Hiya folx! Couldn't wait to try my hand. Here goes nothing!

'a'ali'i ('ah-'ah-lee-'ee)

What on earth is an 'a'ali'i?
In Hawaii they say it's a tree.
It has hard, dark wood
and for clearing is good
your throat with its glottal stops three!

Thanks for the fun! Anyone else think that should be "On Hawaii"? Or does that unnecessarily restrict it to that one island? Anyone know where the accent(s) go(es)?

Jerry is our resident expert on Hawaii. Over to you Jerry.

abroad

Think only of far sun and sand?
"Abroad" mightn't speak as you planned,
if something's around
and all over town,
not only in a distant land.

"In Hawaii" means "In the State of Hawaii," and "On Hawaii" means on this island where I live.

"On the Big Island" avoids the confusion.

Does that answer the question???

So "In Hawaii" is better here, unless the tree actually on grows on the big island!

Another question, Jerry, if you please! Is it accurate that it (the tree) has three glottal stops? (Does it, indeed, start with one? I know quite a few words in (Ancient) Hebrew start with glottals 'Aleph and 'Ayin.)

abroad

A working girl goes out at night
Seeking tricks she can turn with delight
It's not even odd
When a broad is abroad
Her work's mostly done out of sight.

*laughing out loud*

I will happily withdraw my "abroad" for yours, Jerry.

I don't speak Hawaiian and don't even know many people who do. I do know that here are many words that start with the glottal stop, including 'a'a, which is the stoney, clinkery kind of lava, as opposed to the smooth kind, which is pahoehoe. Another interesting word is 'a'a'a'a, the cloth-like sheath at the base of a coconut frond. (I found that in my Hawaiian Dictionary.)

For other questions about the language, this link might help.

aba (uh-BAH)

When weaving with camel or goat
you soon will have reason to gloat.
An Arab aba
will get a "huzzah",
for the wearer is cooled by this coat.

Here's another one. All the wordlist says about abumbrellar is that it's zoological in nature. Not much to go on, and Google tells me nothing... but why let that stop me...

Noah, the biblical feller,
Built a big floating zoo (sans-propeller).
But oh what a pain
When it started to rain
And poor Noah without abumbrellar!

Welcome to wordcraft, Robot Johnny! It is great to see another Canadian!

My second try at this.

It occurs to me that I may be breaking a rule by not going in word order? I am perusing the list of words yet to be used and choosing one that seems interesting. I trust that isn't a major bad? Please correct me if I am doing anything wrong.


abbozzo

There are fine illustrations of abbozzo,
A word, that we surely all crave to know.
I don't mean a clown.
That's Lautrec of renown.
I refer to rough sketches by V. Van Gogh.


Since this dictionary is an educational exercise, uh right? I am providing the URLs for online collections of the illustrations of VG's sketches, as well as TL's clown, in case anyone wishes to check them out.

Van Gogh's sketches

Lautrec's Seated Clown

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LizH,

No, you're not breaking a rule. For the initial letters that we've done and the ones we're on at the moment you can choose any words you like - even ones that have already been done.
The only rule is that you can't leap ahead:- so at the moment words begining aa- ab- ac- and as- are all fair game.

This was written by Hic:

My Brush with Sadism
When in college, a girl from Bryn Mawr
Invited me to her boudoir.
Or so I had thought,
Unaware that she sought
Me as victim for her abattoir.

Thanks Kalleh!
Here's another (this is getting addictive!)

A man set his own house ablaze
And the reason for why, he conveys:
"I started the flame
For the insurance claim
And to prove that crime actually pays!"

Muzik, good one with "aba" especially since you provided the pronunciation. It wouldn't have worked had the reader pronounced it like the Swedish singing group.

Robot Johnny, good going with "abumbrellar." It's odd but in the case of writing for the OEDILF, knowing what you're talking about isn't in every case necessary. I'm working with the real OED people to try to get their on-line version (you know, the lesser-fun-to-read one) to be a part of the OEDILF. If memory serves, "abumbrellar" came from the OED.

And LizH, the second time apparently is the charm. You're the first to provide illustrative links, a commendable innovation that any and all are encouraged to emulate when appropriate. This really could be a plus for the OEDILF overall. Thanks mucho!

One correction, though. Bob Hale is correct in everything he said except for his mentioning that any word beginning with "aa-, ab-, ac-, or as-" are workable at this point. That last, obviously, was a typo for "ad-."

