Published: 23 January 2024
British author Roald Dahl is the creative force behind several timeless children’s stories, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “The Twits,” and “The BFG”. However, his novel “Matilda” stands out as one of his most renowned works, celebrated both as a beloved book and a successful film adaptation.
First published in 1988, “Matilda” delves into the narrative of Matilda Wormwood, a remarkably clever child with a magical mind and a profound passion for books. Readers are invited to witness as this precocious 5-year-old girl navigates through the challenges of neglectful parents and a tyrannical headmistress with resilience and determination.
Speaking of determination, who could ever forget Bruce Bogtrotter’s heroic triumph over the colossal eighteen-inch chocolate cake? I’m certain even Simon Cowell would label it a truly memorable performance! With that in mind, it’s safe to assume that “Matilda” probably has more delightful food moments worth savoring, don’t you think? Let’s discover them together!
In this article, we will be reviewing the foods and drinks that can be found in the 2016 edition published by Penguin Random House Children’s UK and illustrated by Quentin Blake. Without further ado, let’s eat our way through “Matilda” by Roald Dahl!
A mug of hot chocolate, Bovril or Ovaltine
Bovril has become an iconic part of British culture over the years. Although less popular nowadays, this thick and salty meat extract used to be a key ingredient when making comforting teas during cold winters. It was also used as a spread for toast (similarly to Marmite or Vegemite).
In chapter 1, we learn about Matilda’s fondness of Bovril, Ovaltine and hot chocolate. What is better than a steaming mug and a good book, am I right?
“Her own small bedroom now became her reading-room and there she would sit and read most afternoons, often with a mug of hot chocolate beside her. She was not quite tall enough to reach things around the kitchen, but she kept a small box in the outhouse which she brought in and stood on in order to get whatever she wanted. Mostly it was hot chocolate she made, warming the milk in a saucepan on the stove before mixing it. Occasionally she made Bovril or Ovaltine. It was pleasant to take a hot drink up to her room and have it beside her as she sat in her silent room reading in the empty house in the afternoons.”– Chapter 1 (The Reader of Books)
TV dinners: stewed meat, boiled potatoes & peas
In chapter 2, the Wormwoods insist on watching TV during dinnertime, which sharply contrasts with Matilda’s preference for reading. Most dinners at Matilda’s house involve quick and easy meals like takeout or frozen TV dinners.
“They were in the living-room eating their suppers on their knees in front of the telly. The suppers were TV dinners in floppy aluminum containers with separate compartments for the stewed meat, the boiled potatoes and the peas. Mrs Wormwood sat munching her meal with her eyes glued to the American soap opera on the screen.”– Chapter 2 (Mr Wormwood, the Great Car Dealer)
Fish & chips
In Chapter 5, Matilda sparks her father’s frustration by effortlessly solving a challenging math problem. Surprised and annoyed, Harry spends that evening eating his fish and chips in silence while watching the telly.
“At that point, the mother came in carrying a large tray on which were the four suppers. This time it was fish and chips which Mrs Wormwood had picked up in the fish and chip shop on her way home from bingo. It seemed that bingo afternoons left her so exhausted both physically and emotionally that she never had enough energy left to cook an evening meal. So if it wasn’t TV dinners it had to be fish and chips.”– Chapter 5 (Arithmetic)
Matilda finds the fish and chips less to her liking, labeling them as ‘awful’.
“There was no doubt in Matilda’s mind that this latest display of foulness by her father deserved severe punishment, and as she sat eating her awful fried fish and fried chips and ignoring the television, her brain went to work on various possibilities. By the time she went up to bed her mind was made up.”– Chapter 6 (The Platinum-Blond Man)
Cornflakes & bread with peanut-butter and strawberry jam
For Matilda and her brother, breakfast usually consists of cereal and bread smothered with PB&J.
“At breakfast time Matilda sat quietly at the dining-room table eating her cornflakes. Her brother sat opposite her with his back to the door devouring hunks of bread smothered with a mixture of peanut-butter and strawberry jam.”– Chapter 6 (The Platinum-Blond Man)
We continue to hear about these yummy breakfast items in Chapter 6, as Matilda executes an epic hair prank on her father.
