about the typed note that told us to go work at the lumbermill!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Four)
Mulick: "Let's discuss that at a later time!" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Two)
Mumdum: unknown. (The Austere Academy, Chapter Nine)
Mush: "The mortar is almost dissolved- just a little bit longer!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
- Refers to the mushy mortar
Mushulm: "I agree, although it won't be pleasant to see all these sick people." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)

N[]

Nadasuchre: "No sugar bowl." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Six)
- Spanish nada, "none/nothing" + French sucre, "sugar".
Neebdes: "Could you explain that a bit more?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Three)
Neepo: unknown (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Thirteen)
Neihab: "I'm Sunny Baudelaire, and I will always be Sunny Baudelaire unless I decide for myself to legally change my name!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Twelve)
Neiklot: "Why are you telling us about this ring?"
- "Neiklot" is "Tolkien" spelled backwards, referencing J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings.
Nelnu: unknown (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Three)
Nersai: "Jackline to Jacutinga." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Six)
Netesh: "Of course I would! Mountain lions are wild animals." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Five)
Nidiculous: "I think I'm still a child." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Three)
Nidop: "Then let's get moving." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Ten)
Nil: "I didn't find anything." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Five)
- Synonym of "nothing"
Nilikoh: "And we haven't seen either of the Quagmire triplets, so I think we can safely assume that their part of the plan went well." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Twelve)
Ning: "Good morning!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)
- The last syllable of "morning."
No: 1. "I'm not sure that's the wisest plan- we won't survive a fall from such a height!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Thirteen) 2. "I certainly hope that isn't true, because my siblings and I hoped to reach V.F.D. headquarters, solve the mysteries that surround us, and perhaps find one of our parents." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
Noblaym: "But it's still not our fault." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter One)
- Phonetic spelling of "no blame."
Nogo: "I don't think I ought to accompany you." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
Nojeemoo: "You appear to be back to normal." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Seven)
Nolano: "Do you think the Squalors are working together with Gunther?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Nonat: "I didn't notice any such insects outside." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Three)
- Phonetic spelling of "no gnat."
Noque, noque: "There, there." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Nine)
Noris: "Go faster!" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Twelve)
Nospine: presumably "What does that mean?" (The End, Chapter Five)
Nottooti: "How do you know so much about us?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Two)
- Possibly "know" + Italian tutti, "all/everything".
Novedri: "Living underground would be no fun at all!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Two)
Niku: "It wasn't very nice to point out Klaus's grammatical mistake when he was talking about something that upset him." (The Wide Window, Chapter Three)
Nuts: "I don't think that's such a good idea, Violet." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
- Saying Violet’s idea was crazy.

O[]

Ober: "Although we still didn't save Uncle Monty." (The Wide Window, Chapter Four)
Obog: unknown, presumably something akin to "I don't know if I can go up all those stairs." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter One)
Obvio: "There's only one answer that will get us into the submarine." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter One)
- referencing, ‘obvious’
Occulaklaus: "What about Klaus's glasses?" (The End, Chapter Three)
- Combination of ocular (to do with the eye) and Klaus.
Odo yow: "How do you do?" (assumed, The Bad Beginning, Chapter One)
- Sounds vaguely similar to 'how do you do'
Ogufod: "What a lot of crows!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Three)
Oh: "What a terrible place! I don't want to live there at all!" (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Two)
Oh toonoy: unknown (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Twelve)
Okipi: form of agreement (The Reptile Room, Chapter Nine)
Olaf: "Before Mattathias gets his hands on us." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Six)
Olafile: "Count Olaf has the Snicket File." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- An obvious smushed form of Olaf and the file.
Ollawmove: "Olaf could move them at any time!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Four)
- Presumably a smushed-together form of the phrase "Olaf will move."
Olo: "Even if it's ugly, damp, and filled with crabs." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Three)
Onosew: "Yes, ma'am." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eight)
Ooladu: "I wish you'd tell us what you're really up to, Genghis." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Seven)
Oot: "Trust me, it's not that difficult." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Six)
Orlando: "Or the one who looks like neither a man nor a woman." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Five)
- A reference to the 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, a satiric novel about a poet who changes gender.
Oxo: "Does that mean we can breathe without our helmets?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Six)
- Likely from "oxygen".