And, last but not least:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Robot Johnny:
A man set his own house _ablaze_
And the reason for why, he conveys:
"I started the flame
For the insurance claim
And to prove that crime actually pays!"

---

Ba-BOOM! Over the outfield wall!

The most minor of quibbles, however, involves a pet peeve of mine (Ask the older Wordcrafters; I have dozens.) regarding the use of the use of the format "...the reason why..." which, to me, is a nails-on-the-chalkboard experience every time I hear it. It's a redundancy, you see. Might I suggest replacing the word "why" with the word "this"?

Also, "insurance" can be pronounced with the stress either on the first or, more commonly, the second syllable. The placement of this word where it is prompts the lesser-used "INsurance" ends the piece with a positive zing. A winner!

Chris,
The redundancy of "the reason why" bothered me as well, but I needed it for the rhythm... your suggestion of replacing "why" with "this" is perfect! Glad you liked!

Okay, I have one, and I didn't see it used yet, but that doesn't mean anything.

Please tell me if it's too lame. Seriously. Especially since the definition is a stretch here.

abiotic (characterized by absence of life, inanimate)

I at first thought Jim just idiotic
Till I saw him becoming necrotic
"Oh, my gosh!" I exclaimed
"He was just slightly maimed,
"He's now completely abiotic!"

Okay, this is just for fun, and just because I can't see "Abu Dhabi" and not think of Garfield:

Garfield's a cat slightly blobby
Sleeping's his favorite hobby.
When bothered by Nermal
He won't go exothermal,
Just ship him off to Abu Dhabi.

Okay, I swear I'm going to bed now, and I see that absinthe has already been done. but it came my way while I brushed my teeth...this limerick thing is addicting.

"The green fairy" refers to absinthe,
It's a liquor hued like creme de menthe.
Distilled with wormwood,
With a sugar cube, good,
But not meant to be taken full strength.

(The ritual for preparing absinthe requires a tall glass, a spoon, some sugar, water, and the absinthe. One pours the absinthe over the sugar in the spoon, and then pours the water in, turning the drink a lovely opalescent green.)

Welcome fiercecupcake (quite the name!)

I see that we already have an "ablation" limerick (sorry!), but this one addresses another aspect of "ablation."

Ablation's an interesting word.
In medicine often it's heard.
"Ablate!" says the surgeon.
"Her hormones are surgin'!"
He removes the offense, undeterred.

This one hasn't been done (I wonder why ):

Politically steamed is abortion,
A subject that many and more shun.
The liberals are for it,
While others abhor it.
The Anger is out of proportion!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

quote:

---

Originally posted by fiercecupcake:
Please tell me if it's too lame. Seriously. Especially since the definition is a stretch here.

_abiotic_ (characterized by absence of life, inanimate)

I at first thought Jim just idiotic
Till I saw him becoming necrotic
"Oh, my gosh!" I exclaimed
"He was just _slightly_ maimed,
"He's now completely _abiotic_!"

---

OK, I will give you a straightforward critique because:
1.) you specifically asked for one,
2.) I like the piece and want to tinker with it, and
3.) this brings up a point I'd like to make regarding editing.

First off, yes, this one's a winner as is but it strikes me as not being complete. The meter is a bit herky-jerky in parts and, as such, the limerick overall seems like a work in progress. Limericks work best when they can be recited in a manner as close to a normal speaking voice as possible. How would you feel about:

I thought Jim was just idiotic
Till I saw him becoming necrotic.
"Oh, my gosh!" I exclaimed,
"He was just slightly maimed.
"And now he's, in short, abiotic!"

Flows a little bit better, maybe? In the future if, for example, two different people workshop one piece, I can see both getting credit for it. What I have done here with your "abiotic" piece is not co-writing but, rather, merely editing. The piece is wholly yours, I just tweaked it a bit.

And your other ones? Great! I loved the Abu Dhabi piece even though I don't have a clue as to what it means! I assume if I followed Garfield this wouldn't be the case but it's a winner nonetheless. And the "absinthe" piece works, for the most part, even with the rhymes not being 100% on target. We've had long, lo-o-o-ong discussions (AKA "good, drag-out fights") elsewhere on this board on the nature of rhymes and I tend to be strictly conservative in this regard. Hit the search function for "near rhymes" or "sight rhymes" if you'd care to check out some Wordcraft history on the subject (I can't make up a link to it for some reason) which began when someone rhymed "tops" with "pops" (fine) and "knot" (choke!) and I went mildly ballistic.