“Matilda kept her face bent low over her cornflakes. She didn’t dare look up. In the first place she wasn’t at all sure what she was going to see. And secondly, if she did see what she thought she was going to see, she wouldn’t trust herself to keep a straight face.”– Chapter 6 (The Platinum-Blond Man)
“The son was looking directly ahead out of the window stuffing himself with bread and peanut-butter and strawberry jam.”– Chapter 6 (The Platinum-Blond Man)
Fried eggs, fried bread, pork sausages, bacon & fried tomatoes
Mr. Wormwood’s breakfast is much heartier than Matilda’s and consists of fried eggs, sausages, bacon, and tomatoes.
“The mother was just out of sight around the corner in the kitchen making Mr Wormwood’s breakfast which always had to be two fried eggs on fried bread with three pork sausages and three strips of bacon and some fried tomatoes.”– Chapter 6 (The Platinum-Blond Man)
But breakfast soon turns into a complete ordeal when Mr. Wormwood and his family discover his new hair.
“The father was just moving round to sit at the head of the table when the mother came sweeping out from the kitchen carrying a huge plate piled high with eggs and sausages and bacon and tomatoes. She looked up. She caught sight of her husband. She stopped dead. Then she let out a scream that seemed to lift her right up into the air and she dropped the plate with a crash and a splash on to the floor. Everyone jumped, including Mr Wormwood.”– Chapter 6 (The Platinum-Blond Man)
Fried eggs and bacon are also mentioned in chapter 13, when Miss Trunchbull scolds Miss Honey during Thursday lectures.
“‘When you have been teaching for as long as I have you’ll realize that it’s no good at all being kind to children. Read Nicolas Nickleby, Miss Honey, by Mr Dickens. Read about Mr Wackford Squeers, the admirable headmaster of Dotheboys Hall. He knew how to handle the little brutes, didn’t he! He knew how to use the birch, didn’t he! He kept their backsides so warm you could have fried eggs and bacon on them! A fine book, that.”– Chapter 13 (The Weekly Test)
Stew
Stew is mentioned in a limerick in chapter 7 as Miss Honey slowly discovers Matilda’s prodigious talents.
“Miss Honey got to her feet and walked smartly out of the room, but was back in thirty seconds carrying a thick book. She opened it at random and placed it on Matilda’s desk. ‘This is a book of humorous poetry,’ she said. ‘See if you can read that one aloud.’ Smoothly, without a pause and at a nice speed, Matilda began to read: ‘An epicure dining at Crewe Found a rather large mouse in his stew. Cried the waiter, ‘Don’t shout And wave it about Or the rest will be wanting one too’‘”– Chapter 7 (Miss Honey)
Extra large bag of potato crisps
In chapter 10, Matilda and Lavender meet ten-year-old, crisp-loving Hortensia for the first time in the playground of the school.
“Matilda and Lavender, standing in a corner of the playground during morning-break on the third day, were approached by a rugged ten-year-old with a boil on her nose, called Hortensia. ‘New scum, I suppose,’ Hortensia said to them, looking down from her great height. She was eating from an extra large bag of potato crisps and digging the stuff out in handfuls. ‘Welcome to borstal,’ she added, spraying bits of crisp out of her mouth like snowflakes.“– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
“In went another fistful of crisps and when she spoke again, out sprayed the crumbs.“– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
Golden syrup
Golden syrup is brought up in Chapter 10 when Hortensia shares the details of one of her previous pranks on Miss Trunchbull with Matilda and Lavender. This mischievous act eventually landed Hortensia in the dreaded Chokey (sounds like a nightmare!)
“‘The first time,’ Hortensia said, ‘I poured half a tin of Golden Syrup on to the seat of the chair the Trunchbull was going to sit on at prayers. It was wonderful. When she lowered herself into the chair, there was a loud squelching noise similar to that made by a hippopotamus when lowering its foot into the mud on the banks of the Limpopo River’.”– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
“‘So when the Trunchbull sat down on the Golden Syrup, the squelch was beautiful. And when she umped up again, the chair sort of stuck to the seat of those awful green breeches she wears and came up with her for a few seconds until the thick syrup slowly came unstuck. Then she clasped her hands to the seat of her breeches and both hands got covered in the muck. You should have hears her bellow.'”– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
Liquorice Allsorts
In another captivating story recalled by Hortensia in chapter 10, a boy called Julius faces the wrath of Miss Trunchbull after being caught eating Liquorice Allsorts.