P[]

Palsh: unknown, (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Ten)
Patsy: "We're very concerned about Laura V. Bleediotie." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Ten)
Peflob: unknown (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eleven)
Peipix: "Me neither." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)
Pelli: "But that doesn't explain the eye-shaped building, or the cover of the book!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Five)
Pellucid theatrics: "Your disguise isn't working." (The End, Chapter Six)
- English. Pellucid meaning "your theatrics are clear/easily understood."
Peng: "How did Hector get ahold of this?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Four)
Penulhoo: "Penultimate?" (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Two)
Pereg: "And if only the Quagmires were here, they could solve the other mystery- the meaning of the real V.F.D." (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
Perfidio: "It would be foolish to trust one of Olaf's henchmen." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Twelve)
- Spanish, "treachery."
Pesh: "At least, until somebody needs rubber bands, alphabet soup, white medical coats, or clean hands." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
Phearst: "We should rescue her promptly." (The End, Chapter Thirteen)
- Phonetic spelling of "first".
Phelon: "And of proving that we're not murderers!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Thirteen)
- Phonetic spelling of "felon".
Phew: "He appears to be gone." (The Dismal Dinner, Part Three)
- "phew" is an expression of relief
Philavem: "Let's get started." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Phromein: "I think I understand, but it's difficult for someone as young as myself." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
- Anagram of "morphine"; may be unintentional?
Piestrisycamollaviadelrechiotemexity: "I must admit I don't have the faintest idea of what is going on." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Five)
- A hodge-podge of Greek- and Latin-esque morphemes, with unclear meaning. There is an Urban Dictionary entry for this word, but as it's from four years after the book, it almost certainly was submitted by a reader.
Pilso: "My stapling hand is sore." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Twelve)
Pilums: Some form of thanking Violet for inventing the signaling device and Klaus for reading the atlas and guiding them to Curdled Cave (The Wide Window, Chapter Thirteen)
Pinse: "Or outer space!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter One)
Pinstripe: "Don't worry- I'm used to ill-fitting clothing." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Three)
- Overt reference to the clothes they were forced to wear in The Ersatz Elevator.
Plakna: "How am I supposed to cook breakfast on top of a freezing mountain?" (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
Plemo: "Who works for Count Olaf!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Thirteen)
Plinn: unknown; question (The Vile Village, Chapter One)
Poch: "You mean Julio." (The Wide Window, Chapter Four)
Poda rish: "Put me down!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Nine)
Pojik: "Do you mean we've come here for nothing?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Three)
Poko: unknown (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Five)
Pomres: "As it turned out, the stove was the least of Aunt Josephine's problems." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Two)
Popinsh: "Dr. Orwell hypnotized Klaus and caused that terrible accident, didn't she?" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Nine)
Poppycock: "Nonsense!" (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Ten)
- Poppycock is a synonym for 'nonsense'
Prapil: unknown. (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Seven)
Pratjic: "Gunther must have ended up somewhere if he took this passageway." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eleven)
Prawottle: "Older children aren't supposed to be near a hot oven either, especially without adult supervision." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eight)
Prem: "But we looked under Snicket, Jacques, and Fire already." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Six)
Procto: "The other end?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Four)
- Reference to the euphemistic "other end".
Proffco: "I guess so." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Seven)
Prollit: "But not as terrifying as what Gunther will do to us, if we don't find out his plan."
Puictiw: form of agreement. (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Three)
Pyetian: "We'll never make it there in time to expose Gunther and save the Quagmires." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eleven)
Pyrrhonic: "How can you be so sure of such a thing based on our clothing?" (The End, Chapter Four)
- Reference to Pyrrhonism, either for its similarity to Ishmael's philosophy, or its use of suspending judgment for non-evident propositions — or both, highlighting his hypocrisy.