Your rhymes don't bring up the ol' bile in that same way. Maybe I'm mellowing in my old age...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris J. Strolin,

Thanks a ton, Chris. Yes, the last line is best modified that way, I had just given up on it.

I'll keep plugging along on some more, then.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kalleh:
Politically steamed is _abortion_,
A subject that many and more shun.
The liberals support it,
Others abhor it.
The Anger is out of proportion!

---

More editing.

I like the "abortion/many and more shun" rhyme but might the middle work better if the third line were "The liberals are for it"?

Just for the sake of readability, I might add a "While" before "others," an "And" before "the anger," and make the last three lines just one sentence, but that's just me. Again, the piece is wholly yours and a good one it is!

By way of a bit of digression, and not that I'm saying Kalleh has done so here, but some people confuse the "liberal" point of view in regards to abortion. I am liberal and have been liberal all my life. I remain so even now that the word itself has fallen into disfavor. And while I am very strongly pro-choice, no one is "pro-abortion." In the past, I have greatly antagonized friends who were, let's say, less liberal by comparing the right to a safe abortion to the U.S. Marines. I see both as being necessary evils in an imperfect world.

Especially for those new to this board, may I point out that Kalleh has had the audacity to state that double dactyls are easier for her to write than limericks. To me this is like saying that you're an expert on the uneven parallel bars but that you have difficulty turning a somersault. All newbies are encouraged to check out the double dactyl threads. I love limericks but DDs are killers!

One more ab- piece:


abusive

With a child, you just can't be abusive!
Make your praise for him steady, effusive.
The love that he feels
When with family he deals
Must be total, sincere, all-conclusive.

I'd like to think that this one adds some weight towards the pro side of the "Limericks-don't-have-to-be-funny" argument.

By way of sharing with friends, I have a pair of grandsons whom I love literally as much as life itself. Child abuse has always been, to me, the most horrible of crimes but now that I'm a grandfather (And how the hell did that happen?) there is no doubt in my mind that I am capable of great violence. Just let some bastard (especially a drunken one - another major pet peeve of mine!) attack either child and I swear the result will be sudden and extremely colorful mayhem. No warnings. No second chances. No police. No lawsuits. Just simple straightforward blood in the streets.

By posting this here I am putting the whole world on warning. Child abuse will not be tolerated!


(OK, I'm getting off my soapbox now...)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris J. Strolin,

like the "abortion/many and more shun" rhyme but might the middle work better if the third line were "The liberals are for it"?
I agree with you about the "while" before "others abhor it." That's the best I can do you. Otherwise, feel free to contact my copyright lawyers.

As for liberals, not all liberals are pro-choice, I agree. However, surely, in general, that is the case. I mean come on! And, yes, we liberals aren't pro-abortion...just pro-choice.

Okay, Edit # 2. I did change it to "liberals are for it." You're right; that is better.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

We are in complete agreement regarding liberals' views, generally speaking, regarding abortion. I just threw in that comment since many "pro-life" types will lable those on the other side of the table as "pro-abortion" when this is certainly nothing short of slander. Similarly, just because I favor a strong national defense, this doesn't mean I'm "pro-war."

No, the main purpose of the edit was your 3rd & 4th line rhymes. I only reworded your 3rd line so as to keep the exact same meaning but convey it in a way which rhymes with your 4th. Are you saying that your "support it/abhor it" (near) rhyme is better than my suggested "are for it/abhor it" rhyme?

Yours is an example of what is known as "assonance," a sub-category of "near rhymes" which, as I'm sure you recall, I am on record as saying I loathe. With assonance, the vowel sounds of the "rhyming" words are the same but not the rest of the syllables involved. William Butler Yeats wrote of "...that dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea." which, I agree, is some pretty neat assoncinating but it's just not rhyming. Not to me, anyway.

And yes, others disagree. I may not even be in the majority opinion on this point. No less of authority than Tinman (And while that may sound as if I'm being sarcastic, I swear this is not the case) is firmly in the "assonance = rhyming" camp.

Another good example of assonance is "Dirty Little Ernie." Does anyone else remember "Dirty Little Ernie" jokes? I think their (admitedly brief) popularity fell somewhere between Elephant jokes and Helen Keller jokes. Well, anyway, "Dirty Little Ernie" is some great assonance especially considering the fact that they could have named him "Dirty Little Bertie and thereby made him a perfect rhyme.

All things considered though, assonance seems out of place in a limerick which is, after all, the poetry of the common person. I mean, how many limericks did Yeats write?


I rest my case...

