A painting of nothing's not the done thing
For a painting should at least be of something
But when the art is abstract
That's the one thing that's lacked
Which is why modern art's such a rum thing

Abstemious abstention ? That's good !
Drunk debauchery ? Bad for the blood !
So the moral brigade
Preach from their crusade
Preferring life by the drip not the flood.

And heres one you missed on your list...

When in the Cartesian plane you are found
By two directions your motion is bound
Up and down on the ordinate
While the other coordinate's
The abscissa parallel to the ground

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

Well done, all! Bob, I heartily agree with your assessment regarding abstract art. Call me square but I'm a Norman Rockwell man, myself. And "abscissia" is, by far, not the only OED word I missed. Some I skipped as being too technical (Yes, yes, I know...) while others I simply passed over. This last group includes the umpty-ump variations of the words that are there. Bottom line - If it appeals to you, write on it!

Also, welcome back TrossL! Your assistance here is dearly needed. Lastly, thanks J.T. for tackling "abb." Anyone not understanding his effort should refer to the OED definition which I have left up on that other thread. (On the other hand, anyone who does understand it is a better man than I am, Gunga Din.)

Note: I added more "ab-" words to that other thread for your use.

Two more pieces and then I'm gone till Monday:


abeyance

The southern thug's favorite conveyance,
His truck, was now held in abeyance.
He said, with his drawl,
"Ah am housebound, y'all,
"Surrounded by my white picket feyance!"

[Editor's note: Decision #11 - Bad puns, off-the-wall humor, "stretched" definitions, etc etc, while conspicuously absent from the OED, will be encouraged in the OEDILF. We won't be as complete as the OED but my goal is to make us more readable.]

absolutely

When Perry set out resolutely
For the north pole, he suffered acutely
From frostbite and sneezing,
Temps far below freezing.
Did he miss his warm bed? Absolutely!

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

abide

I quite simply can not abide (1)
to abide(2) in the place I abide (3).
So, I'll leave my abode
And set off on the road
If you see me, please give me a ride.

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

Okay, now were are cookin' with gas! We have some direction, and I like that. Bob, yours are great, and I love the way you put two or more words in your limericks. Just think of the time it will save! Now, a favor: Could you (and everyone) please bold (or put in color) the words you use? Then, periodically, I will write out a list of all the words we have done. That would help me with the redundancy part.

Please forgive me CJ



I had done all I could with the ABs so I've taken the liberty of moving on the the ACs

Here's the effort so far.

Where the houses have a faux-marble facia
And the avenues are all named "Acacia"
The middle-England heartland
Of Betchman and Cartland
Hides scandals and sordid disgracia

(Note for US readers, the street name "Acacia Avenue" is almost synonymous with the middle class values of Betchman that long time readers will know I despise. With only five lines I was torn between using the last line that's above and trying to fit in somewhere a rhyme about "twitching curtains a little bit lacier".)

An academic's a man whose I.Q.
Far surpasses all but for a few
But should great intellect
Engender respect
In a man who can't tie his own shoe ?

(I used to have a statistics teacher at University who was, so everyone said, quite a brilliant chap. He was also completely scatter-brained and probably unable to remember to eat without someone to remind him. The first time I ever saw him he came into class wearing a kaftan and no shoes and spent an hour trying to explain to us why the set of all left socks is improperly defined.)

Oak, ebony, pine, rosewood and yew
Are all woods and I name but a few
And all play their part
In the carpenter's art
And so does, you will find, acajou.

Acanthocephalan invertebrate worms
Have spiny probiscis I've learned
And live in the intestine
Though I think they're best left in
A dictionary with its pages unturned

(It IS possible to say this limerick with the proper rhythm but, oh boy it's a tongue twister to manage.)

I once knew a tallented fella
Who sang by himself a cappela
Without breaking sweat
He'd perform a duet
How he did it is too rude to tell-a

By accede it is usually meant
To agree or to give ones consent
But you can also accede
To the throne and indeed
That must cause a temendous content.

