De-gnoming the Garden

The word de-gnoming is a neologism referring to the freeing of the garden from gnomes. It is comparable to the de-weeding of the garden done by muggle gardeners. Gnomes in the magical world look nothing like the figurines often found in non-magical gardens. They are living creatures which are considered to be garden pests. Mrs Weasley, the mother of Ron and his six siblings instructs her sons: “[…] You’re going to de-gnome the garden for me, they’re getting completely out of hand again.”[1] The book Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them gives clear instruction on de-gnoming: “The gnome can be expelled from the garden by swinging it in circles until dizzy and then dropping it over the garden wall.”[2] De-gnoming is, thus, an expression refering to the activity of making gnomes woozy before throwing them as far as possible. This way they are unable to find their way back into the garden.

---

[1] ibid., p.42.

[2] Rowling, J.K. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, London: Bloomsbury, 2009, p.34.

To magic oneself out of something

At the beginning of the second novel Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry gets locked up in his room by his uncle. In an attempt to free him the Weasley’s Ron, George and Fred decide to rescue him with a flying car. Due to ministry regulation underage wizards are not allowed to perform magic outside school. Harry is, therefore, quite desperate and asks them to inform the headmaster:

“‘[…] Look, can you explain to them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won’t let me come back, and obviously I can’t magic myself out, because the Ministry’ll think that’s the second spell I’ve done in three days, so-‘

‘Stop gibbering’, said Ron, ‘we’ve come to take you home with us.’

‘But you can’t magic me out either-‘” [1]

To ‘magic oneself out’ is a neologism used by J. K. Rowling that derives from the phrases ‘to deliver out of’ and ‘to break out’. Both focus on an escape from an enclosed space. In the magical world it is much easier to escape with the use of magic. This neologism is, therefore, very accurate.

---

[1] Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. London: Bloomsbury, 1998, p.32.