Oh, Musik asked about the pronunciation of "abscotchalater."

I looked it up again in "Mrs. Byrnes Dictionary" (an excellent read for word lovers and, in part, an inspiration for the OEDILF) and she states that the stresses are where you would think they'd most likely be (primary on "scotch" and secondary on "la") and that the word rhymes with "greater."

Hope this helps.


Hmmm... Just had a thought. With the OEDILF picking up steam nicely, here's an interesting idea on how to promote it after Musik comes through with his/her "abscotchalater" piece and the new website is up and running:

Every time you leave someone you know, say to them "See ya later, abscotchalater!" Then, when they asked you define the term for them (assuming they don't know it - I mean, really, figure the odds) you could reply that they need to look it up in their OEDILF!

I'd be willing to bet that if we put our minds to it, "abscotchalater" could become a commonly used English word long before, oh, I dunno, say, "epicaricacy"??

The scansion isn't the best, sorry.

Creatures that use abiogenesis
Instead of the usual 'lad and miss'
Can spring forth at will
Sans exertion or thrill
Fully formed, from the abyss!

Abolitionist

If you are a staunch abolitionist
It is slavery that gets you all pissed.
It's easy to see
Liberation is key,
And removing the shackles from wrists.

abiogenesis

When new maggots rise from old meat
With no eggs, mom, or dad, for the feat
Then that rotting menace is
Abiogenesis
(Pace Pliny, you'll ne'er really see't)

(Note that this new contributor *likes* the serial comma, and many others as well, and will *not* have them edited out! )

quote:

---

Originally posted by Slabgorb:
The scansion isn't the best, sorry.

Creatures that use abiogenesis
Instead of the usual 'lad and miss'
Can spring forth at will
Sans exertion or thrill
Fully formed, from the abyss!

---

Good effort overall but, yes, the scansion stumbles just a bit at the end. Your lines 1, 2, & 5 have 10, 10, and 7 syllables respectively. More important, the stress of the ends of lines 1 & 2 are the same ("..GEN-e-sis," a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones, and "LAD and miss," ditto) but line 5 is just "A-byss," one each stressed & unstressed.

Possible suggestion: "Fully formed from the deepest dark abysses." I'm not wild about it, especialy considering that the word "abyss" in this sense isn't often pluralized, but the meter seems to work better. Your call.

And Welcome Aboard!!

quote:

---

Originally posted by evinrude:
abiogenesis

When new maggots rise from old meat
With no eggs, mom, or dad, for the feat
Then that rotting menace is
Abiogenesis
(_Pace_ Pliny, you'll ne'er really see't)

(Note that this new contributor *likes* the serial comma, and many others as well, and will *not* have them edited out! )

---

A winner! Strange how a word like "abiogenesis" can inspire two limericks within about an hour and a half. I especially like the meat/feat/(best of all) see't rhyme and the artistic use of the word "ne'er." Plus, fear not. I also am a strong advocate for the final serial comma.

If there's one drawback to this piece for me it is the fact that I have to admit that I don't completely understand the last line. Note that this is, I admit, a flaw in this reader and not in your piece. It sounds great and I'm sure I'd be able to appreciate more if I were able to understand the Pliny (the Elder, right?) reference. Care to fill us in?

And Welcome Aboard.

A couple more ab- pieces:


abscond

To put all your worries behind you
So that money woes never will bind you,
Pick a bank vault to smash,
Then abscond with the cash,
And then pray the police never find you.

(Both the word "find" and the word "then" appear twice in the last three lines. This bugs me but none of the alternative possibilities seem to work as well. It uses "abscond" well though, so I guess I'll be happy with it.)


absent without leave

The soldier was homesick as hell
And fed up with the Army as well.
He said, "I believe
"I'll go absent without leave!"
(Also known as A. W. O. L.)

[Editor's note: More flawed meter but sometimes it just can't be helped. This one would scan tremendously better if the phrase were "absent with leave" but there you have it. Also, the term "AWOL" is almost never spelled out with periods but I did so here to prevent readers from reading the word as the two-syllable acronym.]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris J. Strolin,

Abraxas:

A numerological name
Of Basilidian acclaim;
Preserved in arcana,
Jung, Hesse and Santana,
A gnostic trademark it became.

My apologies for the lack of humour in this one.

Welcome, Virge! You don't say where you are from, but you give it away a bit with "humour!"

Thanks for the welcome, Kalleh. I've updated my public profile to expose a little more.

The OEDILF project looks just crazy enough to work. As a limerick lover I couldn't ignore it.