“‘Listen to this then,’ Hortensia said. ‘Only yesterday the Trunchbull caught a boy called Julius Rottwinkle eating Liquorice Allsorts during the scripture lesson and she simply picked him up by one arm and flung him clear out of the open classroom window. Our classroom is one floor up and we saw Julius Rottwinkle go sailing out over the garden like a Frisbee and landing with a thump in the middle of the lettuces. Then the Trunchbull turned to us and said, ‘From now on, anybody caught eating in class goes straight out the window.””– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
Chocolate cake
Who can forget the gut-wrenching chocolate cake scene in “Matilda”? To think that it all started with a stolen slice of chocolate cake…
“‘Yesterday morning, during break, you sneaked like a serpent into the kitchen and stole a slice of my private chocolate cake from my tea-tray! That tray had just been prepared for me personally by the cook! It was my morning snack! And as for the cake, it was my own private stock! That was not boy’s cake! You don’t think for one minute I’m going to eat the filth I give to you? That cake was made from real butter and real cream! And he, that robber-bandit, that safe-cracker, that highwayman standing over there with his socks around his ankles stole it and ate it!'”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
In chapter 11, the Trunchbull compels Bruce Bogtrotter to eat a colossal chocolate cake as a form of punishment for his misconduct. But, my, oh my, was The Trunchbull in for a surprise!
“When she spoke again her voice was suddenly softer, quieter, more friendly, and she leaned towards the boy, smiling. ‘You like my special chocolate cake, don’t you, Bogtrotter? It’s rich and delicious, isn’t it, Bogtrotter?’ ‘Very good,’ the boy mumbled. The words were out before he could stop himself.”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
“‘There you are, cook,’ the Trunchbull cried. ‘Bogtrotter likes your cake. He adores your cake. Do you habe any more of your cake you could give him?’ ‘I do indeed,’ the cook said. She seemed to have learnt her lines by heart. ‘Then go and get it. And bring a knife to cut it with.’ The cook disappeared. Almost at once she was back again staggering under the weight of an enormous round chocolate cake on a china platter. The cake was fully eighteen inches in diameter and it was covered with dark-brown chocolate icing. ‘Put it on the table,’ the Trunchbull said.”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
“The Trunchbull was not a person who would give someone a whole chocolate cake to eat just out of kindness. Many were guessing that it had been filled with pepper or castor-oil or some other foul-tasting substance that would make the boy violently sick. It might even be arsenic and he would be dead in ten seconds flat. Or perhaps it was a booby-trapped cake and the whole thing would blow up the moment it was cut, taking Bruce Bogtrotter with it. No one in the school out it past the Trunchbull to do any of these things.”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
“Suddenly the Trunchbull exploded. ‘Eat!’ she shouted, banging her thigh with the riding-crop. ‘If I tell you to eat, you will eat! You wanted cake! You stole cake! And now you’ve got cake! What’s more, you’re going to eat it! You do not leave this platform and nobody leaves this hall until you have eaten the entire cake that is sitting there in front of you! Do i make myself clear, Bogtrotter? Do you get my meaning?'”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
“‘Eat!’ she shouted. ‘Greedy little thieves who like to eat cake must have cake! Eat faster, boy! Eat faster! We don’t want to be here all day! And don’t stop like you’re doing now! Next time you stop before it’s all finished you’ll go straight into The Chokey and I shall lock the door and throw the key down the well!'”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
“Bruce Bogtrotter was three-quarters of the way through and still going strong. One sensed that he was almost beginning to enjoy himself. He had a mountain to climb and he was jolly well going to reach the top or die in the attempt.”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
What a food athlete! Brucie’s remarkable talent would undoubtedly make waves on YouTube. It’s all the more impressive considering he’s still just a child.
“As the very last mouthful disappeared, a tremendous cheer rose up from the audience and children were leaping on to their chairs and yelling and clapping and shouting, ‘Well done, Brucie! Good for you Brucie! You’ve won a gold medal, Brucie!'”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
“The boy was by now so full of cake he was like a sackful of wet cement and you couldn’t have hurt him with a sledge-hammer. He simply shook his head a few times and went on grinning. ‘Go to blazes!’ screamed the Trunchbull and she marched off the platform followed closely by the cook.”– Chapter 11 (Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake)
A jug of water
In chapter 12, Lavender volunteers to bring the jug of water to Thursday afternoon’s class taught by the Headmistress.