Q[]

Quagmire: "When the Quagmires used disguises, they didn't fool Olaf." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)
Quandary: "What in the world can we do about it?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Seven)
- English, meaning "a state of not knowing what to decide."
Quarwa: "Quarantine?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Five)

R[]

Rabave: unknown. (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Five)
Racah: "It's almost like walking through a quiet, but polite, crowd of very short people." (The Vile Village, Chapter Two)
Racho: form of agreement (The Austere Academy, Chapter One)
Radev: "Somebody's going to put a stop to us if we don't disguise ourselves soon." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
Rallam: "And Olaf's associates are chasing us." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Thirteen)
Ranee: "And the file." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
Rantaw: "I never wanted to work as a secretary, anyway!" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Thirteen)
Razoo: "You're the one not to be trusted." (The End, Chapter Twelve)
Real McCoy: unknown, see note for presumable translation (The Penultimate Peril, "Chapter Twelve")
- The real McCoy: English slang for "the real thing" or "the genuine article."
Reauhop: "And good luck!"
Recazier: "Klaus, why in the world do you want to eat alphabet soup at a time like this?" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)
Rekoop: "I had a brief nap, and when I woke up I felt well enough to cook something." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Twelve)
- Reference to "recuperation."
Rendezvous: "Take us to Briny Beach." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Thirteen)
- English (from French), referring to the VFD meetup at Briny Beach.
Renuf: "I don't see anything freakish about you either, but even if I did i wouldn't laugh at you because it wouldn't be polite." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Three)
Resyca: "Or you could simply ask him to leave the penthouse, and never return!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Four)
Roopish: "They're not accidents! They're the results of hypnotism!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Nine)
Rosebud: "In some situations, the location of a certain object can be much more important than being outnumbered." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Thirteen)
- A reference to the famous 1941 film Citizen Kane.
Rotup: something akin to "Klaus's glasses are broken!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Five)

S[]

Sabisho: presumably a warning (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Sakesushi: "I don't think you'll enjoy salmon if it's not cooked." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
- Japanese for "salmon sushi".
Sandover: "So we're staying." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
Sanks: "That's very considerate of you!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Two)
- Phonetic form of "thanks".
Sappho: "I'd be very pleased to hear a poem of yours!" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Three)
- A reference to Sappho of Lesbos, an ancient Greek poet and widely regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets. She is also famous for writing about the love and desire between women, causing her name to be the source for both the words lesbian and sapphic.
Scalia: "It doesn't seem like the literal interpretation makes any sense." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Eleven)
- A cheeky reference to Antonin Scalia, a proponent of originalism with regards to interpreting the US Constitution.
Schu: "It's been a long time since anything in our lives has felt fair." (The Wide Window, Chapter Two)
Scylla: "It's either the self-sustaining hot air mobile home or being burned at the stake!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Twelve)
- Scylla was a monster in Greek Mythology who lived on one side of a narrow channel of water, with her counterpart Charybdis on the other. Any sailors passing through the channel would either be too close to her or Charybdis, and thus death.
Seeka yit: presumably "Underneath the bed." (The Wide Window, Chapter Eight)
Seerg: "And I was afraid to ask him any more about it." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Five)
Selphawa: "We can't think about Quigley now- we have to think about ourselves." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter One)
- Phonetic form of "self-aware".
Selrep: "That's the one with the bright blue oven." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eight)
