Sign up to the Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more. Sign up. Fighting Words Roddy Doyle introduces head-turning young Irish writing. Book reviews. All Strangers Here: diplomatic masters of language. Lincoln Highway: those hoping for the classic road trip novel will be disappointed. New poetry. Poem of the week: Kist. Poem of the week: Mother. Poem of the week: At the Gotham Book Mart. Women writers Putting Irish women writers back in the picture.
Brought to Book. Sign In. Don't have an account? Forgot Password? Not an Irish Times subscriber? Update Payment Details Not Now. Searching any earlier in the poetry history books leads us deeper into ambiguity and speculation.
Some attribute the first limericks to soldiers coming home from the War of Spanish Succession — , others to William Shakespeare — or even Thomas Aquinas — But whenever the limerick was truly born, it retains its playful and humorous spirit. Check out this goofy number from by Carolyn Wells:. A scholarly person named Finck Went mad in the effort to think Which were graver misplaced, To dip pen in his paste, Or dip his paste-brush in the ink.
The contest has been a staple of the magazine for almost 40 years running, albeit under a different name today; in , the rules were amended to a limericks-only contest, and the Limerick Laughs have been rolling in ever since. A spider web caught a fly. The fly began to cry. Think you can do better? The safe bet is, yes, you can, but you still have to prove it: In every issue, we provide a new picture to spark your creativity and dare you to write a great limerick.
So dust off that rhyming dictionary, polish up your puns, check out our latest limerick contest , and send us your best. Our mailbox is waiting. Become a Saturday Evening Post member and enjoy unlimited access.
Subscribe now. McNulty loved limericks. That significant day back then I decided to master strong men. I lost twelve games before my first win! Look out below, I am going to cough! I am really strong. The line was first published in and has become a famous starter for American limerick poems. The lines are generally anapestic—an anapest being two short syllables followed by a long one.
As a rule, limericks are unserious, nonsense verses, and the funniest are a little irreverant or downright crude. The best-known limerick is probably this one from Mother Goose:. Hickory, dickory, dock. The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one, The mouse ran down, Hickory, dickory, dock. But how and where did the form originate? For instance, Ron Rubin, expert versifier and jazz musician , wrote this one:. There was an old drunkard of Devon, Who died and ascended to Heaven; But he cried: 'This is Hades- There are no naughty ladies, And the pubs are all shut by eleven. There was a young lady of Lynn, Who was so uncommonly thin That when she essayed To drink lemonade She slipped through the straw and fell in.
Finally, editor Monica Sharman wrote a limerick that resonates with writers the world over:. Relentless, insatiable deadlines! This manuscript's still full of red lines. First I'll sweat through the edits and check all the credits then chill with my favorite red wine. New and original limericks are still being written today. We can prove it! Here follows a triptych of limericks, written just now for your enjoyment.
So… enjoy! There was a young lady of Nice, Who insisted on bathing in grease. She slid through the house Tormenting her spouse Til he hid in the oven for peace. That very same lady, I'm told Had a pet most uncommonly bold Not a cat, rat or woodchuck But a self-driving tow truck That dragged her young man down the road.
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