CJ,

What do you think of this version of your "Abscond" limerick? At least it solves the problem of "find" and "then" appearing twice...

To put all your worries behind you
So that money woes never will bind you,
Pick a bank vault to smash,
Then abscond with the cash,
And pray that the police never find you.

I can't help it if I abase
Myself with the rhymes I embrace.
My limerick proclivity's
An addictionary activity
Devoid of all virtue and grace.

The meter is a little squeezed in lines 3 and 4 but it rolled off my tongue without trouble. YMMV.

Abatis

A housekeeping tip that I've found
Is to brace rows of spikes in the ground
With their points facing out
As a sturdy redoubt
When the neighbours invite themselves 'round.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Virge:
Abraxas:
...
Of Basilidian acclaim;
...

My apologies for the lack of humour in this one.

---

Absolutely no apologies necessary & Welcome Aboard! Every limerick doesn't have to be a knee-slapper.

Your limerick is one of the most intriguing the OEDILF has seen so far. My first response was "Hell, that isn't even a limerick" since I was compressing the longer words together and not enunciating (in my mind) every syllable. But, yep, it's definitely a limerick and a damn fine one, too.

One request, though, and not just to you but to all OEDILF Contributing Editors: If your subject matter deals with material that you feel may be beyond the experience of the average reader (or, in this case, my goodness, even the above-average reader!) feel free to tack on an Editor's Note or two.

In this case, "Basilidian" completely stumped Dictionary.com and I had to go to (Where else?) the OED to find that "Basilidian" is defined as "of, pertaining to, or derived from Basilides, a 2nd century Alexandrian gnostic." Heavy stuff and a topic I assume you have more than a dabbling interest in. Or is Basilides more an Australian thing?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Virge:
I can't help it if I _abase_
Myself with the rhymes I embrace.
My limerick proclivity's
An _addictionary_ activity
Devoid of all virtue and grace.

The meter is a little squeezed in lines 3 and 4 but it rolled off my tongue without trouble. YMMV.

---

Feel free to squeeze away. Limericks are known for being willing to accept an extra syllable or two here and there as long as it doesn't throw off the meter. In this case you may have slightly more syllables than the average limerick but the meter's fine and, for the record, I disagree with the last line. It's clear that these are not your first attempts at this particular literary form.

And "addictionary"! With your kind permission, I would like to use that word in a sub-title to this project so that its full name is "The Oxford English Dictionary in Limerick Form (An Exorbitantly Unabridged Addictionary of Five-Line Verse)" That says it all.

And, lastly, you've broken new ground with your "abatis" piece in that this is the first OEDILF limerick not to include the subject word within its five lines. I never specified that this had to be the case and see no reason to do so now. All things considered, I think it would make for a stronger limerick if it could stand completely on its own without a title (the title being just so much icing on the cake) but, still, this one's a winner!

Plus it inspired a sequel:


Strong Fences Make Good Neighbors, Sorta

When faced with a neighbor's abatis
(And you know what a hinderance that is)
Don't let his strong fences
Or other defenses
Detract from your "Good Neighbor" status.

A fine effort, if I do say so myself, but with one minor flaw. I just looked up "abatis" in the OED and discovered that the stress falls on the FIRST syllable which makes this whole thing completely worthless and a collosal waste of time! DamnDamnDamnDamnDamn!!

Oh, well. Life's like that sometimes...


Later postscript. How about:

When faced with a neighbor's stong abatis
(He's shy as a timid white rabbit is!)
Just charge right on through it.
He'd want you to do it.
To see neighbors each day, a good habit is.


(Naw. Close maybe, but no cigar...)

[Editor's Note: I am loathe to admit it but I briefly (VERY briefly, I swear!) considered trying to save the first version of this piece by saying that since we were updating the OED, it would be within the realm of our authority to update and improve certain pronunciations as the need arose. I am deeply agrieved that I was tempted by "the dark side" this way but promise it will not happen again. Abatis is "A-ba-tis" and not "a-BA-tis" no matter how convenient it might have been otherwise. I mean, My God, what a precedent that would have established!)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris J. Strolin,

Arnie:

Ref my "abscond" piece, both suggested changes work and I've rewritten the 3rd line to reflect one of them. "Pick" is a perfect replacement for the (in this case) slightly overused "find."

I'm going to stay with "and then PRAY the poLICE never FIND you" though since it better mirrors the meter of line #2. The repetition of the word "that" is not so bothersome as was the repetition of the word "find" since both usages of the former are unstressed syllables while both usages of the latter were stressed.

