What is a limerick?

Brainyblonde

Limerick A light humorous, nonsensical, or bawdy verse of five anapestic lines usually with the rhyme scheme aabba. A borough of southwest Ireland on the Shannon River estuary. It was an important Norse settlement in the 9th and 10th centuries and was taken by the English in the late 12th century. The city is noted for its fine lace. Population: 60,736. 1: port city in southwestern Ireland http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=Limerick Apr 03 06, 12:35 PM

Baloo55th

A limerick is a verse form. There is a school of thought that derives it from Learic, as the first recorded exponent of a form resembling it was Edward Lear in his Books of Nonsense. While his verses had the form aabba, they tended to repeat the last word of the first line as the last word of the last line, rather than rhyming with it. Examples: First one of Lear's: There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, "It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard!" And a modern one: There was a young maid from Darjeeling Who laughed as she swung from the ceiling. Her mother said, "Hey! You come down right away, For far too much you are revealing!" Very many modern ones are somewhat vulgar, and some downright dirty. There is no recorded connection between the city of Limerick and the verse form, so far as I am aware. Apr 03 06, 3:05 PM

lanfranco

A Dignified and Scholarly Art-Historical Limerick: Whilst Titian was mixing rose madder, His model posed nude on a ladder. Her position, to Titian, Suggested coition, So he climbed up the ladder and had her. Apr 03 06, 4:45 PM

Dragonkin

A canner exceedingly canny, One morning remarked to his granny: "A canner can can, any thing that he can, But a canner can't can a can, can he?" Apr 03 06, 7:25 PM