limerick

• n. 五行打油诗（一种通俗幽默短诗，有五行组成，韵式为aabba）
• n. (Limerick)人名；(英)利默里克

爱尔兰地名，通常认为来自在1896年在Limerick举行的一次诗人聚会上，有人提议轮流用“will you come up to Limerick”起头做一首打油诗，因而引申该词义。

limerick

limerick: [19] The best-known writer of limericks is of course Edward Lear, but ironically the term limerick was not born until after Lear was dead. It is first recorded in 1896, and is said to have come from a Victorian custom of singing nonsense songs at parties, in the limerick rhymescheme (aabba), which always ended with the line ‘Will you come up to Limerick?’ (Limerick of course being a county and town in Ireland).

limerick (n.)

nonsense verse of five lines, 1896, perhaps from the county and city in Ireland, but if so the connection is obscure. Often (after OED's Murray) attributed to a party game in which each guest in turn made up a nonsense verse and all sang a refrain with the line "Will you come up to Limerick?" but he reported this in 1898 and earlier evidence is wanting. Or perhaps from Learic, from Edward Lear (1812-1888) English humorist who popularized the form. Earliest examples are in French, which further complicates the quest for the origin. OED's first record of the word is in a letter of Aubrey Beardsley. The place name is literally "bare ground," from Irish Liumneach, from lom "bare, thin." It was famous for hooks.

The limerick may be the only traditional form in English not borrowed from the poetry of another language. Although the oldest known examples are in French, the name is from Limerick, Ireland. John Ciardi suggests that the Irish Brigade, which served in France for most of the eighteenth century, might have taken the form to France or developed an English version of a French form. ... The contemporary limerick usually depends on a pun or some other turn of wit. It is also likely to be somewhat suggestive or downright dirty." [Miller Williams, "Patterns of Poetry," Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1986]

1. He is full of imagination and can knock off a limerick in a few minutes.

他富于想象方,只几分钟就能写出一首五行打油诗.

来自《简明英汉词典》

2. Or God will toss off a limerick for your pleasure.

或者上帝为了使你高兴而抛出一首五行打油诗.

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3. Will someone please help me fill in the blanks in my limerick?

有谁愿意帮我填五行打油诗?

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4. I decided to write a limerick about you!

我想写一首关于你的打油诗.

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5. The traditional limerick, which is usually and hence circulated orally, could be considered folk poetry.

传统的五行打油诗可以看作是民间诗歌, 这种打油诗通常内容粗俗,所以仅仅流传于口头.

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