Accelerando's a musical need
To maintain an increase in speed
But if you play too fast
You may find at the last
That your fingers are starting to bleed

Accidie is a slothful malaise
An apathy that creeps into your days
Well it does into mine
Though right now I feel fine
Lost here in my alcohol haze.

Well, first off, the last thing I want to do is dampen the enthusiam of one of the most prolific Contributing Editors the OEDILF has. Add to this the fact that the quality of your work is consistently high. HOWEVER! I would like to respectfully request that no one get too far ahead of the pack for several reasons:

1.) By doing so, you've taken first crack at some virgin territory and thereby grabbed some of the "easier" words that writers of, shall we say, less stellar talents than yours might have done well with. I mean "acanthocephalan," really! I'd much rather reserve your talents for the hard words.

2.) By tackling this project letter be letter and section by section, we form the trunk of what might, with time and discipline, become a huge tree growing decades or centuries into the future. I see this as a strong drawing point, something which will become more important when new contributors are brought in. (more on that, I think, Monday)

3.) One doesn't work on the penthouse before the middle floors are completed, and

4.) I asked nicely.

Plus, you say you've done all you can with the ab- words? There's nothing left on the list (which I've reformatted to, hopefully, make it easier for everyone to use) that inspires you? There's still plenty of easy pickin's left, believe me.

A few more and I'm off again:


ABC Powers

These countries aren't picked willy-nilly.
The two in the Andes are hilly.
The other's sublime
Around Carnival time,
Argentina, Brazil, and then Chile.

[Editor's note: OK, this one's no masterpiece but I include it to show that you won't have to be brilliant to get into the OEDILF.]


abnormal psychology

The chant from psychology schools?
"Abnormal Psychology rules!!"
Predict the expansion
Of folks like Charles Manson
And your average psychologist drools!


aboveground

Aboveground's where I want to be
To live like a free debauchee.
The alternative stinks
Since your chance for sex sinks
When you're buried, I'm sure you'll agree.


absolute alcohol

Absolute alcohol, you know,
Is booze that's so pure it has no
More than one per cent
Of its total content
Of the stuff that we call H2O.

(The limerick may be so-so but the definition's right on the money.)


abstruse

Shakespeare can be quite abstruse.
With hard words, every play is profuse.
To indeed understand
This remarkable man
Your dictionary will get lots of use!

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

Acanthocephalan beings, methinks,
Can provide us with clickable links
They don't make any noise
And are substitute toys
When C. Strolin's love object shrinks.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris J. Strolin:
1.) By doing so, you've taken first crack at some virgin territory and thereby grabbed some of the "easier" words that writers of, shall we say, less stellar talents than yours might have done well with. I mean "acanthocephalan," really! I'd much rather reserve your talents for the hard words.

---

Fair enough.
I suppose in hindsight it was a little unfair to take such an easy word as this. I'll try to do just the hard ones in future.
I'll also go back to the ABs and see if anything springs to mind for them.

quote:

---

Originally posted by jerry thomas:
Acanthocephalan beings, methinks,
Can provide us with clickable links.
They don't make any noise
And are substitute toys
When C. Strolin's love object shrinks.

---

I'm not sure if this is an acanthocephalan limerick or a warning against the dangers of self-medication. Thank you, J.T., I think.

And thanks also B.H. for your understanding and cooperation. The list of aa - ab words in the other thread has been added to (and, as far as I'm concerned, for the last time) and I look forward to shortening it as you and others take inspiration from it.

As other posters may know, KHC is a school librarian and is presently undergoing the terrors associated with the last week of school. She sends along her regards and promises to be up and more active shortly. She wrote a response to my "abeyance" piece that I think is a gem but I'll let her post it.

One more from yours truly and then I really have to get steppin', work-wise.


Abyssinia

I was speaking with my girlfriend Lavinia
In a country southeast of Sardinia.
I said, "You'll allow
"It's 'Ethiopia' now."
Then I added "So long. Abyssinia!"

