Nantucket
Friday, June 18, 2004Wordcraft is a group of linguaphiles who are embarking on an ambitious project: rewriting the Oxford English Dictionary… as limericks.
Consider this beautifully clever example:
We wed young and then hit the skids
After doing what good sense forbids.
We couldn’t have guessed it,
Though its name should suggest it:
Adultery is not meant for kids.
I’m already addicted. Methinks I need to sign up and contribute… it looks like a whole mess of nerdy fun. (via Languagehat)
Robot Johnny says:
I’ve just added this one to the project:
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.
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Chris J. Strolin says:
Thanks for the plug, R.J., and I’m glad you liked that “adultery” piece. Those five lines are maybe the last of some 12 or 15 versions. Sometimes limericks are easy, other times…
Anywho, I like your site and will look forward to your future contributions to the OEDILF (Oxford English Dictionary In Limerick Form). Everyone else here is, of course, welcome as well.
One thing you neglected to mention though is that we are rewriting the world’s largest dictionary IN ORDER and are presently all the way up (!) to the word “adz.” Complete details in the overview.
Thanks again
Chris J. Strolin
Editor-in-Chief, OEDILF
Chris J. Strolin says:
Greetings! I’m visiting your site today because it was one of 89 which came up when I googled “OEDILF” and I wanted to pass along three bits of news:
1. We have long since left the Wordcraft site and will be completely up and running this week on oedilf.com.
2. The global press release is going out shortly and there is also news from our nation’s capitol which involves us that will be announced this Saturday. Many new voices are expected.
3. Due to a legal wrangle from the Oxford University Press legal department, “OEDILF” now stands for “Omnificent English Dictionary In Limerick Form.” Our goal is now to create a limerick for each and every word in the English language and not just those covered by the OED.
Details are on our BB.
Any and all lovers of the English language are welcomed to check out our new site particularly if your name is choatime, Clankus Maximus, Don Levey, Elizabeth, evinrude, fiercecupcake, Giles, Hazelsinger, Hilary Ann, indigofaerie, JB Segal, Karner Blue, LadyBeth, LizH, markmywords48, mechaieh, murlach, musik, Peter Sheil, q, Robot Johnny, slabgorb, or Valrus. All these individuals either posted limericks or otherwise expressed interest in our project while we were on the Wordcraft site and we’ve since lost contact with them. Wordcraft PMs went out with no luck. Posting limericks over there, technically, gave us the OK to use them on oedilf.com but I’d really like to do this up right and get them register.
Chris J. Strolin
Editor-in-Chief, OEDILF