A word which essentially
sparked the growth of 'Unwinese',
Stanley Unwin's own personal
nonsense language, 'folollop' was first used by the man's own
mother and roughly means 'to
trip over'. The now-legendary
conversation, as many have heard it, ran a little like this:
(mother returns home limping slightly)
Unwin: Ay, what have you done?
Mother: I fololloped in front of a tram, didn't I. Grazed me knee.
Unwin: Mother, there is no such verb 'to folollop'. 'Folollop' is not a word.
Mother: Well, I'm saying it is, and I fololloped in front of a tram and grazed me knee!
And that, apparently, was that.
Thanks to BBC Radio Four for their news bulletin (broadcast on the day after Unwin's death) which included this wonderful snippet of information.