(Heh, heh! Aheh, heh heh! Oh God, I can't tell you how proud I am of this one!!
If we ever end up awarding a prize for the lowest pun and/or most convoluted rhyme, this will be my entry.)

I really am struggling with the "aa"s and "ab"s now so just five more then I'm quitting till we move on.

If the party turns out to be kegless
Or the booze is drunk down till you're dregless
All 41 gallons
Of an aam's quite a challenge
You will end up both aamless and legless

There would be a sure moment of clarity
As body and pavement reached parity
If the rope came to fail
As you tried to abseil
From the roof of a building for charity.

When the absence of motion and heat
Is undeniably complete
As low as can be low
It's Absolute Zero
The final entropic defeat

The Abominable Snowman (or Yeti)
Is a mystery not trivial or petty
But I've figured it out
And can say there's no doubt
It's a backpacking Bigfoot named Betty

And last and quite possibly least...

Though the ending's a little abrupt
The intention is not to corrupt
It's just that the rhyme
Seemed obvious this time
And without it this limerick's fupt !

Once again, well done B.H. ...Never say quit!


abogado

With your shopping, you'd been occupado
But were seized by a sudden bravado.
You fled the mercado
In a hot Eldorado.
(I hope you know a good abogado!)


abolish

From here to the French Riviera
We need to create a new era!
I propose we abolish
All forms of nail polish
And lipstick and rouge and mascara!

(In my opinion most women look just as good, if not better, without make-up as they do when they have it on. Moreover, I believe it would be a far better world if it wasn't drummed into them from an early age that going out in public without first engaging in this sort of facial artistry is some sort of crime against nature. After all, we don't try to brainwash boys this way.)


abrazitic

"Abrazitic," it's true (This is no hype!)
Has a meaning sublime. (It is so ripe!)
It's meaning, I'm guessing,
Is "not effervescing
"When melted before the damn blow-pipe!"

(Aha! And they said it couldn't be done!!)

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

Abdomen
The abdomen often protrudes
From eating grandiloquent foods.
Obesity's here,
It's everyone's fear.
More exercise, dieting, dudes!

Abaxial

Abaxial's the name of a part
Of a plant facing out from the heart
(that's the stem of the plant)
or the surface that can't
Get the rays of the sun when they start

The policy known as abaculo
Is the use of strong force just to try to grow
A country's own might
(Regardless of right)
- Ask GWB as he's sure to know.

Heloise's and Abelard's passion
Was not in the 12th century's fashion.
Uncle's fury was great
At her pregnant state
So he cut off their amorous ration.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Richard English,

Lord Smythe, if he's given free rein, will
Discoure with long-windedness banal
On the planet Uranus,
'Til his friends doubt his saneness,
Roll eyes, and cry "Dear Lord Uranal!"

Aaron, Hank
Hammerin' Hank of the Braves
Really was one of my favs.
Hank Aaron's his name,
The best in the game!
He drives his opponents to graves!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris J. Strolin:

_abeyance_

The southern thug's favorite conveyance,
His truck, was now held in abeyance.
He said, with his drawl,
"Ah am housebound, y'all,
"Surrounded by my white picket feyance!"

---

OK, first off, KHC still finds herself unable to post anything longer than three lines or so on this site for some unknown reason. She did email me, however, to express just a bit of pique regarding my abeyance piece above seeing as how its humor rests on the speaker having a southern accent. She took this as being yet another example of southerners being the easy butt of jokes and commented that this sub-group seems to be the last one that any- and everyone can treat rudely for comic effect without fear of reprisal.

I emailed back, of course, attempting to settle some ruffled feathers. In my view, it's a person's intent
in using any certain word which determines whether or not offense deserves to be taken. Obviously, no offense was intended. Moreover, when I speak with friends about the OEDILF, I often use this piece by way of illustration. (A sidenote: Locally, I have no friends who are even one tenth as interested in the English language as I am and this project is not gaining me any!)