“And one more thing. A jug of water and a glass must always be on the table here when the Headmistress comes in. She never takes a lesson without that. Now who will be responsible for seeing that it’s there?’ ‘I will,’ Lavender said at once. ‘Very well, Lavender,’ Miss Honey said. ‘It will be your job to go to the kitchen and get the jug and fill it with water and put it on the table here with a clean empty glass just before the lesson starts.”– Chapter 12 (Lavender)
But a slimy surprise awaits the Trunchbull…
“Immediately after lunch, she dashed off to the kitchen and found one of the Trunchbull’s famous jugs. It was a large bulging thing made of blue-glazed pottery. Lavender filled it half-full of water and carried it, together with a glass, into the classroom and set it on the teacher’s table.”– Chapter 12 (Lavender)
“With great care, she held the box over the neck of the jug and pulled the lid fully open and tipped the newt in. There was a plop as it landed in the water, then it thrashed around wildly for a few seconds before settling down. And now, to make the newt feel more at home, Lavender decided to give it all the pond-weed from the pencil-box as well.”– Chapter 12 (Lavender)
In Chapter 14, the Trunchbull’s monologue, where she belittles the children, is abruptly interrupted by her horror at the sight of a lizard-like creature in her glass of water.
“The Trunchbull seated herself behind the teacher’s table. It was the first time she had sat down during the lesson. Then she reached out a hand and took hold of her water jug. Still holding the jug by the handle but not lifting it yet, she said, ‘I have never been able to understand why small children are so disgusting. They are the bane of my life. They are like insects. They should be got rid of as early as possible.'”– Chapter 14 (The First Miracle
“The Trunchbull now lifted the large blue porcelain water jug and poured some water into her glass. And suddenly, with the water, out came the long slimy newt straight into the glass. The Trunchbull let out a yell and leapt off her chair as though a firecracker had gone off underneath her.”– Chapter 14 (The First Miracle)
The jug of water eventually becomes a pivotal element in unveiling Matilda’s extraordinary ability to manipulate objects with her gaze.
As Matilda channels a torrent of intense focus through her eyes, she compels the glass of water to tip over, drenching Miss Trunchbull with the slimy newt.
“‘Tip it!’ she whispered again. ‘Tip it over!’ Once more the glass wobbled. She pushed harder still, willing her eyes to shoot out more power. And then, very very slowly, so slowly she could hardly see it happening, the glass began to lean backwards, further and further and further backwards until it was balancing on just one edge of its base. And there it teetered for a few seconds before finally toppling over and falling with a sharp tinkle on to the desktop. The water in it and the squirming newt splashed out all over Miss Trunchbull’s enormous bosom.“– Chapter 14 (The First Miracle)
“A strange feeling of serenity and confidence was sweeping over her and all of a sudden she found that she was frightened by nobody in the world. With the power of her eyes alone she had compelled a glass of water to tip and spill its contents over the horrible Headmistress, and anybody who could do that could do anything.“– Chapter 14 (The First Miracle)
Sausages & baked beans
In Chapter 12, the cafeteria serves up sausages and baked beans to the students. Unfortunately, nerves get the best of Lavender, leaving her with little appetite. Pranking tyrannical power can be quite stressful!
“Lunchtime came. Today it was sausages and baked beans, Lavender’s favourite, but she couldn’t eat it. ‘Are you feeling all right, Lavender?’ Miss Honey asked from the head of the table. ‘I had such a huge breakfast,’ Lavender said, ‘I really couldn’t eat a thing.'”– Chapter 12 (Lavender)
Speaking of beans, the remnants of Nigel Hicks’ lunch become the main focus in Thursdays’ class as Miss Trunchbull continues to bully the students.
“‘And why, might I ask, is there a baked bean on the front of your shirt?’ ‘We had them for lunch, Miss Trunchbull.’ ‘And do you usually put your lunch on the front of your shirt, Nigel? Is that what this famous doctor father of yours has taught you to do?’ ‘Baked beans are hard to eat, Miss Trunchbull. They keep falling off my fork.’ ‘You are disgusting!’ the Trunchbull bellowed. ‘You are a walking germ-factory! I don’t wish to see any more of you today! Go and stand in the corner on one leg with your face to the wall!'”– Chapter 13 (The Weekly Test)
Teatime with Miss Honey in the Tiny Cottage: Tea, Milk, Brown Bread & Margarine
After marveling at Matilda’s extraordinary talents, Miss Honey invites her favourite student over for tea at her humble little cottage.
