October 10, 2021

OCT 10, a brief saga (exemplary exemplification): ablauts and verb past-tenses

 








Authors' Note: Ablaut (AHB-lowt) is a linguistic term, derived from German, for a vowel transition resulting in a change in word meaning. Such changes are the basis of the simple past tense and the past participle in a substantial proportion of irregular English verbs, as exemplified in the second and third stanzas. 

To review the blogpost displaying our entire collection of verses dealing with "Exemplary Exemplification", click HERE

 
 For the purpose of this blog, a 'brief saga' is defined as a poem, usually narrative, but occasionally expository, that tell its story in at least 15 lines. Most commonly, the format involves three or more stanzas in limerick form, constituting a single submission to the online humor site 'Omnificent English Dictionary iLimerick Form'. On the OEDILF site, rigorous standards for content and format are involved in a collaborative editing process that may take from several weeks to over a year for completion. 

  Generally, OEDILF has not been enormously welcoming of multi-verse submissions, but Giorgio Coniglio has persisted, and the OEDILF number for each accepted multiverse poem is shown here on the slide with its first verse. And the good news is that almost all limerick-derived verses can be set to music!

To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog, proceed to 'Domestic Turkey'.
To access the most recent previous 'brief saga', back up to ''Cormorant Rookery''.  
 To access all of our 'brief sagas' by the year of their creation, click on your selection below.



October 9, 2021

OCT 9, bottom line of medical humor: borborygmi




 Authors' NoteBorborygmi (plural of the Latin borborygmus, a normal phenomenon, are rumbling noises in the abdomen related to movement of fluid and gas through gastrointestinal viscera (hollow organs).

s in a wider context by proceeding to the collection 'The BOTTOM LINE of MEDICAL HUMOR' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE!





October 8, 2021

OCT 8, variant Nantucket limerick: moeurs of Nantucket




 



You can review our entire collection of spoof verses based on the iconic Nantucket limericks on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense' by clicking HERE.



October 7, 2021

OCT 7, waterfowl: hooded merganser




















You can review illustrated verses on such bird-brained topics in a wider context by proceeding to 'Immersible Verse: Limericks about Waterfowl' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. 




October 6, 2021

OCT 6, death and the afterlife: [sic] to death




Authors' Note: We were inspired, in studying the enigmatic final chapter of existence, to find that OEDILF, as of mid-2022, has about 150 submissions that deal with the subject of 'death'. That research shows that the spectre of death underscores many linguistic idioms.

getting off cheap: an idiom, perhaps further towards the slang end of the scale, in comparison with getting off easy
sick to death of: a cliché, only rarely entailing the imminent demise of the subject
to die in your sleep: a cliché, albeit puzzling biologically
survive to a ripe old age: a cliché; here also used as the basis of a pun




 You can review more poems about 'Death and the Afterlife' in context in the post ('Death and the Afterlife') on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. Click HERE!





October 5, 2021

OCT 5, insects: computer 'bugs'







 You can review Giorgio's other verses about pesty and occasionally beneficial insects, as  collected in 'Buzzwords: Verses about Insects' on the full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE.




October 4, 2021

OCT 4, numbers: quartets, foursomes (4)





You can review our cumulated nonsense about numbers by clicking HERE.


Related photo: 

string quartet,
Dundas Square, Toronto


October 2, 2021

OCT 2, birdlore: California scrub-jays





 



You can view an encyclopedic collection of illustrated poems on this topic by proceeding to the post 'Poems about BIRDLIFE' on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE


October 1, 2021

OCT 1, STD-poetry: tabes dorsalis (tertiary syphilis)


Authors' Note

CNS: central nervous system, i.e. the brain and spinal cord; a commonly used medical initialism

spirochete(n.): a generalization for a bacterium of the type that causes syphilis (Treponema pallidum), based on its microscopic appearance

spirochete(v.): novel use confined to this verse, implying damage by syphilitic spirochetes

  The above verse, dealing with the late or ('tertiary') manifestations of syphilis (a.k.a. lues), emphasizes the common disorders of the CNS, including tabes dorsalis, a disease of the spinal cord producing sensory limitations in the legs, compensated by a characteristic (tabetic) stomping gait. Accompanying brain disorders may include general paresis (weakness), mania, delirium and dementia; and manifestations in other organ systems are not uncommon.


You can review verses on this topic in a wider context in a post on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense" by proceeding to 'Ruination, Rumination and Reminiscence: STD-Poetry'. Click HERE.