Anywho, KHC wrote back with an answer to my piece, a limerick I consider a gem, and asked me to post it for her IF I thought it wouldn't offend anyone. As I explain above, that's completely besides the point. Her intention was not to offend and so if anyone gets their noses out of joint it's certainly no concern of hers. Or mine, for that matter.


abeyance - Part II, the Sequel

The Yankee thug's favorite conveyance
His snowmobile's now in abeyance.
He said he would brawl,
"I will fight wid youse all..."
Confounded by his ignoreyance.


Anyone wishing to "attack" westerners or easterners are more than welcome to equal time.

And a few more:


abbey-lubber

How's this for the height of pathetic?
A monk who's so anti-athletic
And lazy the jerk
Will not do a day's work
Yet claims that he's actually ascetic!


Aborigines

In Australia the locals get down
With a song you can't sing with a frown.
It's sung with great flair
By the native folk there
Called "Aborigi-Knees Up Mother Brown!"

[Editor's Note: For those on my side of the Atlantic, while the title seems to imply some degree of randiness, "Knees Up Mother Brown" is basically just a silly little song that everyone seems to love especially in the context of a group sing-along. As I understand it, if a British performer on stage should say "How's about a little "Knees Up" then, what?" everyone would know they were being invited to join in. Research reveals the odd factoid that this song was particularly popular with Canadian soldiers during World War Two but didn't go into any detail as to why.]


I suppose this next one is, technically, a medical term but Kalleh hasn't jumped in yet so I'll give it a go.

abrasion

Everyone's had, on occasion,
A wound which is known as an abrasion,
Regardless of race,
Age, gender, birthplace,
Religion, or sexual persuasion.


abridged

Negativity? I will not succumb to it.
Sarcasm? I'll stay deaf and dumb to it.
Some want this diversion
In a less complete version?
I'll cross that abridged when I come to it!

(H.H.H. Oh my, I do crack myself up...)


abrin (accent is on the first syllable)

Abrin's a poison you'll see
In the seeds of the rosary pea.
They pose a great threat -
If you eat some please get
To a hospital A S A P.

[Editor's note: When I first read that abrin was "a poison from the seeds of the rosary pea," I was struck by the fact that this definition itself already had a poetic quality to it. Great meter, fine assonance. Some lines just seem to cry out to have poetry written about or around them.]


abysmal

My chances for romantically teaming
With Britney, despite my best scheming,
Start off at quite dismal
Then range to abysmal.
(Thank God there's no law against dreaming!)

Thanks once again to all Contributing Editors for your fine efforts. I had semi-planned on following B.H.'s lead and launching into the ac- words but the better part of this past weekend revolved around the chaos which results when a friend totals his car. (details in DD thread)

Regarding the OEDILF project, progress is brisk overall and at the rate we're going by the time it's complete we'll still all be dead.

With over 100 limericks down and umpty-ump to go, the ab- words are now more than 50% completed so let's throw the doors open to any and all words beginning with "ac"!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris J. Strolin:

Regarding the OEDILF project, progress is brisk overall and at the rate we're going by the time it's complete we'll still all be dead.

---

There used to be a sub-genre of science fiction about "Generation Starships". These were vessels that left Earth with one crew and many years later travelling at sub-light speeds arrived wherever the hell they were going with a completely different crew who were the descendents of the now long dead originals.

Can't think why that came to mind all of a sudden.

With regard to the AC words can I suggest that we start (OK I know I jumped the gun a while back) this in a new thread as this one is getting a little long.

I'll get to work right away on the limericks.

Before starting a new thread (and I'm certainly not totally against doing so, especially if it would encourage participation in this project) could someone clear something up for me?

I've read in different posts about the length of a thread having some sort of an effect on a person's ability to read it but I've never encountered any difficulty of this sort myself. The Double Dactyls thread is now four pages long. Does this mean that it takes longer to come up on someone's screen (depending on any number of factors I am totally clueless about) and that, as such, a thread of this length might have the tendancy to discourage some people from opening it?