“‘Would you like to come back and have tea at my cottage?’ she asked. ‘Oh, I’d love to,’ Matilda said. ‘Good. Gather up your things and I’ll meet you outside in a couple of minutes.'”– Chapter 15 (The Second Miracle)
Miss Honey’s cottage is much smaller than Matilda ever expected, but it sure is fun to get the water from the well!
“‘You can come through to the kitchen and help me make the tea,’ Miss Honey said, and she led the way along the tunnel into the kitchen- that is if you could call it a kitchen.”– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
Can’t have tea without a little something on the side, perhaps a piece of brown bread?
“‘She also found half a loaf of brown bread. She cut two thin slices and then, from a plastic container, she took some margarine and spread it on the bread. Margarine, Matilda thought. She really must be poor.“– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
Margarine or butter, which do you prefer?
“The margarine wasn’t at all bad. She doubted whether she could have told the difference if she hadn’t known.”– Chapter 17 (Miss Honey’s Story)
Milk is also mentioned in chapter 16, when Matilda describes Miss Honey’s little cottage kitchen.
“On the shelf itself there stood a Primus stove, a saucepan and a half-full bottle of milk. A Primus is a little camping stove that you fill with paraffin and you light it at the top and then you pump it to get pressure for the flame.”– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
The tea served at Miss Honey’s home is unsweetened, embodying the simplicity and charm of her humble abode.
“Miss Honey found a tray and on it she put two mugs, the teapot, the half-bottle of milk and a plate with the two slices of bread. ‘I’m afraid I don’t have any sugar,’ she said. ‘I never use it.‘”– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
Turns out Miss Honey doesn’t eat much at home. What a modest and frugal lifestyle she leads!
“Miss Honey put the tray on one of the upturned boxes. ‘Sit down, my dear, sit down,’ she said, ‘and we’ll have a nice hot cup of tea. Help yourself to bread. Both slices are for you. I never eat anything when I get home. I have a good old tuck-in at the school lunch and that keeps me going until the next morning.'”– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
“Miss Honey poured the tea and added a little milk to both cups. She appeared to be not in the least ill at ease sitting on an upturned box in a bare room and drinking tea out of a mug that she balanced on her knee.“– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
Miss Honey’s story is one that makes you contemplate human resilience. How does a person survive on only one pound a week for two years? What a strong and sweet soul! Indeed, her name suits her perfectly.
“‘I pay ten pence rent, and the rest just about buys me paraffin for my stove and for my lamp, and a little milk and tea and bread and margarine. That’s all I need really. As I told you, I have a jolly good tuck-in at the school lunch.'”– Chapter 17 (Miss Honey’s Story)
Bread, Butter, Strawberry Jam & Sponge cake
Matilda can’t help but compare the teatime at her house to the one at Miss Honey’s humble and mysterious abode.
“Matilda perched herself carefully on an upturned box and more out of politeness than anything else she took a slice of bread and margarine and started to eat it. At home she would have been having buttered toast and strawberry jam and probably a piece of sponge cake to round it off. And yet this was somehow far more fun.”– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
Teatime with Miss Honey in the Red House: Tea, Brown Bread & Strawberry Jam
After Miss Trunchbull’s disappearance, Miss Honey is finally able to move back into her home and reclaim her sense of belonging. With this, a touch of strawberry jam is added to her teatime with Matilda every evening after school.
“‘This morning,’ Matilda said, ‘just for fun I tried to push something over with my eyes and I couldn’t do it. Nothing moved. I didn’t even feel the hotness building up behind my eyeballs. The power had gone. I think I’ve lost it completely.’ Miss Honey carefully buttered a slice of brown bread and put a little strawberry jam on it. ‘I’ve been expecting something like that to happen,’ she said.”– Chapter 21 (A New Home)
“Matilda, who was perched on a tall stool at the kitchen table, ate her bread and jam slowly. She did so love these afternoons with Miss Honey. She felt completely comfortable in her presence, and the two of them talked to each other more or less as equals.”– Chapter 21 (A New Home)
Apples, Oranges & Meats
In chapter 16, as Matilda makes her way to Miss Honey’s cottage, she encounters a vibrant display of fresh produce.