"and PRAY the poLICE never FIND you" would also work. Very often it just comes down to what appeals to the writer's ear.


This is the kind of thing I mean when I talk about "workshopping" limericks. Thanks much for your input!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris J. Strolin,

OED and dictionary in hand, here are some contributions. I know aardvark, at least, is a repeat, but I just saw two aardvarks in the Tacoma Zoo and couldn't resist.

Aardvark is Dutch for "earth pig"
But pigs don't have noses as big
Instead of scratching ants out
The aardvark uses its snout
To do otherwise would be infra dig

The abacist counts using balls
Her manual agility enthralls
Her demeanor grows solemn
O'er the ones and tens column,
Then: "The sum!" she triumphantly calls

Abeam's when the angles are right
And ship A has ship B in its sight
Too close, they're abreast
But it's generally best
For the vessels to pass in the night

The abettor was someone who stood
Watch for his friend from the 'hood
For assisting a crime,
He's now doing time
Some Samaritans, I suppose, aren't so Good

To scour you could use an abstergent
If you don't mind coming off sounding turgent
But when wheeling your cart
Through the aisles of WalMart,
You'd better just ask for detergent

"Abstinent" is a word for a faster
Who, though his appetite couldn't be vaster,
Refuses to eat
Even the tiniest treat
But indulges in oil of castor

Abumbral pertains to sea-blubbers:
Underneath these membranous rubbers
It's not _adumbrellar_ (q.v.)--
That would be _upper_ blubbers-of-sea--
None of which will make sense to landlubbers


I'm still working on "aberdevine." Cheerio.

Welcome, T.A. to the OEDILF and to the Wordcraft board as a whole.

Don't worry about duplication. You can never have too many limericks about aardvarks, that's what I always say.

One request, though. It helps us keep track of things if you highlight the word you're working with, either in color within the piece or in boldface above it. For example, your third piece covers both "abeam" and "abreast."

Thanks again!

abound

"Plentiful", "found all around",
Or we might say that such things "abound".
Like courtships in Austen
Or Sox fans in Boston
All things that are thick on the ground

Okay, I see the B and I. I have bad peripheral vision. Since you were confused about abreasthere's a go:


Abreast(should I say, side by side),
No matter how hard that I tried
Couldn't avoid sounding blue
Although moreso, if two
Joined together, with circumference wide.

No bodily fluids were harmed in this limerick.

quote:

---

And "addictionary"! With your kind permission, I would like to use that word in a sub-title to this project so that its full name is "The Oxford English Dictionary in Limerick Form (An Exorbitantly Unabridged Addictionary of Five-Line Verse)" That says it all.

---

I was going to say, "Be my guest." However, your question prompted me to do a search on the word. I should have known somebody would have already grabbed it for an addictive word game.

Since the word also seems to have been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous, and there appears to be no attempt to enforce a trademark on it, your proposed use of it seems fair (IANAL).

quote:

---

Heavy stuff and a topic I assume you have more than a dabbling interest in. Or is Basilides more an Australian thing?

---

It was an interesting word so I did some rudimentary research. Wikipedia's entry on Abraxas was very helpful and provided links to further information in Occultopedia and a Jewish encyclopedia. It was entertaining. I shall try to summarise the information in an editorial note.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Virge:
Abraxas:

A numerological name
Of Basilidian acclaim;
Preserved in arcana,
Jung, Hesse and Santana,
A gnostic trademark it became.

My apologies for the lack of humour in this one.

---

A few background notes to elucidate:
According to Greek mythology, Abraxas was a being with a human body, the head of a rooster and snake-like legs. It is claimed (in Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913) that the letters of Abraxas, in Greek, make up the number 365, a number of significance to the Egyptian Gnostics who followed Basilides.
Abraxas was a word carved on stones for Gnostic sects' amulets and charms. It was used to name Santana's second album. Abraxas is mentioned in the writings of Carl Jung and Hermann Hesse.

A fiber-free diet left Kit
so bloated she felt she would split.
Abevacuation
fell short of elation,
but made it less painful to sit.


Admit it. You expected a very tawdry rhyme at the end, didn't you?

Absolution

Those who would seek absolution
according to church constitution
You say you're sorry,
the priest says "don't worry,
As long as you make restitution"

ablution

Ablution: a noun. It means washing.
Whether tidy, or fraught with great sloshing.
It also can mean
A small washing machine
--Oh wait! No it doesn't. Just joshing.