And those "pages" just appear by themselves automatically somehow, don't they? Or am I, as the person who started this thread, responsible somehow for "turning pages" as well. If so, please advise how I accomplish this. I also assume I can change the name of the thread (to reflect, in this case, the alphabetical span of words covered) if need be though I haven't looked into how do do this either.

For the sake of cohesiveness, I think I'd prefer having fewer than more threads so what I'm basically asking is, well, what's wrong with a long thread? Just what are the drawbacks and what might be the best way to proceed. Any and all feedback is welcome.

All I can tell you for certain is that on my dial-up connection (I can't afford broadband) the longer a thread is the longer it takes to load onto my screen. On some very long threads this has increased to several minutes. This one isn't that bad yet but it's noticably slower than it was.

How about staring a new thread each time we start a new pair of initial letters ?

quote:

---

Originally posted by BobHale:
How about staring a new thread each time we start a new pair of initial letters ?

---

Would anyone have any objection to this?

In fact, let's not have anyone add any ac- words to this thread until we hash this out. Another possible solution would be to continue to write the limericks more or less willy-nilly within a certain alphabetic framework (nothing past ac- or whatever) and then set up another thread into which they could be cut and pasted as a, for lack of a better term, cyber second draft. This would add the advantage of alphabetization of the words used. I'd be happy to do this assuming that 1.) it can be done and 2.) someone would show me how. It seems that I would need to get into posts written by other people and I'm not sure this is possible.

Bob, just by way of illustration, how long does it take for the 4-page DD thread to come up for you? I just added to it a while ago but (as Emperor) will be glad to start a new DD thread if this one is becoming inconvenient for you and others.

CJ,
I give you a standing ovation.. from my computer, nonetheless, for the most recent limericks.. They are ART, sheer ART... I hope to add a few next week when school is over and my brain begins to work.

I just loved abrin...

You are all (y'all) geniuses....

quote:

---

Originally posted by Richard English:
Heloise's and Abelard's passion
Was not in the 12th century's fashion.
Uncle's fury was great
At her pregnant state
So he cut off their amorous ration.

---

And, for those of you not familiar with this famous love story from long, long ago, that wasn't all the uncle cut off. By way of sidenote, Peter Abelard wrote an autobiography entitled "The Story of My Misfortunes" which has to be one of the world's great euphemisms.


There are still plenty of aa-abyss words yet unlimericized but I'll go ahead an open a new thread for the ac- entries.

quote:

---

Bob, just by way of illustration, how long does it take for the 4-page DD thread to come up for you? I just added to it a while ago but (as Emperor) will be glad to start a new DD thread if this one is becoming inconvenient for you and others.

---

Testing now, at the quiet time of day (Midnight here, no-one else on the board) a little over a minute. At the bust time of day anything up to about two and a half minutes.

Indeed.

And that last line was a double entendre that I had hoped convey the point that they both lost their sexual ration - Heloise as a result of her separation from Alebard; Abelard as a result of his separation from his wedding tackle!

The forum software was set up to start a new page after 99 posts. I think that was rather too high, particularly in the case of threads like this and the DD thread, when each post is relatively long. In other active topics like "Six letters..." and "Jumbalaya" most posts are only three or four lines long.

As an experiment I changed the number of posts per page to 50. Let me know if that has helped in any way.

Abstain

Abstain mean avoid or eschew
Enjoyable practices you
Would like really to sample
(casual sex, for example)
So often often forbidden to you.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Richard English,

quote:

---

Originally posted by arnie:

As an experiment I changed the number of posts per page to 50. Let me know if that has helped in any way.

---

B.H., (or, for that matter, anyone else) did this help any?

Richard tenders the excellent entry:

quote:

---

Abstain means avoid or eschew
Enjoyable practices you
Would like really to sample
(casual sex, for example)
So often often forbidden to you.

