rhizoverbBeta
DictionarydoggerelCrude verse
noun

doggerel

DAW-ger-ul/ˈdɔːɡərəl/

Crude or irregular verse, often written for comic effect.

The manuscript's repetitive, clumsy rhymes turn the poem into doggerel.

Doggerel: clumsy or trivial verse, shown through a short, conspicuously repetitive rhyme on a plain manuscript sheet.
Etymology
doggEnglishdog
+erelEnglishdiminutive or disparaging

Doggerel probably combines dog with a disparaging suffix, though the connection is uncertain. It may liken poor verse to puppyish clumsiness or draw on dog’s older associations with contempt.

In context

Highland Radio Ireland93:22
it's not it's not a poem and how a poem should be structured it's a doggerel
It’s Thursday's Nine til’ Noon Show with Greg Hughes – How has your week been going? Comment below

More examples

  • The comedian opens with a few lines of doggerel.
  • Critics dismissed his clumsy poems as doggerel.
  • We trade bits of doggerel about our daily chores.

Similar words

verse
Verse includes poetry of any quality, not just crude poetry.
jingle
A jingle is catchy verse, often used in advertising.