Thanks to Neil Gaiman for pointing me towards this site, where I have whiled away much of the morning. Well, how could I not? It’s the OEDILF (the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form), and it’s currently looking for submissions on words beginning with the letters Aa- through Fo.
“Our goal is to write at least one limerick for each meaning of each and every word in the English language,” say its founders. “Our best limericks will clearly define their words in a humorous or interesting way, although some may provide more entertainment than definition, or vice versa.”
So, there’s “eke out”, “awkward pose”, “awaken a sleeping giant”, “bum cheek” and “Bubba Gump Shrimp”. There’s “flip-flop”, and “flasher”, and the neatly done “ailurophile” – and that’s just a small selection from over 80,000 of the things.
Floccinaucinihilipilification wins, though, at least for me – there are two entries, but I think I prefer user timon’s beautifully scanning:
Here we have a concise demonstration
Of unnecessary versification,
Just written to mock
This project: it’s floc-
cinaucinihilipilification.
The site has been going for years, but “current estimated date of completion of the OEDILF is 12 Dec 2043”. Limerick hats on, I say, and let’s see if we can help them out at all. Be warned, though – once you click, you may be there some time ...