---

With minor modification of the first line, the same limerick can define other like words for us. For example:

Abstain and refrain from and shun and eschew
Enjoyable practices you [etc.]

Abstain and refrain from and shun and eschew
Enjoyable practices you [etc.]

Abstain and refrain from and shun and eschew
Enjoyable practices you [etc.]

Abstain and refrain from and shun and eschew
Enjoyable practices you [etc.]

Cunning, eh?

If we can get the same limerick to work four times as hard for every definition we'll reduce the completion time by the same factor...!

Wellllll, yes, but....

Let's not obsess on the likelihood (or lack thereof) of living to see this project completed. The destination is not nearly as important as the journey itself. I read that in a fortune cookie once so it has to be true.

I suppose a certain amount of recycling may be necessary somewhere along the line but I'd prefer we reserve this option for situations in which we're absolutely stuck rather than intentionally programming it into the system ahead of time. Certainly we have the grey matter and the imagination to avoid this, no?


Two sidenotes:

1.) Still no word on whether or not Arnie's tweaking of the system has helped anyone, and

2.) Does anyone, like me, firmly believe that "likelihood" should be spelled "liklihood"? The correct version seems like it should be pronounced with four syllables.

A post-edit: I just searched for the non-word "liklihood" on this board and see that it has appeared 12 times. I've used it 5 times (no surprise there), B.H. tops me with 6 uses, and Tsuwm comes in a sad third with just 1 use. Dictionary.com doesn't acknowledge it but does anyone else suspect that this might be an acceptable variation somewhere? We've got plenty of time to decide how we want it in the OEDILF but I'm curious to hear what you all might have to say.

The magician's most often used phrase
Abracadabra had power in past days.
When said once with feeling,
It was thought to aid healing
Today's doctors value co-pays.

Abalienation

If you're standing in line at a station
And are approached by a person impatien-
tly pushing his way in
And you permit him his sin
Then surely that's abalienation

Acapnotic

Acapnotics it's time to unite;
Hold out for what is our right
To breathe the fresh air
Unpolluted and where
Foul smokers are never in sight.

Above

The smoke from a chimney or fire
Or the uppermost tip of a spire
Or the score 40-love
All these are above
Since that adjective always means higher.

How about ...

abranciate

"Abranciate" means "without gills"
As in humans, wildebeest, whippoorwills,
Or bison, or ox,
Or a bushy-tailed fox
Or those platypuses with duck bills.

What do you think?

Peace
Peter

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chris J. Strolin:
...
_abranciate_

"Abranciate" means "without gills"
As in humans, wildebeest, whippoorwills,
Or bison, an ox,
Or a rosette-tailed fox
Or those platypi with their duck bills.

[Editor's note: OK, this one lead to Decision #10 - First come is not necessarily first into the OEDILF. In short, I'm not wild about this piece. For one thing, the correct plural of "platypus" is "platypuses" and (fess-up time again) there _is no_ such thing as a "rosette-tailed fox." It rhymed and I liked the sound of it. As a lexicographer, I am able to stretch certain conventions language-wise though I realize full well I'm on thin ice here. Anyone wishing to improve on "abranciate" may do so with my blessings.]
...

abulic

Abulic means lacking in will
An affliction that sadly is still
A most common trait
In those folks who hate
To put in more effort than nil.

abreaction

Abreaction's the outlet of fears
or of worries and hidden ideas
But we shouldn't be critical
Of psychoanalytical
regressions that go back for years.

Abominable

If a bovine in some leafy glade
Should swallow a live hand-grenade
Then surely it's vile
(though the word makes me smile)
It's abominable - that's what he's made.

From his mother's safe arms he was plucked
And to a strange land he was trucked
Do not practice this crime
Or you'll have to do time;
It's against all our laws to abduct.

In the Bible there is a sad fable
Of Cain and his kind brother Abel
God wanted fruit
But Cain thought it cute
To instead present Abel at table.

