doggerel
doggerel — noun
1. Verse or poetry that is poorly written, often with an awkward or irregular rhyth
Verse or poetry that is poorly written, often with an awkward or irregular rhythm, and is either intended to be humorous or composed without literary skill.
The literary critic dismissed the poet's latest collection as nothing but doggerel.
dismiss + as + doggerel — critical judgment pattern
The English teacher explained that greeting-card rhymes are often doggerel, not real poetry.
contrast: doggerel vs. real poetry
A local newspaper printed a short piece of doggerel to celebrate the town festival.
Readers said the poem was little more than doggerel, with clumsy rhymes and no rhythm.
- nonsense verse
Emphasises the silly or absurd content rather than the poor quality of the writing.
- bad verse
A more general, less technical term for any poorly written poetry.
- limerick
A limerick is a specific form of humorous poem; not all limericks are doggerel, but the form is often associated with it.
用法筆記
Doggerel is an uncountable noun, so it cannot be used with an indefinite article ('a doggerel'). Instead use phrases such as 'a piece of doggerel' or 'some doggerel'.
常見錯誤
doggerel — adjective
- doggerelpositive
- more doggerelcomparative
- most doggerelsuperlative
1. written in a simple, rough style of poetry that has no regular rhythm, often int
written in a simple, rough style of poetry that has no regular rhythm, often intended to be funny or to mock something.
Diego amused his friends with doggerel rhymes about their strict teacher.
A doggerel poem pinned to the office wall made everyone smile.
attributive use: doggerel poem
Yasmin admitted that her first attempt at poetry was just doggerel verse.
The local newspaper ran a doggerel column that made fun of city officials.
- crude
more general — means rough or unrefined, but does not specifically describe poetic rhythm or comic intent
- burlesque
focuses on comic imitation or parody rather than poor technical quality
- amateurish
emphasises lack of skill in general, without the poetic or comic sense
文法句型
doggerel + noun
用法筆記
Always used before a noun such as 'verse,' 'poem,' 'rhyme,' 'lines,' or 'column.' Describing someone else's writing as doggerel is dismissive or insulting, but calling your own work doggerel can be modest or humorous.