Defining Every English Word with a Limerick
There are many different methods for studying languages and learning new words.
One man has come up with his own unusual way to define the meanings of words - through rhyming.
Chris Strolin, an American from Illinois, is working on an English language dictionary completely made up of limericks. A limerick is a humorous five-line poem with an orderly structure of rhymes.
“The limerick is probably the most reader friendly of all types of poetry,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s also one of the easiest forms of poetry to write.”
In 2004, he decided to launch his own limerick dictionary online. He called it, The Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form.
“Our goal is to write at least one original limerick for every single definition of every single word in the English language.”
Since the project is massive, Strolin invited others to come up with and add their own limericks to the dictionary. The reaction to his appeal was huge. About 1,000 people have contributed examples for the effort. To date, more than 97,000 rhyming definitions have been created.
One user submitted the following definition for celebrity:
Exposed by the press and TV,
Celebrity never comes free,
And when privacy lost
Is the ultimate cost,
Who'd want to be famous? Not me.
Strolin says he believes the unusual dictionary - once completed - will be used by language lovers for years to come.