Seltepia: "Good morning, this is Vice Principal Nero's office, how may I help you?" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Four)
Semja: unknown. (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter One)
Service a la Russe: "Even with the simplest of ingredients, I could prepare an extremely elaborate meal." (The End, Chapter Nine)
- Service à la russe, from French (meaning "service in the Russian style"), refers to a dining style where multiple courses are brought to the table sequentially.
Set: "I knew you would find me!" (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
Shablo: "How are we going to do that?" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Eleven)
Shh: 1. "I think the H aisle might be a good place to look for the file." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Six) 2. "Be quiet! I think I hear someone walking into the anteroom of the Library of Records." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Six)
Shivalrush: "That's very kind of you." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Seven)
- Phonetic form of "chivalrous".
Shize: presumably "Nothing!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
- Possibly a phonetic reference to German Scheiße, which can be used as (vulgar) slang for "nothing".
Shoart: "A dead man is not a thrill!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Nine)
Silata: "But there are so many people here." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)
Silencio: "We never heard a reply." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Four)
- "Silencio" is a Spanish noun meaning "silence."^[3]
Silko: unknown (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Twelve)
Sink: "Wouldn't the sugar bowl just drift to the ocean floor?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Four)
Skel: "But I wonder what that word could be." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Eleven)
Smashi: "Smashing?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Three)
Snack: "Why don't we stop for a bite to eat?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Seven)
Sneakitawc: "Of course, because you don't understand me, I can say anything I want to you, and you'll have no idea what I'm talking about." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
- Phonetically spelled, “sneaky talk”.
Snevi: unknown (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Two)
Snoita: "I prefer to be tucked into bed by my siblings, not by strangers!" (The Vile Village, Chapter One)
- Possibly "-ations" reversed, as in "relations"?
Soried: "So far so good." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Sorusu: "Behind those wooden planks lies the answer to the mystery of V.F.D., and why the secret hallway led us to the place where the Baudelaire mansion burned to the ground, killing our parents, an beginning the series of unfortunate events that haunt us wherever we go." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Twelve)
Sos: "It's an emergency situation." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter One)
- A reference to the morse code distress signal, SOS
Soubise: "Dinner is served!" (The End, Chapter One)
- A type of onion béchamel sauce.
Sous: "I haven't been cooking for very long."
- A reference to a Sous-chef.
Spenset: "We're alive." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Spysnickle: "Laundry room." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Seven)
Stewak: "He follows us everywhere." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Five)
Stiblo: "We can improve our vocabulary later- tell us what's on your mind!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Seven)
Stim: "Because we were worried about you!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Ten)
Sturo: "Murder?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Three)
Stintamcunu: "We have to go and look for him." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Six)
Subjavik: "Utterly unrecognizable." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter One)
Sun: "Sunny." (The End, Chapter Fourteen)
Suppertunity: "Serving the troupe dinner will be a perfect chance to listen to their conversation." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Combination of the words "supper" and "opportunity."
Surchmi: "I don't have it- my siblings do." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
- Phonetic spelling of "Search me."
Suski: "I hope so, Phil." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Six)
Swoh: "Why in the world would you go swimming in a lake full of leeches?" (The Wide Window, Chapter Two)
- an exclamation of wonder.