“They passed the greengrocer with his window full of apples and oranges, and the butcher with bloody lumps of meat on display and naked chickens hanging up, and the small bank, and the grocery store and the electrical shop, and then they came out at the other side of the village on to the narrow country road where there were no people any more and very few motorcars.“– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
Apples and oranges are also mentioned in chapter 20, alongside other fruits, when the Trunchbull quizzes Wilfred on the three-times table.
“‘Very well, boy,’ she said. ‘answer me this. I have seven apples, seven oranges and seven bananas. How many pieces of fruit do I have altogether? Hurry up! Get on with it! Give me the answer!'”– Chapter 20 (The Third Miracle)
“‘I’ll give you one more chance. I have eight coconuts, eight monkey nuts and eight nutty little boys like you. How many nuts do I have altogether? Answer me quickly.'”– Chapter 20 (The Third Miracle)
Blackberries, Hawthorn Berries & Nuts
Hawthorn berries are loved by countless creatures, from blackbirds to Grey squirrels. But these berries are also used in traditional medicine and various food cultures around the world.
“It was one of those golden autumn afternoons and there were blackberries and splashes of old man’s beard in the hedges, and the hawthorn berries were ripening scarlet for the birds when the cold winter came along.“– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
“There was a high hedge of hazel on either side and you could see clusters of ripe brown nuts in their green jackets. The squirrels would be collecting them all very soon, Miss Honey said, and storing them away carefully for the bleak months ahead.”– Chapter 16 (Miss Honey’s Cottage)
Eggs, Mayonnaise & Ice Cream
In Chapter 17, a sense of discomfort arises as Matilda brings up the notably minimalist lifestyle of Miss Honey.
“‘And I suppose if you don’t have a fridge you don’t have to go out and buy all sorts of junky things like eggs and mayonnaise and ice cream to fill it up with. It must save a terrific lot of shopping.’ At this point Matilda noticed that Miss Honey’s face had gone all right and peculiar-looking. Her whole body had become rigid.”– Chapter 17 (Miss Honey’s Story)
Noteworthy expressions with food
The expression “to egg someone on” means to strongly encourage someone to do something foolish or daring. It is mentioned in chapter 2 as Matilda engages in conversation with her father about their differing interests.
“His speech was never very delicate but Matilda was used to it. She also knew that he liked to boast and she would egg him on shamelessly.”– Chapter 2 (Mr Wormwood, the Great Car Dealer)
In chapter 2, Matilda’s father delves into the details of his car dealership, sharing his unique trick of using sawdust to make older cars sound better during test drives. “Runs as sweet as a nut”, he says.
“Ignoring Matilda, he turned to his son and said, ‘I’m always glad to buy a car when some fool has been crashing the gears so badly they’re all worn out and rattle like mad. I get it cheap. Then all I do is mix a lot of sawdust with the oil in the gear-box and it runs as sweet as a nut.'”– Chapter 2 (Mr Wormwood, the Great Car Dealer)
If someone calls you a nut, they probably think you’re crazy or wacky. Or maybe you’re just a talking parrot being told what to do by a five-year-old…
“‘Hello, hello, hello!’ the bird called down to her. ‘Hello, hello!’ ‘Shut up, you nut!’ Matilda said, and she went out to wash the soot off her hands.“– Chapter 4 (The Ghost)
The color of sour apples is mentioned in chapter 6 when Mr. Wormwood discovers his new hair tint.
“‘What the blazes are you all talking about?’ the father yelled, putting both hands to his hair. ‘I most certainly have not dyed it! What d’you mean I’ve dyed it? What’s happened to it? Or is this some sort of a stupid joke?’ His face was turning pale green, the colour of sour apples.“– Chapter 6 (The Platinum-Blond Man)
In Chapter 7, Miss Honey issues a cautionary note to the students about the formidable Headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. She advises the children to be vigilant and to avoid incurring her wrath at all costs, otherwise they might end up resembling blended carrots…Yikes!
