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The limerick; 1700 examples,: With notes, variants, and index
Pages clean and unmarked. Slight wear from time on shelf like you would see on a major chain. Immediate shipping.
517 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
13 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Gershon Legman
30 books6 followersGershon Legman (1917-1999) was an American cultural critic and folklorist, best known for his books The Rationale of the Dirty Joke (1968) and The Horn Book: Studies in Erotic Folklore and Bibliography (1964).
Born in 1917 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Legman was the son of Emil and Julia Friedman Legman, both of Hungarian-Jewish descent. He was educated at Scranton's Central High School, where journalist Jane Jacobs and screenwriter and film director Cy Endfield were classmates. He enrolled in the University of Michigan for one semester in the fall of 1935, but left without sitting for his exams. He then settled in New York City where for a number of years he was a part-time freelance assistant to the physician and sexological researcher Robert Latou Dickinson at the New York Academy of Medicine while simultaneously working in the bookshop of Jacob Brussel, where a brisk business was done in publishing and selling contraband erotica. He also spent long hours at the New York Public Library acquiring an autodidactic education. In the late 1940s he became the editor of the little magazine Neurotica.
Throughout his career Legman was an independent scholar without institutional affiliation, except for one year during 1964-1965 when he was a writer in residence at the University of California, San Diego, in the first year of the new campus' undergraduate programs. He pioneered the serious academic study of erotic and taboo materials in folklore.
(source: Wikipedia)
Born in 1917 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Legman was the son of Emil and Julia Friedman Legman, both of Hungarian-Jewish descent. He was educated at Scranton's Central High School, where journalist Jane Jacobs and screenwriter and film director Cy Endfield were classmates. He enrolled in the University of Michigan for one semester in the fall of 1935, but left without sitting for his exams. He then settled in New York City where for a number of years he was a part-time freelance assistant to the physician and sexological researcher Robert Latou Dickinson at the New York Academy of Medicine while simultaneously working in the bookshop of Jacob Brussel, where a brisk business was done in publishing and selling contraband erotica. He also spent long hours at the New York Public Library acquiring an autodidactic education. In the late 1940s he became the editor of the little magazine Neurotica.
Throughout his career Legman was an independent scholar without institutional affiliation, except for one year during 1964-1965 when he was a writer in residence at the University of California, San Diego, in the first year of the new campus' undergraduate programs. He pioneered the serious academic study of erotic and taboo materials in folklore.
(source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 6, 2013
What a vile, depraved, offensive, WONDERFUL volume. Gershon Legman was a fascinating and eccentric individual of the 20th century, obsessed with sex but also determined to bring America out of its needlessly repressed ways. (And also apparently a key contributor in bringing the origami fad to the Western world... Go figure.) This book was famously published in France rather than the US when Legman couldn't find a publisher, and because of this, he found himself without any copyright over the volume.
There are many variations on this publication, as a result, but my Panther edition collects 1700 limericks in two volumes. The first volume includes a decent introductory essay on the history of the poetic form, and the second volume contains a short "rhyming dictionary" at the end. Both volumes give extensive (and often dirty) notes on the limericks.
Every possible topic is covered - from incest and coprophilia to necrophilia and prostitution. If you're in any way offended by things, this may not be for you, and truthfully I hope no-one is completely comfortable with all 1700 poems herein! But the importance of Legman's work was just as much to challenge our assumptions, to make us - and particularly Americans - aware that their society's repression wasn't necessarily natural, that the "dirtiness" of 5-line poems was a completely legitimate way of enjoying oneself. Most interestingly in his inroduction, Legman comments that limericks are much more popular amongst the highly-educated. He suggests that the ornate fringes of the poetry, the inter-rhymes, the deceptively innocent opening lines, they all attract people more subtly attuned to the nuances of the joke, while the slight pretention makes them less attractive to people for whom dirty jokes alone are attractive. I think there's also the fact that, because limericks can be so depraved, they require a mind who can enjoy the joke without necessarily endorsing the sentiment in real life. If this cheeky volume is evidence, it's well worth it.
There are many variations on this publication, as a result, but my Panther edition collects 1700 limericks in two volumes. The first volume includes a decent introductory essay on the history of the poetic form, and the second volume contains a short "rhyming dictionary" at the end. Both volumes give extensive (and often dirty) notes on the limericks.
