Context

These lines are the entire poem of "Reflection on Babies" by Ogden Nash. Talk about short, sweet, and to the point.

Talcum is just another word for baby powder, which helps with normal baby ailments like diaper rash. Nash's entire poem is basically saying that if talcum powder didn't exist, he'd pretty much lose it. Seems like we've found the talcum spokesman.

And if you were wondering about that word "walcum," you're not seeing things; it's definitely spelled wrong, which makes this poem a great example of one of Nash's literary quirks—making up words!

Where you've heard it

It's kind of weird, but this quote has resurfaced recently due to a bit of a talcum problum. Other than that, people nowadays just say baby powder, but you be fancy and say talcum if you want.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

On the one hand, saying talcum might get you a lot of tilted heads, wondering why you're using that term when you could just say "baby powder." On the other hand, trying to pronounce walcum as its written won't get you much more than some confused nods. So maybe leave this one to the pros.