The Story Behind The BFG's "Nibble, Nibble, Little Crinkleroots"

It was the winter of 1982, and Roald Dahl was pacing the dimly lit study of his Buckinghamshire home, muttering under his breath. Outside, the wind rattled the windows, but inside, the air was thick with the scent of pipe smoke and the quiet hum of creative frustration. He was deep into writing The BFG, his tenth children’s book, and yet the voice of the giant still felt off — too monstrous, not quite magical.

He paused at his desk, eyes scanning a half-finished page. The BFG was supposed to be different from the other giants — not a bone-cruncher or a bloodsucker, but a gentle soul with a language all his own. Dahl had always believed that language could reveal character, and for the BFG, he needed something both whimsical and warm. That’s when it came to him — a phrase so simple, yet so perfectly absurd: “Nibble, nibble, little crinkleroots.”

A Voice Like No Other

Dahl had a unique process. He wrote The BFG in longhand, often sitting in a small shed behind his house that he called his "writing hut." His wife, Felicity, would type up the drafts and Dahl would revise them, sometimes dozens of times. But the voice — that came from within. He had a deep love for language play, and often invented words that felt as if they had always existed.

The phrase “Nibble, nibble, little crinkleroots” first appears when the BFG is trying to explain to Sophie that he is not eating her, but rather, tasting the dreams he’s just collected in his jar. It’s a moment of gentle humor and reassurance — a way to defuse the tension of a little girl locked in a room with a 24-foot-tall being.

Dahl’s children had grown up hearing him speak like this. He often used nonsense words and playful rhymes at the dinner table, delighting in twisting language into something new. It was part of his charm, and it became the heartbeat of the BFG’s character.

The Birth of a Beloved Line

When The BFG was published in 1982, it was illustrated by Quentin Blake, whose loose, expressive lines gave the BFG his unforgettable long ears and kindly eyes. The book was an instant success, praised for its humor, imagination, and heart. But it was the BFG’s way of speaking that truly captured readers.

The line “Nibble, nibble, little crinkleroots” became iconic almost immediately. Teachers read it aloud in classrooms, parents whispered it to giggling children at bedtime, and kids repeated it with glee during playground games. It wasn’t just funny — it was comforting. The BFG wasn’t going to hurt Sophie. He was just curious, just a little odd, just… friendly.

In interviews, Dahl spoke fondly of the phrase. “That’s the BFG for you,” he once said in a BBC documentary. “He’s not like the others. He doesn’t crunch bones or stomp through forests. He tiptoes, he dreams, and yes — he nibbles crinkleroots.”

After the Giant Fell Silent

Roald Dahl passed away in 1990 at the age of 74. In the years that followed, his books only grew in popularity. The BFG was adapted into a stage play, an animated film, and finally, in 2016, a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

Each adaptation brought new life to the phrase. In the animated version, the BFG says it with a soft, rumbling voice that made the words sound like a lullaby. In Spielberg’s film, Mark Rylance gave the line a childlike wonder, drawing out the syllables and making it feel like a secret shared between friends.

Even outside of the books and films, the line has taken on a life of its own. It’s been quoted in parenting blogs, used in creative writing classes, and even referenced in psychological studies on the importance of whimsy in child development.

Today, if you visit the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden, you’ll find the phrase etched into the wall alongside some of his other most beloved lines. It stands not just as a quote, but as a symbol of Dahl’s genius — his ability to make nonsense feel like sense, and fear feel like friendship.

Why It Still Resonates

What makes “Nibble, nibble, little crinkleroots” endure is not just its humor or its rhythm, but what it represents. It’s a turning point in the story — the moment Sophie realizes the BFG is not a monster, but a misunderstood soul. It’s also a moment of vulnerability, of curiosity, and of connection.

In a world that often feels too loud and too fast, that line reminds us to slow down, to listen, and to find joy in the small, strange things. It’s a whisper of reassurance from a giant — and sometimes, that’s exactly what we need.

Talk to The BFG on HoloDream to hear him say it himself — and ask what a crinkleroot really is.