“Let me for your own good tell you something about Miss Trunchbull. She insists upon strict discipline throughout the school, and if you take my advice you will do your very best to behave yourselves in her presence. Never argue with her. Never answer her back. Always do as she says. If you get on the wrong side of Miss Trunchbull she can liquidize you like a carrot in a kitchen blender.“– Chapter 7 (Miss Honey)
In chapter 9, Mrs. Wormwood’s face is compared to a suet-pudding. Quite the visual feast, I imagine.
“Miss Honey looked at the plain plump person with the smug suet-pudding face who was sitting across the room. ‘What did you say?’ she asked.”– Chapter 9 (The Parents)
Unfortunately, Miss Honey’s visit to Matilda’s parents proved to be rather unsuccessful in chapter 9. We are also introduced to Mr. Wormwood’s pet name for his wife…
“‘Quite right, sugar-plum,’ Mr Wormwood said, casting a look of such simpering sloppiness at his wife it would have made a cat sick.”– Chapter 9 (The Parents)
In chapter 10, Hortensia humorously compares Lavender and Matilda to shrimps. She likely makes this comparison to highlight their small stature or perhaps their unassuming appearances.
“‘You can rely on us,’ Lavender said, making her height of three feet two inches stretch as tall as possible. ‘No, I can’t,’ Hortensia said. ‘You’re only shrimps. But you never know. We may find a use for you one day in some undercover job.'”– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
Similarly, in chapter 13, Miss Trunchbull compares Matilda to an unhatched shrimp after discovering that she has read Nicholas Nickleby. Little does she know how brilliant Matilda is…
“‘I said I’ve read it, Miss Trunchbull.’ ‘Read what?’ ‘Nicholas Nickleby, Miss Trunchbull.’ ‘You are lying to me, madam!’ the Trunchbull shouted, glaring at Matilda, ‘I doubt there is a single child in the entire school who has read that book, and here you are, an unhatched shrimp sitting in the lowest form there is, trying to tell me a whopping great lie like that! Why do you do it? You must take me for a fool! Do you take me for a fool, child?'”– Chapter 13 (The Weekly Test)
Grapefruits and salami are mentioned in chapter 10 when Miss Trunchbull’s striking physique is described in great detail.
“A formidable figure she was too, in her belted smock and green breeches. Below the knees her calf muscles stood out like grapefruits inside her stockings.“– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
“‘Your mummy’s a twit!’ the Trunchbull bellowed. She pointed a finger the size of a salami at the child’s head and shouted, ‘You look like a rate with a tail coming out of its head!‘”– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
Pigtails appear to irk Miss Trunchbull greatly. Perhaps they are deemed too frivolous by the Headmistress, who harbors an intense aversion towards anything childhood-related. As a result, Amanda Thripp is left quivering and trembling like a wobbly blancmange as she is interrogated by the Headmistress.
“‘My m-m-mummy thinks I look lovely, Miss T-T-Trunchbull,’ Amanda stuttered, shaking like a blancmange.“– Chapter 10 (Throwing the Hammer)
Funnily enough, Miss Trunchbull starts quivering like a blancmange as well when a slimy newt slides straight into her glass of water in front of the entire class. Who would believe that THE Trunchbull would be terrified of such a small and harmless creature?
“The Trunchbull, this mighty female giant, stood there in her green breeches, quivering like a blancmange. She was especially furious that someone had succeeded in making her jump and yell like that because she prided herself on her toughness. She stared at the creature twisting and wriggling in the glass.”– Chapter 14 (The First Miracle)
Unscrupulous car dealers are the worst…After getting scammed by Matilda’s dad, Miss Trunchbull expresses a strong desire for revenge in a rather gruesome way…
“‘He’s a crook!’ the Trunchbull shouted. ‘A week ago he sold me a second-hand car that he said was almost new. I thought he was a splendid fellow then. But this morning, while I was driving that car through the village, the entire engine fell out on to the road! The whole thing was filled with sawdust! The man’s a thief and a robber! I’ll have his skin for sausages, you see if I don’t!’“– Chapter 13 (The Weekly Test)
And, in chapter 14, The Trunchbull’s face is compared to a boiled ham following the newt incident in class.
“The Trunchbull, her face more like a boiled ham than ever, was standing before the class quivering with fury. Her massive bosom was heaving in and out and the splash of water down the front of it made a dark wet patch that had probably soaked right through to her skin.”– Chapter 14 (The First Miracle)
