Friday, May 3, 2013

Cassidy and the catterel

Doggerel is a derogatory term for verse considered of little literary value. The word probably derived from dog, suggesting either ugliness, puppyish clumsiness, or unpalatability (as in food fit only for dogs). "Doggerel" is attested to have been used as an adjective since the fourteenth century and a noun since at least 1630.

I found myself composing verses of little (no) literary value for the cat this morning as she played let-me-out-let-me-in. What do you call doggerel written for a cat? Catterel?

Turns out, as usual, that I am not so original as I thought. There is actually a blog where you can find examples of catterel, called catterel: A Cat's Eye View. Click on that link for more.

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