If a word in the dictionary were misspelled, how would we know?
quote by Steven Wright
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Djolan
Soft was the night, the eve how airy,
When through the big, fat dictionary
I wandered on in careless ease,
And read the a's, b's, c's and d's!
But stop! What is this form I see,
Beginning with a hump-backed d?
I pause! I gasp! I falter there!
It is the djolan, I declare!
It is the djolan, wond'rous word!
The Buceros plicatus bird!
Ne'er, ne'er before had I the bliss
To meet a djolly word like this!
'Twas djust before my dinner hour --
Well, let the djuicy djoint go sour!
Djoyful I read. I djust must see
What this strange djolan word may be!
Ah! ha! It is a noun! A noun!
(A ''name word" as we say in town)
"E. Ind. The native name of the
Year bird." These are the words I see.
"A hornbill with a white tail and --"
The big book trembles in my hand --
"-- plicated membrane at the base --"
Ah, well-a-day! If that's the case!
"-- base of the beak, inhabiting --"
Oh! dictionary, wond'rous thing!
"-- the Sunda Islands ----" Where would we
Without our dictionary be?
"-- Malacca, e-t-c." That's all!
I let the dictionary fall.
I am replete. All is explained.
Knowledge (it's power) is what I've gained!
Soft was the night, the eve how airy,
I read no more the dictionary,
But Oh! and Oh! my heart was stirred
To learn the djolan was a bird!
Submitted by John Martin
poem by Ellis Parker Butler
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Your Dictionary
H-a-t-e
Is that how you spell love in your dictionary
K-i-c-k
Pronounced as kind
F-u-c-k
Is that how you spell friend in your dictionary
Black on black
A guidebook for the blind
Well now that I can see my eyes wont weep
Now that I can hear your song sounds cheap
Now that I can talk all your corn Ill reap
Im not so sure that joey wed a virgin mary
There are no words for me inside your dictionary
S-l-a-p
Is that how you spell kiss in your dictionary
C-o-l-d
Pronounced as care
S-h-i-t
Is that how you spelt me in your dictionary
Four-eyed fool
You led round everywhere
Now that I can see its the queens new clothes
Now that I can hear all your poison prose
Now that I can talk with my tongue unfroze
Im not so sure of santa or the buck-tooth fairy
There are no words for me inside your dictionary
Now your laughter has a hollow ring
But the hollow ring has no finger in
So lets close the book and let the day begin
And our marriage be undone
song performed by by Xtc
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sorry's Never Ment a Thing
Sorry's never ment a thing
All thay are, are hollow words
Falling from a petty mouth
Sorry's just a word
Someone put in the dictionary
To make everything seem alright
It's just a word
Someone thought of
To talk away the wrongs
Sorry's just a word
Someone created
To find the easy way out
Sorry's just a word
That a five year old needs to get by
Sorry's never ment a thing
It's just a hollow word
Falling from your petty lips.
poem by Holly Heron
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The entities
A sentence is of words,
All borrowed from the dictionary.
Yet it has a soul
Unfound in the dictionary.
All are made of five elements;
Yet each has an entity.
06.02.2005
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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If you have a big enough dictionary, just about everything is a word.
quote by Dave Barry
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Godliness
Riffling through the dictionary
of the mind - or, as the Anglo-Saxons
named it, ‘word-hoard’ -
for a word that exactly matches
what needs to be said,
a word may call out from the page
like that kitten or that puppy
in the pet-shop, which devastatingly
looks you straight in the eye and mutely says
‘Master, treasure me…’
so, the other day, ‘godly’ called to me: as
abbreviated in former times from ‘godlike’;
not a word to suit, say, those fine-minded Hindu pundits
who would want to classify its degrees
of nearness or of distance from the state
of god or gods..
rather, a gentle, misty, English-weather, modest-shining word
which – borrowing a trick from those same
Hindu grammarians – is neither limited, nor unlimited;
or alternatively: is both limited, and unlimited;
allows for small-g god, or big-G God;
allows for frequent changes in the weather;
and thus, will halt at all the stations on the line…
so, stopped in the street by
some presumptuous well-intentioned stranger
with that piercing eye that stoppeth one of three,
enquiring ‘Have you been saved by Jesus yet? ’
we may reply as if we were Dr Johnson
of quirky diction and of his own Dictionary fame,
replying, ‘Sir, my mind has godly inclinations…’
Yes, I’m comfortable with ‘godly’: like
that kitten or that puppy, asking
no more of you than what
shared nature with a smile
feeds and loves..
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The word impossible is not in my dictionary.
quote by Napoleon Bonaparte
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If a word in the dictionary were mispelled, how would we know?
quote by Steven Wright
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If a word in the dictionary were mispelled, how would we know
quote by Steven Wright
Submitted by Lucian Velea
Vote! | Copy!
Webster's American Spellings
One spelling was English established.
Webster's Dictionary spells it incorrect?
Noah Webster in the early 19th century...
busily composed comprehensive dictionaries.
Numerous unrelated dictionaries added
Webster's name to share prestige established.
Oh bother Webster's first dictionary
‘A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language'
aired first appeared in 1806 was hexed?
