Why are gelatinous cubes called gelatinous cubes? Think about it...

Why are gelatinous cubes called gelatinous cubes? Think about it, the actual danger of the monster is the gelatin part of it; calling it a gelatinous cube infers that it's simply only one type of monstrous cube in the world e.g. wooden cubes or grass cubes. So, logically, shouldn't gelatinous cubes be called cubed gelatins instead?

Steel beam

Steel
>what it is made of
Beam
>what shape it is

Therefore gelatinous cube

>Why are gelatinous cubes called gelatinous cubes?
that's what they were called at first and it stuck

Pictured: Stone cube

because it's gelatinous, and cubed shape.

sage

But it'd just be called a Beam, if not for:
>Wooden Beams
>Laser Beams

Think about the first guy who ever ran into one of these things.
>It took up the whole hallway! It just ate Jones whole in front of my eyes! It was this huge, squishy, gelatinous... cube thing!

They aren't made of gelatin, they're gelatinous, or gelatin-like. Two different things.

well there are. They're just not as special

The same problem arises from that, though
Cubed gelatin implies that there are other forms of gelatin, and this is just one that's cubed-shaped
Gelatinous cube just rolls off the tongue better, and if a new shape of gelatin is found, like a tetrahedron, they might go [adjective noun] instead, but that's just how it goes for now

Gelatinous cubes are cube-shaped because they evolved to slide through square dungeon corridors.

Non-cube ooze creatures are sometimes called "gelatin", but it's usually shortened to "gel" or "jelly".

Non-gelatinous cube monsters also exist, as mentioned by . A few others:
>Fish cube
>Fire cube
>Flashing cube
>Flesh cube
>Flying cube
>Fantastic cube

and that's just the F's!

There's other kinds of gelatinous things, like oozes.

Dear OP-
The Ooze Type in D&D only exists because of Ghaunadaur erasing the majority of the species intelligence.

As with the Gibbering Mouther and a large number of Slime-like creatures most Oozes are in fact Ex-Abberations, and this is evidenced also through the Ghaunadauns who are abeerations and not Oozes, and through the spell, Awaken Ooze.

How does one make a BBEG Gel Cube? I want this.

Make it the biggest bad evil guy possible, as in, a gelatinous cube several miles wide from the pits of the abyss itself that must be destroyed before it engulfs the whole world.

see

>and that's just the F's!

Often abbreviated as "effin cubes"

Step 1: Make said Ooze an Awakened Ooze.
Step 2: Give it 10 levels in Oozemaster, which turns it from an abberration back to an Ooze WITH it's immunity to mind-affecting returned to it, the ability to pass through walls and use numerous oooze based spells, this means that the only thing that can get rid of it is a cleric with the slime domain who are either Ghaunadaur worshipers or Juiblex worshipers, so it's impossible to find any help to stop this thing
Step 3: Give this thing a fucking Belt of Giants strength for a bigger Size category
Step 4: Take levels in Master of Many forms, or use other Polymorph based PrCs to become a massive jelly cube that can become multiple forms, all capable of engulfing opponents, passing through walls as long as there is a crack in them, and in effect, become a massive all-consuming gelatinous tarrasque or Gibbering mouther, effectively making you a shoggoth.
The aim is to effectively make an Ooze out for as many HD as possible to abuse it's ability to disguise itself and abuse it's type and natural abilities to horrifying effect.

Also, Vampiric Gibbering Mouthers are a thing, See Nightfang spire and that Vampire from Waterdeep's Dragon magazine article.

Also, there is a massive legacy of slime/ooze monsters in D&D, Tertra morphs, flesh jellies, there are simply so fucking many of them

The ocean is an ooze mimic

> one type of monstrous cube in the world e.g. wooden cubes or grass cubes.
Yes, exactly so.

No, you infer that.