T[]

Tadu: "It's a loathsome situation in which we find ourselves." (The Reptile Room, Chapter Six)
Tafca: "We have to get out of here right now!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Eight)
Tageb: "Good morning." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Takk: "Thank you." (The End, Chapter Seven)
- A word meaning "thank you" in several languages.
Tanco: "And babies shouldn't even have gum, because they could choke on it!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Three)
Tarcour: "You're right, of course. S.O.R.E. always lasts until dawn, and the tests are first thing in the morning." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Ten)
Taykashans: "It's our only chance to travel safely through these waters." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter One)
- Phonetic spelling of "take a chance."
Taylit: "Let's follow the reptile and see where it leads." (The End, Chapter Nine)
- Phonetic spelling of "tail it."
Tend: "If we had some dynamite, we could blast our way out of the hallway, but we can't use the tongs to make dynamite." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eleven)
- Showing that she’d rather use dynamite instead.
Tenpa: form of agreement (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Five)
Tercul: "And we don't want to forget about everything else, either- like the underground hallway that led to our ruined mansion, and the real meaning of V.F.D.!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Thirteen)
Terfunt: "Thank you." (The Austere Academy, Chapter One)
Teruca: "What's a foreman?" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Two)
Tesper: "Let's try to gather up as many pages of the notebooks as we can!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Thirteen)
Therill: "It won't be any more frightening than the time I climbed up an elevator shaft with my teeth." (The Vile Village, Chapter Seven)
- It was possibly a thrill (in the terrifying way) to climb up the elevator shaft with her teeth.
Thole: "Like teeth?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Thursinterest: "He knew that Thursday was important." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Three)
- Combination of "Thursday" and "interest."
Tikko: form of agreement (The Reptile Room, Chapter Six)
Tingamebob: "There's plenty of materials here in the sand." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Seven)
- Reference to "thingamabobs."
Tintet: "Don't cry. You tried your best." (The Wide Window, Chapter Eleven)
Tiofreck: "Violet's in grave danger- we have to find her immediately." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
Tisdu: "Where in the city can you find ashes outdoors?" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eleven)
Toi: 1. "I have never eaten a peppermint because I suspect that I, like my siblings, am allergic to them." (The Wide Window, Chapter One) 2. "I wish I could bite a peppermint, because I like to bite things with my four sharp teeth, but I don't want to risk an allergic reaction." (The Wide Window, Chapter One)
Tojoo: presumably "We wait." (The Reptile Room, Chapter Four)
Tom ka gai: "We also have soup!" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Eight
- A reference to the Indian dish, Tom Kha Gai.
Took: presumably a warning (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Toomsk: "This must be where the Quagmires will be hidden." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Nine)
Topoing: unknown; question (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Seven)
Toricia: form of agreement (The Austere Academy, Chapter Seven)
Towhee?: "Is there a rule that clearly states that people must listen to speeches?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)
- A type of bird.
Trahison des clercs: "You're forgetting about the quickacting poison in the fungus!" (The End, Chapter Twelve)
- Reference to Julien Benda's book, translated as The Treason of the Intellectuals.
Translo: "Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's nonsense." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
- Shortened form of "translation."
Treen: "Yes- I opened one earlier, to help decode the anagrams." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Thirteen)
- Anagram of "enter".
Trenceth: "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Ten)
Tretchev: "Welcome home!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Seven)
Trosslik: "You mean if Mr. Poe gets us out of this mess." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter One)
Tuber: "Root of the trouble?" (The End, Chapter Eight)
- Tubers can be found in plant roots, such as sweet potatoes.
Tumurchap: something akin to "Our story isn't over yet." (The End, Chapter Twelve)
- Phonetic, "two more chapters". This is in response to Klaus, "Maybe this is the end of our story." Theres is also an element of fourth wall breaking, as this is said in chapter 12 of The End, which has 14 chapters.
Tuzmo: "I don't believe so." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Eight)
Twee: "Both of you are right. We shouldn't complain." (The Wide Window, Chapter Two)
Tweem: "We're not murderers!" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eleven)
Twicho: something akin to "A veil!" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
Twisp: "But not until we get ahold of the file, solve all these mysteries, and prove our innocence." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Six)

U[]

Uckner: "Meanwhile we discovered where the Quagmire triplets were being hidden, and helped them escape STOP. The Quagmires managed to give us a few scraps of their notebooks so we could try to learn the real meaning of V.F.D. STOP." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter One)
Uh-oh: "That doesn't sound like good news." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Thirteen)
Ulo: "Will you have Dr. Orwell arrested?" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Ten)
Ulp: "I don't like the idea of drifting by myself in a diving helmet." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Six)
- Often used as a spelling of the sound of gulping in fear.
Unasanc: "The villains have mentioned one more save place for volunteers to gather." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Likely "una sancta", Latin for "one sanctuary."
Unfeasi: "To make a hot meal without any electricity, I'd need a fire, and expecting a baby to start a fire all by herself on top of a snowy mountain is cruelly impossible and impossibly cruel." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Six)
- Start of "unfeasible".
Unno Narsonist: "I don't know, but they burned down V.F.D. headquarters." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Similar to "Dunno. An arsonist."
Unsafe: "I'd rather not find the imposter if I'm all by myself." (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Three)
Us: "And we need to know why there's a picture of us in the file." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Five)
Us alone: "Do you really think three children can accomplish all this by themselves?" (The Penultimate Peril, Chapter Two)
Ushilo: "That doesn't prove anything!" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Nine)
Utensi: something akin to "We need utensils." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Seven)
- Start of "utensil"

V[]

