📝 May 12 – Limerick Day: A Little Rhyme, A Lot of Ridiculous 🎩
There once was a poet named Lear,
Whose rhymes made the world grin ear to ear.
On the twelfth day of May,
We all shout “Hooray!”
For Limerick Day is finally here! 🎉
May 12th is Limerick Day, and if you’re not already spouting off silly five-liners by breakfast, you’re doing it wrong. This day honors Edward Lear, the OG limerick legend who published his Book of Nonsense in 1846 and basically gave us permission to rhyme “Nantucket” with… well, let’s keep it classy, folks.
So what is a limerick, anyway? It’s a five-line poem with a very specific rhythm (da-DUM da-da-DUM da-da-DUM), usually funny, sometimes absurd, and occasionally a bit naughty (which we fully endorse 😉). The rhyme scheme is AABBA, and the sillier the better.
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📚 A Little Background on the Bard of Nonsense
Edward Lear, born in 1812, was a multi-talented Brit who dabbled in painting, travel writing, and most famously, penning absolute nonsense.
He didn’t invent the limerick, but he popularized it like a Victorian-era meme lord.
Limericks were often used for satire, bawdy jokes, or lighthearted jabs—basically 19th-century Twitter.
💡 10+ Whimsical Ways to Celebrate Limerick Day
Ready to get rhythmic? Here are some delightfully weird ways to make the most of Limerick Day:
Write your own limericks – Go wild with wordplay. Make ‘em funny, quirky, or oddly profound. Bonus points if you make them about your cat. 🐈⬛ Use this themed journal!
Host a limerick-off – Think rap battle, but with nerdier rules and more rhymes about llamas. 🦙
Chalk limericks on sidewalks – Bring poetry to the people. Especially if it’s about your neighbor’s weird lawn gnome.
Make limerick greeting cards – Who wouldn’t want a birthday card that rhymes “cake” with “mistake”? 🎂
Post a limerick-a-day on social – Hashtag it, own it, bask in the algorithmic glow. #LimerickLegend
Write limericks about your coworkers – Harmless fun… unless Steve from accounting still hasn’t forgiven you for “That Steve once embezzled some cheese…”
Limerick karaoke – Sing them to the tune of "Gilligan’s Island" or your favorite sea shanty. 🎤
Turn your pet into a poet – Speak for them: “My human once left me unfed…”
Use AI to generate limericks – I see you 👀. But remember: robots don’t have feelings. Or shame.
Bake Limerick Cookies – Frost them with one-liners! "There once was a cookie so sweet…" 🍪
Write dirty limericks (responsibly) – You know you want to. Just maybe not in front of grandma. 😅
Read the limericks from the man at the started it all in the Big Book of Nonsense
Check out our sassy limerick t-shirt in our Etsy store!!!
🌿 Main Dish: Limerick Lemon Butter Pasta
Same dreamy Spring Herb & Flower Pasta—but today, it must come with a rhyme!
Menu Rhyme:
There once was a pasta so bright,
With herbs that gave such delight.
With lemon and cheese,
It danced on the breeze—
And vanished in just a few bites.
Same recipe, but read the limerick aloud before serving. It's basically grace but sassier.
🥗 Side: Berry Fool-ish Salad
A nod to the traditional English berry fool and the fact that we’re being goofy on purpose.
Mixed greens
Fresh berries (strawberries/blueberries)
Goat cheese
Candied pecans
Edible flowers
Drizzle of honey lemon vinaigrette
Menu Rhyme:
A salad with berries and greens,
Fit for the daintiest queens.
With flowers on top,
It makes taste buds pop—
And leaves your plate squeaky clean.
🍋 Drink: Lavender Limerick Lemonade (spiked or not)
Same honey-lavender lemonade, served in vintage glasses or jam jars for extra charm.
Mocktail/Cocktail Limerick:
Some lavender stirred in a brew,
With honey and lemony hue.
Add gin if you dare,
Or sparkle with flair—
It’s poetry sipped just for you.
🕯 Bonus Vibe:
Type up your dinner limericks on parchment paper or cute cards.
Everyone writes their own limerick before dessert.
Indoor picnic + fairy lights still very much required.
Optional: Irish folk playlist in the background. Definitely The Dubliners or something flute-heavy and mischievous. We’ve curated a perfectly tailored one on Spotify!
🍎 ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM: Limericks for Little Learners
Limerick Mad Libs 📝
Give students a limerick with blanks and let them fill in nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The sillier, the better!
🎓 SECONDARY CLASSROOM: Literary Mischief & Mastery
Historical Figure Limericks 📜
Assign students a historical figure or event (e.g., Marie Curie, the Boston Tea Party). They write a limerick summing up the significance with style.
Quirky in the Workplace
Decorate Your Door with Limericks
Each team gets a door, cubicle, or whiteboard. Fill it with illustrated limericks.
Theme: “A Day in Our Work Life (That May or May Not Be Accurate).”
🎬 Movie Pick: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Why it fits: Wes Anderson’s zany masterpiece is like a limerick in film form—precise, playful, and packed with eccentric characters and absurd turns. The witty dialogue, rhythmic storytelling, and visual symmetry all echo the charm of Lear's verses.
Bonus: Monsieur Gustave H. feels like someone Lear would've written about.
📺 TV Episode: Doctor Who – “The Shakespeare Code” (Series 3, Episode 2)
Why it fits: The Doctor and Martha travel back in time to meet Shakespeare himself and battle evil witches using the power of words. The episode is full of literary references, word magic, and puns that rhyme. It’s silly, smart, and steeped in the joy of language—very limerick-friendly.
Bonus: The Doctor literally uses a poem to save the day.
✍️ A Limerick To Send You Off
This holiday’s silly and fun,
For poets and puns on the run.
So rhyme and recite,
Be weird and write,
Until all your limericks are done!
#Hashtags for Your Limerick Lore:
#LimerickDay #RhymeTime #EdwardLear #NonsensePoetry #CelebrateQuirky #WordNerdsUnite #RhymeAndShine #LimerickLife