Every possible topic is covered - from incest and coprophilia to necrophilia and prostitution. If you're in any way offended by things, this may not be for you, and truthfully I hope no-one is completely comfortable with all 1700 poems herein! But the importance of Legman's work was just as much to challenge our assumptions, to make us - and particularly Americans - aware that their society's repression wasn't necessarily natural, that the "dirtiness" of 5-line poems was a completely legitimate way of enjoying oneself. Most interestingly in his inroduction, Legman comments that limericks are much more popular amongst the highly-educated. He suggests that the ornate fringes of the poetry, the inter-rhymes, the deceptively innocent opening lines, they all attract people more subtly attuned to the nuances of the joke, while the slight pretention makes them less attractive to people for whom dirty jokes alone are attractive. I think there's also the fact that, because limericks can be so depraved, they require a mind who can enjoy the joke without necessarily endorsing the sentiment in real life. If this cheeky volume is evidence, it's well worth it.
April 22, 2009
This book has been sitting in the bathroom for almost a year and I finally finished it. It's the type of book really only suited to a bathroom, unless you are a scholar of dirty poetry. It warms my heart that a century ago and earlier, people were just as raunchy as the worst verbal offender you can find today. Not only that, but they were more clever about it.
Never try to read more than ten pages of any kind of limerick at a time. The rhythm will addle your brain.
Never try to read more than ten pages of any kind of limerick at a time. The rhythm will addle your brain.
September 23, 2011
Into the recycle bin.
December 29, 2016
A wonderful romp of dirty limericks. It is impossible not to enjoy this book.
My personal favorite:
There once was a tailor named Dave
Who kept a dead whore in a cave
He said, "I admit
I'm bit of a shit
But think of the money I save."
My personal favorite:
There once was a tailor named Dave
Who kept a dead whore in a cave
He said, "I admit
I'm bit of a shit
But think of the money I save."
April 4, 2021
Sometimes I grab books from the thrift store without carefully assessing them. All I saw was a big, fat book with the word "Limericks" on it in big letters. I thought, Limericks are fun; I like poetry, and I threw it in the cart. Later, when I got home, I was half mortified, half delighted to discover that the limericks anthologized here are the most ridiculously ribald, offensive, and crass limericks, assembled for the very purpose of preserving a history of Man's most salacious five line poems.
Turns out the reason that limericks often allude to Nantucket isn't because the form was particularly common in New England, but because it rhymes with "F*ck it."
Some of these limericks are really old (1870s) and the depravity they present is shocking, hilarious, and a reminder that people have always been naughty.
Turns out the reason that limericks often allude to Nantucket isn't because the form was particularly common in New England, but because it rhymes with "F*ck it."
Some of these limericks are really old (1870s) and the depravity they present is shocking, hilarious, and a reminder that people have always been naughty.
March 31, 2017
Finally finished this thing. It's like reading a reference book. First of all, almost all were from the 20th c. before 1945. Of course the original date of the book was in the 1950's. The limerick must have been in its heyday. I do admire the man's research. Tracking down mimeographed sheets that passed around army bases must have been herculean. Reading the first one was OK. By the time you go over 1700+ of them, you're mind has atrophied to the point of being a Trump supporter. My suggestion is that if you want a dirty limerick on a certain subject, use the fairly comprehensive index. Don't read the book. In 554 for "veteramus" read "veteranus". I admit it was bathroom reading and thus took me a long time, over a year, to wade through it. Tedious was not the word. Stultifying, perhaps, though that only barely begins to describe it. The ones in Latin or with a Latin phrase are 63, 222, 309, 418, 554, 678 . In French are 61, 1032, 1445-47, 1635. In German 62, 801, 1720. The one in Dutch was the most complete waste of my time. Thank God I picked it up for nothing at a used book sale. NSFW or children.
December 15, 2007
Rated: F
July 11, 2009
My enduring love of (and need for) irreverent humor was fueled by this treasure.
October 26, 2018
Of limericks this book is quite full,
Of quivering cunts and buggering tools.
How many, you plead,
Is more than you need?
Ah! Seventeen-forty’s too cruel!
Of quivering cunts and buggering tools.
How many, you plead,
Is more than you need?
Ah! Seventeen-forty’s too cruel!
June 17, 2020
Filth. Not a single limerick of the 1739 in this book is suitable for recitation in public. Loved it!
July 31, 2020
With a long, informative, introduction, extensive notes, an index, a bibliography, and an index of rhymes, this is one of the most erudite collections of filth I've ever encountered. Many of the limericks in this volume are utterly execrable, most are simply bad, and there are a few that I enjoyed sufficiently to commit to memory. With the surrounding scholarly material, this book provides an intriguing glimpse into the human psyche and psychology. I might recommend that the reader of this volume have sufficient intestinal fortitude to stomach sexual perversions, scatology, revolting bodily effluvia, and profoundly inappropriate race and gender stereotypes. Admittedly a bit of a chore to get through at times, this book does have some interest and merit.
February 6, 2021
As you see in all of the reviews, this a dirty limerick book. There is a whole chapter related buggery.
I read part of this on an airplane. My fellow passenger who read over my shoulder stopped talking to me.