Vaccurum: "He even made me clean crumbs out of the car by blowing as hard as I could." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Ten)
- Vacuum + crumb.
Vapey: "Then let's hurry." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Six)
Varni: something akin to "It must be a coincidence." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter One)
Vass: "Let's discuss this at another time." (The Wide Window, Chapter Nine)
Vasta: "I'll just have to risk it- it's our only hope." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Veek: "What?" (The Wide Window, Chapter Eight)
Velocity: "We have to hurry!" (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)
- Synonym of "speed".
Veriz: "We'll need money to make a phone call." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter One)
- Reference to the telecommunications company Verizon.
Vestu: unknown (The Wide Window, Chapter Four)
Vi: "Violet." (The End, Chapter Fourteen)
Vinfrey: "We better spend the day figuring out what Gunther's up to." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Six)
Vinung: "Don't say it." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Nine)
Vireo: "Let's run- or in my case, crawl- as fast as we can!" (The Vile Village, Chapter Twelve)
- Possibly from Latin vireo, in the sense of "Look alive!"
Virm: "But we don't know where she is." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Eight)
Volaocks: "If you were really Count Olaf in disguise, then your running shoes would be covering your tattoo!" (The Austere Academy, Chapter Six)
Volu...: presumably "V.F.D." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Five)
Vom: presumably something to do with how disgusting Klaus's birthday dinner was (The Vile Village, Chapter Ten)
- Presumably referring to vomit.
Vue: "Yes, I remember." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)

W[]

Waran: "His improper English is just part of his disguise." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Four)
Wazay: presumably "What's that?" (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)
Weleef: "But he was in disguise, as usual!" (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Thirteen)
Whazit: "What is it?" (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Two)
- Sounds like "what's it" said quickly
Whyno: "Why not?" (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Three)
Wibeon: "It's more confusing than the superlative- we still don't know where the Quagmires are." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Wiro: "That's true, but I'm still worried about Klaus." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Seven)
- Possibly an approximation of "worry".
Wipi: "I'd much prefer gardening to sitting around watching my siblings struggle through law books." (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Seven)
Wock: "The fountain looks as solid as can be." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eleven)
Wolick: "We're very happy to be of assistance." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Four)
Wonic: "And learning secretarial skills is an exciting opportunity for me, although I should really be in nursery school instead." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Three)
Wora: "If someone had told me, that day at the beach, that before long I'd find myself using my four teeth to scrape the bark off trees, I would have said they were psychoneurotically disturbed." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Four)
Worf: "I don't think we should stay put. I think we should leave right now." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Nine)
Wrench: "Not to mention making those welding torches."
- A wrench is a tool, similar to a welding torch
Wrong def: "An individual practitioner means someone who works alone, instead of with a group, and it has nothing to do with a life of crime." (The Slippery Slope, Chapter Three)
- Shortened form of "wrong definition."
Wryb: "That's true." (The Vile Village, Chapter Four)
Wub: "I hope so, too." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Ten)

Y[]

Yadec: "Look at the crack in the boat that the leeches have made!" (The Wide Window, Chapter Eleven)
Yaff: "I think I've reached the halfway point." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Yallrel: "And let's shut the sliding elevator doors, so the Squalors don't see that we've been sneaking around an elevator shaft." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Nine)
Yash: "And if only Klaus weren't hypnotized, then he could tell us what this sentence means." (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Eleven)
Yaw: "Ishmael's story is tangential." (The End, Chapter Ten)
- Yaw can mean "To steer badly, zigzagging back and forth across the intended course." ^[4]
Yeeka: "How interesting!" (The Bad Beginning, Chapter Three)
Yeet: "Good-bye." (The Reptile Room, Chapter Thirteen)
Yelliverc: "That second elevator is almost completely useless!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Seven)
Yerz: "Yours." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Six)
- Phonetically spelled.
Yikes: That doesn't give us much time." (The Vile Village, Chapter Eight)
- Obviously surprised in such a way that is to be known.
Yinga: unknown (The Reptile Room, Chapter Five)
Yirat: "I remember- the famous hinterlands sunset." (The Carnivorous Carnival, Chapter Six)
Yoigt: "But if I fall, I'll just fall back into the net." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Yoil: unknown. (The Vile Village, Chapter Thirteen)
Yomhashoah: "Never again." (The End, Chapter Seven)
- A reference to Yom HaShoah, a Jewish holiday remembering the Holocaust.
Yomhuledet: "Don't worry- Phil and I have arranged a surprise for tomorrow night." (The Grim Grotto, Chapter Four)
- Hebrew, "birthday".
Yoryar: unknown (The Miserable Mill, Chapter Five)
Yuck: "Don't remind me." (The Hostile Hospital, Chapter Nine)