Hello, all! I'm new here and am quite enchanted with this project. Two humble submissions; hopefully the first of many...

A young man in street-soiled serge
Was possessed by an amorous urge.
So he tried sweet-talking
His girlfriend, out walking:
Quoth she, “Not until you absterge!”

(or:

If dirt and its counterparts faze you
And despairing at grime quite dismays you,
Struck with a cleaning urge
You need only absterge
And the happy results will amaze you!)

Woops, guess I forgot to introduce myself too. I'm new as well...found my way via Metafilter/languagehat. Awesome project you guys got here.

I'm new, too. I also found my way here via Languagehat, and I offer this up as my first submission:

I'll ask just this once, if you please.
Try if you can not to sneeze
When I'm playing Scrabble.
Your filthy nose-babble
Could make me lose my ABCs.

[Lured here by a friend on LiveJournal.]

Her zayde bequeathed her a cabinet
displaying their ancestor's abanet.
When offered much gelt
in exchange for the belt,
she murmured, "You lot, don't be grabbin' it."

The aasvogel's found in the pages
of ornithological sages
It's also in fiction
and with it the friction
of future-pluperfect rampages.

[There's an "Aasvogel Lodge" in Robert Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars.]

Lordy, lordy! Such a refreshing surge of brand new brains!! In order:

PeterSheil - Welcome, welcome, and thanks for taking me up on my request for an upgrade to what I considered to be one of my weaker efforts. To tell you the truth, though, I was hoping that someone would improve it by somehow getting the already existant name of a fox changed to "rosette-tailed fox." I would do it myself but I find my hands are quite full with the OEDILF.

As time goes by, I am sure that we are going to have to face the issue of writer's pride when disagreements occur over what does or does not constitute a good limerick. Speaking just for myself, I'd like to think that I have somewhat a knack for five-line poetry (and even when the quality is not the highest, the quantity is up there which, when you're rewriting the OED, is a plus) BUT, I hasten to add, I am not above critique. I wouldn't mind seeing this whole project veer off into a limerick-writing workshop of sorts. Speaking as Editor-in-Chief (a title I can't even type without grinning) allow me to establish the precedent that any submitted piece should be open to constructive criticism unless the writer specifically prefers not to hear it, which is his or her own choice as well.

R.E.! (That's Richard English to you newbies.) My goodness, we're getting more than a little bit fertile these days! And "abomination"! First rate and a horrible (read: wonderful) pun for a punchline! Keep them coming.

Murlach, again Welcome, welcome. I liked your "abduct" piece and invite you to compare it with mine of May 17th. Again, duplication of words is no problem at all. We already have two "abattoir" pieces and who would have predicted that?

Rbarenblat, W., W., (= "Welcome, welcome" but saves typing time) You've set an interesting precedent. You're the first person to submit his/her first two pieces on the same word, both of which were great. We look forward to your future participation.

Ditto Robot Johnny (W.W.) with your "ABCs" piece. W. aboard!

Mechaieh, (W.W.) your "abanet" piece blew me away. First rate stuff, and I wasn't aware of the Heinlin link to "aasvogel." I love the look of that word and I've been struggling to limerisize (word?) it for a while now.


One last time, welcome to all newcomers. Speaking for all the "old" Wordcrafters, we look forward to your future participation on this site and, oh, if there is some special significance to your names that you'd care to share with us, we'd love to hear it.

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris J. Strolin:
(...) if there is some special significance to your names that you'd care to share with us, we'd love to hear it.

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"mechaieh" is Yiddish for "pleasure" or "joy."

Thanks for the welcome. Here's another effort:

Of all of the realms to be sad in,
the lair of the angel Abaddon --
teeming with locusts
and dark hocus-pocus --
when hierarchs get mean, they ain't dabblin'.

Thanks for the welcome! Here's another offering:

Said the imam to a curious guest,
“Doff your shoes, though you may keep your vest.
Before praying, this rite:
We wash hands, day and night.
In other words, my fine friend, we abdest.”