With American spellings it was freely littered?
Spelling honor not honour center not centre.
Webster's program not programme spread what?
Two decades of his spelling confusions expanded?
An ‘American Dictionary of the English Language'
in 1828 lead in 1841 to his edition revised expanded?
In two volumes a 2nd Edition ‘Corrected Enlarged'?
Webster's vocabulary 1st edition with corrections
improvements plus five thousand additional words?
But acid test Webster's endeavors were poorly received?
Specific criticisms typographic unattractiveness included?
Webster's type face was bad choice too small hard to read?
Why write non-use of capital letters only 'God' capitalized?
Why because goal was to save space to fit in obscure words?
Why dictionary excessive use of citations which offended?
Why decision deliberate
misspellings as legitimate
sanctified word variants?
Culturally conservative Federalists
intensely detested Webster innovations
Webster Dictionary denounced?
Webster's Dictionary
too radical complaint
bordering on vulgar?
Webster's fierce foes
Jefferson Madison
Republicans attacked?
Labeled Webster mad
for writing Compendious
Dictionary 1806 published?
poem by Terence George Craddock
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools.
Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.
quote by Napoleon Bonaparte
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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And it should be the law: If you use the word ""paradigm"" without knowing what the dictionary says it means, you go to jail. No exceptions.
quote by David Jones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Love, A Wonder Word
Love- the most wonderful word
One can find in the dictionary.
It is really so when it is sexual.
With no need of petrol, it runs.
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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There Was A Time When I Got Drunk
there was this time when
i got drunk and looked at
myself in the mirror to
check if the image was
really mine. I stared.
I liked what was in there.
I liked to stay something, but i just
passed by.
The mirror in the
comfort room happened
to be so silent, and
i was sort of like
a word misspelled
uncorrected,
just passing by,
unhampered.
Was it really me?
How handsome could i
be when i am drunk
and lonely.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Japan Minus Frogs
For Guy de la Valdène
Looking casually
through my English–Japanese dictionary
I can't find the word frog.
It's not there.
Does that mean that Japan has no frogs?
poem by Richard Brautigan (4 June 1976)
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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The Sailor in The Crow's Nest
Not of this world
just something beyond
the horizon
as small as a blade of grass
but as powerful as an orchestra
unexplainable
but recognizable
like your reflected mirror image
a word that has no place
in a mere dictionary
but as common as slang
Unpredictable like a storm
but has the persistence
of the rising sun
The grandeur of the bible
but useless like
a stuttered word
How shocking this is
unreal, but can only be found
in reality
Maybe no one has seen it
before?
Maybe it has been documented
and lost on the shore
What ever this object,
thought,
word,
feeling,
face,
or kiss
may be
I know that I
seek it in
the dangerous sea
poem by Justin Tallman Gonzalez
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Revelation Definition
'Love' Not one word in the dictionary can be so hollow.
The word itself is fake and we know it
although we try and not show it.
We use this word to express a feeling of compassion
an undying feeling that can last a life time.
But do you really feel that way?
Can you feel that 'love' you say you have?
No! We all know we don't
The word love is a lie.
Say it to your parents do you feel anything?
Say it once to your lover and you feel something.
But keep on saying it
and it loses its value.
That Gold heart known as 'love' will soon be pure silicon
after its first uses.
So why say it, why speak it, why need it, why not lose it...
To express it, to express 'love' is something more than the word.
It is indescribable thing that we feel.
'Love' is a cast off teddy bear.
Let us lose the word but keep the definition
for the expression is the true Diamond heart that
we must keep and should remember.
Remember this, write it down and not say 'love' again.
Written: April 11,2009
poem by Ryan Collins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Today... 'The Word
Word of love and the Word made flesh
Word incarnate forever blessed
Word of life and the Word of light
Word of power and Word of might.
Word that was spoken, Word of the Lord
Word of the Law and the Word of God
Word of peace and Word eternal
Word of truth and last Word of all.
Word of wisdom and the Word of healing
Word from heaven, a Word so appealing
Word fulfilling the Word of prophecy
Word of the Spirit and Word of destiny.
Word of exhortation and Word of grace
Word of encouragement and Word of faith
Word of promise and a Word of insight
Word from the beginning and Word of delight.
Word of knowledge and a Word of boldness
Word of peace and the Word of righteousness
Word of the covenant and Word of love
Word of the Father from heaven above.
(see also the additional information in the Poet's notes box)
A little word called crazy!
A little word called crazy
Which people use when they are being lazy.
The word crazy covers a multi of goods and ills
Mad, bad, sad, cool
or even acting the fool.
It’s used in our everyday language
But it’s often misunderstood
But it fits into sentences so well (and so good)
Sometimes you can’t seem to see the origins for this word
it sounds so absurd the way its used and abused
like crazy baby, crazy sin, a crazy outer and a crazy in!
Crazy actually means mad insane or foolish
so says the dictionary
but you can be crazy in love with someone
perhaps we are all crazy to be using this word
maybe it’s so absurd that you can use it in so many ways
in everyday life.
But the English language is good like that!
poem by Daniel Hooks
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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