Z[]

Zatwal: exclamation of excitement. (The Austere Academy, Chapter Three)
Zax: "Well, at least there isn't a sign of Count Olaf anywhere." (The Wide Window, Chapter Three)
Zelestin: "It'll be terrifying to climb down that horrible passageway again." (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Eight)
Zimuster: "It would be very silly to be afraid of a bunch of birds." (The Vile Village, Chapter Two)
Zisalem: "You're our guardian! You're supposed to be keeping us safe, not throwing us down elevator shafts and stealing our fortune!" (The Ersatz Elevator, Chapter Ten)
Zounce: "That's ridiculous!" (The Vile Village, Chapter One)
- Possibly an approximation of "zounds".
Zubu: "Or attend a different school, under different names." (The Austere Academy, Chapter Eleven)

2004 film[]

Sunny's language is translated via subtitles in the Georgia font, with slight shadow, and in the #f2e2d4 off-white color.

She tends to contribute less in conversations, and mainly uses her speech to deliver sassy remarks or one-liners. As such, she doesn't have very many lines in the film.

Unlike the books, "Delmo" translates to "Someone's been to crazy town."

Netflix Series[]

Sunny's language is translated via subtitles in the Caslon Antique font, in the #31dd3d green color.

Once again, Sunny's speech is typically limited to sassy remarks, however, she contributes more to conversations compared to the film adaptation.

Her phrases are much longer in Season One than in the following two; in Seasons Two and Three, her subtitles are often interpreted as short or one-word responses. In Season Three, her speech becomes easier to understand, though her lines remain subtitled up until Chapter Fourteen.

Season 1[]

Unlike the books, "Delmo" translates to "Crazy Aunt Josephine."
In "A Bad Beginning: Part Two", Sunny uses the exclamation "Oy!", a word that originates in Yiddish, which is relevant to her Jewish background.
In "The Wide Window: Part One", Sunny refers to Uber, a ridesharing company originating in America.

Season 2[]

In the trailer for Season Two, Sunny says "Disgusting" while looking at the crabs; in "The Austere Academy: Part One", she instead says "Misinformation", while looking at The Daily Punctilio.
In "The Austere Academy: Part One", she says "How do you like them apples?" in a vaguely literal sense, while looking at the horseradish apples served at the cafeteria in Prufrock. The phrase is common slang used to mean "what do you think of that?" in an confrontational manner.^[5]
In "The Ersatz Elevator: Part One", when Violet and Klaus reveal the elevator shaft, Sunny says, "I can dig it." This is a reference to the Theme from Shaft.
Unlike in the books, Sunny literally says "Echinacea", instead of using it as an allusion, in "The Hostile Hospital: Part One."

Season 3[]

Unlike in the books, Sunny literally says "Mata Hari" and "Rosebud", instead of using them as allusions, in "The Slippery Slope: Part Two."
Unlike in the books, Sunny literally says "Scalia", instead of using it as an allusion, in "The Penultimate Peril: Part Two."
All of Sunny's lines are subtitled until the "Chapter Fourteen" segment, in which she has two unsubtitled lines: "Cake" and "Happy Birthday."

Trivia[]

In the books, the language seems exclusive to Sunny Baudelaire and Beatrice Baudelaire II, and only Violet and Klaus seem able to understand.
In the Netflix series, it is implied that Fiona may have once spoken it, or that it is very common among babies, as Fernald is able to understand and translate for Sunny,^[6]^[7]^[8] most likely due to the age gap between him and Fiona and the fact he would've had to translate for her.^[9]
- However, in the Netflix show, the infant Beatrice does not use subtitles/babytalk.^[10]

Sources[]

[TE-1] PROSE: The End

[2] Wiktionary - Chabo

[3] Silencio on the Wiktionary

[4] Yaw - Wiktionary

[5] "How do you like them apples?" in the Urban Dictionary

[TBB_1-6] TV: The Bad Beginning: Part One

[TEE_2-7] TV: The Ersatz Elevator: Part Two

[TSS_1-8] TV: The Slippery Slope: Part One

[TGG-9] PROSE: The Grim Grotto

[TE_TV-10] TV: The End

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