Exemplary EXEMPLIFICATION

   Some poets at OEDILF (the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form) sustain the idealistic belief that most English words could be defined by a standard 5-line limerick verse. The authors of this blog, although they are active contributors at OEDILF, hold the more limited view that such verses, with room for only 30 words, can be primarily used for exemplification, bypassing the complexities of inclusive and exclusive definition. 

  (Despite the above contention, some of our protagonists fall in with the march of this 'urban myth' and make claims that they have conclusively defined some words or phrases with a few linbes of a limerick. We have recorded dozens of such attempts, and you can review them on the blogpost "Defining Opinions".)   

CURRENT CONTENTS: (exemplification)
Ablaut and Past Tenses

Fauna

Hillbilly

Hooligan

House

Malarkey (Donald Duck) 

Synonymous

Possessives (3 verses, a 'brief saga')

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 verse. 

Authors' Note: It sure warn't easy to pack the whole bunch of neighbors and pals into a single verse. Sad to say, I had to leave out the following:  bumpkins, crackers, chawbacons, clodhoppers, good ol' boys, hayseeds, and yokels. I'll include 'em next time! 

Authors' Note: The term malarkey for "nonsense"  is likely of Greek origin, but does not appear to related to mallard ducks.

 

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