July 21, 2020

JUL 21, anagram swarm: A-VERY-STABLE-GENIUS, #11




Bonus wordplay concoction:













You can review an amazing number of anagrams based on this book title on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. There are two posts to view:  ’A Very Stable Genius': Theme and Variations (97 anagrams), and 
'A Very Stable Genius': additional funky anagrams





July 20, 2020

JUL 20, singable satire: Tom Lehrer sings "ALLITERATIVE BINOMIALS #1"

 PARODY SONG-LYRICS

ORIGINAL SONG: "The Elements", Tom Lehrer, 1959.
Occasional binomials show alliteration
(e.g. one and only)

PARODY COMPOSED: Dr. G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, 2015. This song is the second of nine in the series on Word-Pairs. You can find the links to the lyrics of the previous songs at the bottom of the post. 

EXPLANATION: The current effort involves a linguistic device discussed by Wikipedia as “Siamese twins” or ‘Irreversible Binomials”. These 
phrases include some of the most colorful expressions in English. There are probably a thousand binomial expressions in the English language. To enhance the singability, I have skewed my selection of binomial pairs here, to emphasize those that have alliteration of the 2 elements. 
For  a recently revised discussion of binomials, click HEREthere is also a post that honors our earlier exploration of these intriguing expressions entitled "The Allure of Word-Pairs: Alliterative Binomials (compendium)".

UKULELE and GUITAR-FRIENDLY LINK: Our whole series of songs can be found in a friendly format for ukulele (and guitar)-players on our sister blog  "SILLY SONGS and SATIRE". Click HERE to proceed to this site. 








For house and home, and king and country, love or leave it, bull or bear
And wild and woolly, weeping wailing, whys and wherefores, wash and wear
There’s lend and lease, lewd and lascivious, longitude and latitude
And odds and evens, wax and wane, and hoot and holler, crass and crude.

There’s form and function, farm and factory, and fling and flirta-ation
And feast or famine, rhyme and reason, rest and relaxa-ation 
There’s rough and ready, rags to riches, rock and roll, down and dirty
And dine and dash, and cheque or cash, and foppery and frippery.

There's live and learn, last but not least, and lemon lime, and life and limb
Safe and secure, and search and seizure, signs and symptoms, sink or swim
And sweet and sour, and Stars and Stripes, and sticks and stones, and sights and sounds
And hale and hearty, hot and heavy, birds and bees, and horse and hounds. 

There’s flora fauna, fun and frolic, fin and fur, forgive forget
Over and out, and tots and toddlers, tit for tat, restore reset 
And Jew and Gentile, dribs and drabs, naughty or nice, and juke and jive
And one and only, publish perish, bed and breakfast, drink and drive.

There’s poke and prod, and pen and paper, post and pillar, pig in poke
And rant and rave, and bread and butter, mix and match, and jeer and joke
Hell or high water, rod and reel, gruff grim, footloose and fancy-free,
Deny his due to devil, dos and don'ts, and also deep blue sea.

Nieces and nephews, peas in pod, kit and caboodle, meek and mild
And ghosts and goblins, trick or treat, witches and warlocks, wet and wild
And trials and tribulation, tried and true , thick thin, and tic-tac-toe
And cute and cuddly, fair or foul, and spick and span, and friend or foe.

Note: A second collection of amusing and instructive phrases has been posted  as "More Alliterative Binomials #2".



July 19, 2020

JUL 19, anagram swarm: A-VERY-STABLE-GENIUS, #9/#10











Bonus wordplay concoction:




You can review an amazing number of anagrams based on this book title on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. There are two posts to view:  ’A Very Stable Genius': Theme and Variations (97 anagrams), and 
'A Very Stable Genius': additional funky anagrams


July 18, 2020

JUL 18, political palindromes, L






From this point, you can proceed either forwards or backwards.

For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on July 20.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on July 14.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic on May 17.


July 17, 2020

JUL 17, a brief singable saga: broken arrows (nuclear weapons mishaps)









Authors' Note: The poem relates a story from the Cold War, as highlighted on its 60th anniversary by the Charleston S.C. press. A Broken Arrow is defined as an accidental event which does not create the risk of nuclear war, but involves nuclear weapons, warheads or components.

An atomic bomb weighing 7600 pounds was inadvertently dropped on a South Carolina farm in 1958 by a B-47 bomber on a training mission, with destruction of the farmhouse, and creation of a crater 30 feet (9m.) deep, but only minor injuries to the family. Apparently, a total of 32 such episodes have been acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Defense; many of these resulted in no victims or even civilian involvement. By 1960, the practice of warheads being carried on bomber training flights was presumably discontinued.

EDITORIAL UPDATE: You can now find a parody-song about this same episode by clicking 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 stanzas in limerick form. Your blogging team has been presenting these concoctions at the rate of one per month, mixed in with the shorter poems, wordplay and other  stuffthat we offer.
    
To access the next 'brief saga' on this blog (August 2020), proceed to 'the Aegean cat'.
To access the most recent previous 'brief saga' (June 2020), back up to 'life as a loon'.  
 

July 16, 2020

JUL 16, bottom line of medical humor: anal fissure




Authors' Note: 'Aneous', a puerile neologism, has been used here to close the verse, as the proper medical term 'anus' may not function appropriately in this instance.     




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


 

July 15, 2020

JUL 15, wordplay maps: sister-cities anagrams (28-30)

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!







July 14, 2020

JUL 14, savoir-faire: la Francophonie



Authors' Note:

d'accord (da-KOHR): French for "certainly" or  "of course"
pays (peh-EE): French for "country" (singular or plural)
Belgique (behl-ZHEEK): French for Belgium
Canada (ka-na-DUH): French pronunciation
Haïti (ah-ee-TEE or ah-ee-SEE): Haiti, a difficult name for anglophones
     to pronounce 



You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to "Vers Français: Limericks about Savoir-Faireon the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.




July 13, 2020

JUL 13, political palindromes, K







From this point, you can proceed either forwards or backwards.

For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on July 18.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on July 12.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic. 



July 12, 2020

JUL 12, political palindromes, J





From this point, you can proceed, ditheringly, either forwards or backwards.

For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on July 13.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on July 10.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic on May 17.


July 11, 2020

JUL 11, wordplay maps: new world palindromes(#29,#30)











You can view the entire collection of these 50 wordplay maps, by accessing the collection 'Tourists Palindromic Guides: The Americas'. Start by clicking HERE

July 10, 2020

JUL 10, political palindomes, I





From this point, you can proceed either forwards or backwards.

For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on July 12.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on July 7.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic.


July 9, 2020

JUL 9, sleek Greek prefixes: AN-







Clicking HERE will introduce you to our entire collection of verses about the Greek prefixes!




 




July 8, 2020

JUL 8, bi-lyrical limerick: dual-rhyme schemes




Authors' Note

  Despite the message of the verse, the author has taken pains to construct a slate of dual rhyme scheme, or bi-lyrical limericks, including the above instance; the rhyme scheme can be characterized as: 

line 1:  C...A
line 2:  C...A
line 3:  D...B
line 4:  D...B
line 5:  C...A.  


 I'm addicted to crafting verse terse,
 Though constricted by constructs perverse.
 To use dual-scheme rhymes
 Can confuse me at times;
 But, inflicted on readers? That's worse!

In the above verse, the additional C- and D-pattern rhymes are distinguished using green font. The scansion (pattern of beats), usually involves stressing the third syllable in each line (as indicated by underlining). In this instance, this pattern is broken in the third line of the verse.


Be sure to check out the whole collection of 'bi-lyrical limericks' by proceeding to "Edifying Nonsense." CLICK HERE ! (Or, if you prefer, you could look over this stuff on Giorgio's Facebook photo-albums.) 

July 7, 2020

JUL 7, political palindromes, H






From this point, you can proceed either forwards or backwards.

For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on July 10.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on July 4.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic on May 17.


July 6, 2020

JUL 6, wordplay maps: new world palindromes(#27,#28)

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!








You can view the entire collection of these 50 wordplay maps, by accessing the collection 'Tourists Palindromic Guides: The Americas'. Start by clicking HERE


July 4, 2020

JUL 4, political palindromes, G




From this point, you can proceed either forwards or backwards.

For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on July 7.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on July 2.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic.



July 2, 2020

JUL 2, political palindromes, F







From this point, you can proceed either forwards or backwards.

For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on July 4.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on June 30.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic on May 17.


July 1, 2020

JUL 1, Canadiana: 'CANADIAN' defined

In honour of Canada Day, July 1, 2020...








You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Reverse Strokes: Limericks About Canoeing' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. 

You can review poems, pictures and diverse nonsense related to Canada on the post "Canadiana" on our full-service blog  "Edifying Nonsense".


June 30, 2020

JUN 30, political palindromes, E






What you had all been waiting for: the king of palindromes.

From this point, you can proceed either forwards or backwards.


For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on July 2.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on June 28.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic on May 17.



June 29, 2020

JUN 29, mammalian wildlife: raccoons in the city





Authors' NoteIn the last century, raccoons have readapted themselves as urban denizens, often relatively unnoticed, but sometimes disturbing their neighbours. And be sure to review our subsequent illustrated poem with respect to their role as nest robbers. 
 

You can review the whole collection of illustrated verses about mammals (both domestic and exotic) by checking out the more extensive post on our full-service blog "Edifying Nonsense". Click HERE !

June 28, 2020

JUN 28, political palindromes, D





Any collection of palindromes, such as the above assemblage, is likely to present a mix of the various structural formats discussed so far. 

From this point, you can proceed either forwards or backwards.

For FORWARD, proceed to the next set of 'POLITICAL PALINDROMES' on June 30.
For BACKWARD, return to the previous set on June 21.

OR, return to the ORIGINAL POST on this topic on May 17.


June 27, 2020

JUN 27, bi-lyrical limerick: 'E.M.S.'





The original classic limerick:




Be sure to check out the whole collection of 'bi-lyrical limericks' by proceeding to "Edifying Nonsense." CLICK HERE ! (Or, if you prefer, you could look over this stuff on Giorgio's Facebook photo-albums.) 

June 26, 2020

JUN 26, anagram swarm: A-VERY-STABLE-GENIUS, #8









Bonus wordplay concoction:



You can review an amazing number of anagrams based on this book title on our full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'. There are two posts to view:  ’A Very Stable Genius': Theme and Variations (97 anagrams), and 
'A Very Stable Genius': additional funky anagrams


June 25, 2020

JUN 25, poets' corner: satirical doggerel



 

You can find lots of other verses on this blog under the listing "Poets' Corner".  Click HERE.






June 24, 2020

JUN 24, classic palindrome: flee to me, remote elf

Keep more to yourself for a while, wash your hands frequently, wear a mask in public, remember to laugh on occasion, and stay well!




Authors' Note: 

pelf: wealth, especially if dishonestly acquired

The verse honours, in neologistic fashion, two palindromes from the classic repertoire...
Flee to me, remote elf;
Ma is as selfless as I am;
and one which the author appears to have concocted...
Tip-top pot pit.


You can review these illustrated verses in a wider context by proceeding to 'Reversing Verse: Limericks About Classic Palindromes' on the full-service blog 'Edifying Nonsense'.