I read the book 22 years ago, but I still remember some of the limericks. The book has since been donated to the Coe College Writing Center. I am curious if it will be the muse for any future writing.
I read part of this on an airplane. My fellow passenger who read over my shoulder stopped talking to me.
I read the book 22 years ago, but I still remember some of the limericks. The book has since been donated to the Coe College Writing Center. I am curious if it will be the muse for any future writing.
December 6, 2017
I haven't read through it in it's entirety but man, this is an amazing book.
October 10, 2019
This is a book that I have been dipping into for some time ,I have no doubt that I will be doing so again.
Full of delightful bawdy verses, not for the straight laced
Full of delightful bawdy verses, not for the straight laced
August 28, 2015
Warning... This is not an everyday book of limericks... AT ALL...
Oh my....
I got this book from a friend of mine and I randomly opened to a page and laughed out loud at one of the limericks in it. My original intention was to take this book to a used book store along with a ton of other books I had been given, but I was intrigued and I decided to read it on my own. I figured the section that I had opened to was the "sex" portion, but when I got home and really started reading it, I could feel my face flush in embarrassment. The Introduction itself (which I did not read but is easily 20 pages long) I admit that some of these are funny but they almost all have the "F" word in them and/or deal with the male and female anatomy and the act of sex. I read (or skimmed rather) quite a few of them but I didn't read the whole thing. This book was written in 1952 which is shocking because even in 2015 it seems overly raunchy. I was really disappointed in this because I hoped it would be a book containing limericks that I could actually repeat in public. Trust me this is not your ordinary limerick book. I know I already said that but seriously it needs to be said again and again.
Oh my....
I got this book from a friend of mine and I randomly opened to a page and laughed out loud at one of the limericks in it. My original intention was to take this book to a used book store along with a ton of other books I had been given, but I was intrigued and I decided to read it on my own. I figured the section that I had opened to was the "sex" portion, but when I got home and really started reading it, I could feel my face flush in embarrassment. The Introduction itself (which I did not read but is easily 20 pages long) I admit that some of these are funny but they almost all have the "F" word in them and/or deal with the male and female anatomy and the act of sex. I read (or skimmed rather) quite a few of them but I didn't read the whole thing. This book was written in 1952 which is shocking because even in 2015 it seems overly raunchy. I was really disappointed in this because I hoped it would be a book containing limericks that I could actually repeat in public. Trust me this is not your ordinary limerick book. I know I already said that but seriously it needs to be said again and again.
September 8, 2007
This is one of several, frequently-reprinted Legman editions that have swept together a bunch of earlier printed sources
and blended them with a trove of oral tradions.
The one on my desk right now has a 1992 copyright,
but identical volumes are available from the late
1950's.
This one includes a list of sources and variants
and a limerick-slanted rhyming dictionary. If
you've ever wondered what could permissibly happen
to the young man from Saskatchewan, this is for you.
As for the poor fellow named Blaine, well you'll have
to look it up yourself.
Virtually all the five-line masterpieces in this collection are scurrulous. Except for a few that are sadistic. Or disgusting. The prospective reader should be reminded that:
A limerick's a rhyme anatomical
In a form that is most economical
And the good one I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones never are comical.
--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the novel bang BANG. ISBN 9781601640005
and blended them with a trove of oral tradions.
The one on my desk right now has a 1992 copyright,
but identical volumes are available from the late
1950's.
This one includes a list of sources and variants
and a limerick-slanted rhyming dictionary. If
you've ever wondered what could permissibly happen
to the young man from Saskatchewan, this is for you.
As for the poor fellow named Blaine, well you'll have
to look it up yourself.
Virtually all the five-line masterpieces in this collection are scurrulous. Except for a few that are sadistic. Or disgusting. The prospective reader should be reminded that:
A limerick's a rhyme anatomical
In a form that is most economical
And the good one I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones never are comical.
--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the novel bang BANG. ISBN 9781601640005
April 7, 2007
Not for the easily offended; these are the original verses with the original words and the original sentiments intact.
November 5, 2009
This is a hilarious collection of Limericks spanning the last 150 years. What amazes me is that the sense of humor hasn't changed very much in this time-it is quite ribald!
January 4, 2011
Want a quick and hilarious read? Open to any page.
March 28, 2016
Bought this book in the mid-90s? and has brought me many a tee-hee over the years. Not for the timid nor faint of heart. Which I am neither.
Great collection to my library.
Great collection to my library.
August 10, 2017
This book is terrible in the most amazing way. I've always been amused by dirty limericks (is there really any other kind?) and oh my does this book deliver.
It's crude and not for the faint of heart, but oh my does it make me giggle like a grade school child who just learned a new swear word.
It's crude and not for the faint of heart, but oh my does it make me giggle like a grade school child who just learned a new swear word.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews