Shrill Limerick (Limerick-Off Monday)

It’s Limerick-Off time, once again. And that means I write a limerick, and you write your own, using the same first line. Then you post your limerick here and, if you’re a Facebook user, on Facebook too.

The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. The best submission will be crowned Limerick Of The Week. (Here’s who won last week.)

How will your poems be judged? By meter, rhyme, and cleverness. (If you’re feeling a bit fuzzy about limerick writing rules, you can find some helpful resources listed here.)

I’ll announce the Limerick of the Week Winner right before I post next week’s Limerick-Off. So that gives you a full week to submit your clever, polished verse.

I hope you’ll join me in writing a limerick with this first line:

A gal who was terribly shrill…*

or

A man who was terribly shrill…*

*(Minor variations to my first lines are acceptable, but rhyme words may not be altered.)

Here’s my limerick:

Shrill Limerick
By Madeleine Begun Kane

A gal who was terribly shrill
Was stunned by a very high bill.
She shrieked and she raved,
Till her creditor caved:
“Please, I’ll cut it in half, if you chill.”

Please feel free to write your own limerick using the same first line and post it in my comments. And if you’re on Facebook, I hope you’ll join my friends in that same activity on my Facebook Limerick-Off post.

To receive an email alert whenever I post a new Limerick-Off, please email Madkane@MadKane.com Subject: MadKane’s Newsletter. Thanks!

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90 Responses to “Shrill Limerick (Limerick-Off Monday)”

  1. Rich D says:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    Was singing to “Can’t Buy A Thrill”
    A couple of fans
    of Steely Dan’s
    Converged and proceeded to kill

  2. Rich D says:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    Was guarding his wife’s cousin’s still
    He got really silly
    Cuz that there hillbilly
    Was pretty much drinking his fill!

  3. Rich D says:

    A girl who was terribly shrill
    was writing a tome with a quill
    She broke off her nib
    but was wearing a bib
    because of a previous spill

  4. Rich D says:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    Was forbidden to use a gas grill
    He went half insane
    Inhaling propane
    The last time they got a refill.

  5. Rich D says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Played flute cuz she so loved to trill
    She wanted to go
    and play piccolo
    but the cost made her chances near nil.

  6. Michael Grove says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    had a seat up on capitol hill.
    “The Raven” she quoted
    whenever they voted.
    Turned out she was mentally ill.

  7. Rinkly Rimes says:

    A girl who was terribly shrill
    Was presented with quite a large bill!
    She screamed fit to bust,
    And blasphemed and cussed
    Till somebody popped her a pill.

  8. A gal who was terribly shrill…
    Hobnobbed with a guy named Bill
    And thought all was well
    Till her tummy did swell
    Just ’cause she did not pop a pill.

  9. Thom says:

    Put pancakes on top of the grill
    He hooted and hollered
    Turned down is old collar
    Mrs. Butterworth then fit the bill

  10. Thom says:

    Crap i didn’t get the first line copied. My humble apologies.

    A man who was terribly shirll
    Put pancakes on top of the grill
    He hooted and hollered
    Turned down is old collar
    Mrs. Butterworth then fit the bill

  11. CupOJoe says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Took a lover she later thought ill
    She was very appalled
    When in shock, she recalled
    “Oh My God, I’m not on the pill!”

  12. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    A modest gal who was terribly shrill
    Was overusing her birth control pill
    Thought her ailment
    Was the derailment
    Of whatever morality her boyfriends could instill

  13. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Sought to sing in the NY Phil
    She was awfully deaf
    In mid and treble clef
    And her voice was on the birth control pill!

  14. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    An usherette whose voice was awfully shrill
    Always surprised her guests willy-nilly still
    When they asked for seats
    She adjusted her pleats
    And said, sotto voce, I also work as the Madam’s shill!

  15. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    A myopic gal who was terribly shrill
    Thought she had taken a penicillin pill
    The error was seen
    When the medicine
    Her surgeon found was really a porcupine’s quill

  16. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    A romantic gal who was terribly shrill
    Squeaked her songs into her beau at will
    The beau was not so happy
    Scared, the man wet his nappy
    And then as she changed him, said she loved him still!

  17. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    A passionately romantic gal who was shrill
    Wrote a love letter to her lover called Bill
    Darling, I am pregnant
    Though I know you can’t
    Do it to me with your inkpot and quill

  18. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    A stage struck gal was terribly shrill
    Changed her name to Casting Couch Jill
    She got a few roles to delight
    With her assets in the public sight
    And won the Oscar for Best Porno Thrills

  19. A gal who was terribly shrill
    On account of her helium thrill
    Sold balloons at the fair
    ’til she took to the air
    And was seen floating over a hill.

  20. A man who was terribly shrill
    From an accident with a windmill
    Had once been so shy
    Now he’s aiming quite high
    ‘Til he’s paid off the medical bill.

  21. A gal who was terribly shrill
    Bought a house up on Mockingbird Hill
    But her screeching, alas,
    Shattered all of the glass,
    Now she’s looking for something to kill….

  22. J Sardo says:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    Took a drink with a happy time pill
    When he woke the next morning
    His brain was in mourning
    With a buzz from an electric drill.

    Been there, done that. But didn’t need the pill.

  23. daisy mae simon says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Years ago screeched our Anthem and still
    After singing it rotten
    No laughs, not forgotten
    Roseanne’s singing received the big chill

  24. daisy mae simon says:

    A guy who is terribly shrill
    And loves to incite with ill will
    Gets a kick from his game
    Made MO’s Hall of Fame
    Rush Limbaugh, you’re one giant dil (do)

  25. Veralynne says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Was considered by many a pill;
    Hard to swallow, indeed,
    They would leave at great speed.
    Leaving our gal to shrill at her will.

  26. scott says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill,
    was shriller when she got a thrill.
    So loudly she screeched,
    when her climax was reached,
    my ears have not recovered still.

  27. Pat Hatt says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill,
    Sang out to Blueberry Hill,
    Couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket,
    So the neighbors said “feck it”
    And popped her a poison pill.

  28. Rachel says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Told her hubby it wasn’t a thrill
    To break his joystick
    To make her point stick
    But she smiled as he cried, “You killed Bill!”

    As always, visit my blog to see the news story that inspired my limerick. :)

  29. My voice has always been shrill
    To modify it, I would kill
    A tenor, a tailor
    Or even a sailor
    To instead make my voice a sweet trill.

  30. Craig says:

    So this gal with a voice that was shrill,
    Said of birthdays,  “I’ve quite has my fill!”
    So she grabbed up a knife
    And soon ended her life.
    Now she’s under, not over, the hill.

  31. Linda H. says:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    Went to doc for a change-of-voice pill.
    But instead of making it deep
    made him baa like the sheep
    so he refused to pay the pill bill.

  32. Craig says:

    (Typo corrected – curse you, autocorrect)

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Met a guy who was shriller, named Bill.
    But it worked out just fine
    When they tried sixty-nine;
    What a fabulous way to keep still.

  33. Craig says:

    A gal with a voice that was shrill
    Had a husband who’d quite had his fill.
    He said, “I love ya, Daisy,
    But Jamaican me crazy.”
    And he left on a flight to Negril.

  34. Craig says:

    A gal with a voice that was shrill
    Tried to stretch out her throat by sheer will.
    Then her boyfriend Horatio
    Taught her (well, you know)
    Now she has a quite popular skill.

  35. Craig says:

    A gal with a voice that was shrill
    Liked good sex, and could not get her fill.
    The last guy to ride her
    Collapsed there beside her
    And I think that boy’s lyin’ there still.

  36. Rich D says:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    would only be seen wearing twill.
    An obsessive need
    to be ensconced in tweed
    made chinos a near-guilty thrill.

  37. Jim Delaney says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Could bend any bat to her will.
    She once had a lark
    In the park, after dark,
    And the rangers remember her still.

  38. Stephen Earp says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Vacationed with friends in Brazil
    Said a man from Recife
    Who she thought cute and beefy
    You’re nice but your voice makes me ill.

  39. Nan Reiner (a/k/a Kitty Ditty) says:

    (Trying to keep them printable today.)

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Climbed up Switzerland’s loftiest hill.
    From the moment she yodeled
    The mountains were totaled.
    The rock slide’s continuing still.

  40. Nan Reiner (a/k/a Kitty Ditty) says:

    (Silly Rhyme Department.)

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Played the Kennedy Center, until
    Maestro R-Korsakov
    Ran away, wailing “Of
    Those harmonics, I’ve more than my Phil!”

  41. Nan Reiner (a/k/a Kitty Ditty) says:

    (Finally, today’s Topical Antiseptic.)

    A man who was terribly shrill
    Trashed a nice girl who spoke on The Hill,
    Causing sponsors of Rush
    Then to give him the flush,
    But, alas, he is broadcasting still.

  42. Neal P says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    made the waiter refigure her bill
    “My order was switched!”
    the harridan bitched.
    “No way will I pay for this swill!”

  43. Neal P says:

    A prig who was terribly shrill
    spent decades on Capitol Hill
    Rantin’ and ravin’
    this insolent maven
    foiled or despoiled every bill

  44. Neal P says:

    A jerk who was terribly shrill
    had a label for those on the pill
    No ifs ands or buts
    He called them all were sluts
    Now the pig finds his fat on the grill

  45. A man who was terribly shrill
    With a pen, a pad, and a pill
    Wrote a letter out loud
    To a maddening crowd
    Please forgive me I’m old and I’m ill

  46. John Larkin says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    was known by her first name, Jill.
    She dated a guy named Jack
    but she’s not about to go back
    since they went up and fell down a hill.

  47. jesse levy says:

    Without looking at all the rest (sorry if I’m duplicating here):

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    had a voice like a dentist’s drill
    I’m glad Palin lost
    ’cause the price or the cost
    was me with a suicide pill.

  48. Ira Bloom says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill,
    Posited “Is this fate or free will?
    What is life? Who is God?”
    (Still, she had such a bod,
    Guys were happy to pick up the bill.)

  49. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    ..

    A gal who has a voice so shrill
    Is extraordinarily gifted, agree you will
    Look at the bats and dogs
    And hogs and croaking tree frogs
    That stand still at attention, commanded by her voice like the whistle!

  50. Mark Megson says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Left her larynx to the world in her will
    So future generations
    Could enjoy the sensation
    Of a voice that made men feel ill

  51. Mark Kane says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill,
    Made sure that we each got our fill.
    She called them a thief,
    With her “Where’s the beef!”
    At Wendy’s I hear her voice still.

  52. Kanchan Bhattacharya says:

    With a range from C4 to F6, rather shrill
    Poor Miss Jill- her voice can really kill
    She hobnobs with bats in the belfry
    Hanging by the curtains obviously,
    But the view is good- of the knickers if you will!

  53. Mama Zen says:

    I wonder if that would work for me?

  54. Johanna Richmond says:

    Rush Limbaugh, you’re terribly shrill.
    Stop your whoring — we’ve all had our fill.
    A strong woman’s a slut?
    Get your head out your butt —
    Better yet, while there, “drill baby drill.”

  55. A gal who was terribly shrill
    Auditioned for a Lloyd Webber bill.
    Was it smashing that mirror
    That finally did fer ‘er?
    Or singing, “Don’t cry for me … errrm … Brazil”??

  56. Johanna Richmond says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Got caught with her hand in the till.
    When the boss-man raised hell,
    Folks for miles heard her yell,
    “Your insurance won’t cover my pill!”

  57. Cosmos Cami says:

    A girl who was terribly shrill
    Was removed from her own mother’s will
    “Til you learn to stop whining,
    You’ll have to keep pining
    For the vase upon my window sill.”

  58. Luke Prater says:

    I won’t attempt a Limerick as I’m clearly outdone before I begin; just to say very much enjoyed yours and everyone else’s very much… very amusing

  59. Johanna Richmond says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Cried out, “Turkey on rye — hold the dill!”
    Her date, starved for a quip,
    Piped, “Enjoy my big tip!”
    But the sex from then on went downhill.

  60. Johanna Richmond says:

    Chris Mathews, who’s terribly shrill
    And who lacks conversational skill,
    Though he’s not as well read
    As “Rev,” Rachel and Ed,
    Thinks he runs MSNBC-ville.

  61. Irv Dean says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    sneezed out her birth control pill;
    Then she left on a date
    never guessing her fate
    was now up to some guy named Phil

  62. Sara McNulty says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Screamed at hubby to get her a pill.
    He had reached the last straw
    When a bottle he saw
    Labeled, Arsenic, would just fit the bill.

    ——————————————
    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Lashed out at waiters at will
    Take this back; the steak’s burned
    Is there nothing you’ve learned?
    He returned with a cow and the bill.

    ———————————————-
    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Jangled nerves, that caused friends to be ill
    When burglars broke in,
    Ears jarred from the din,
    They left without touching the till.

    ——————————————-
    A gal who was terribly shrill
    When abasing her husband, Bill,
    Said, “You are of no use,
    You pretend you’re obtuse,
    No great wonder with all that you swill.”

  63. Granny Smith says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Tried out for the opera – with trill.
    Superman had the brio
    To withstand her trio,
    But batman is fleeing her still.

  64. kaykuala says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Had earlier one too many fills
    Top of her voice
    Made a lot of noise
    Charming lady? didn’t fit the bill

    Hank

  65. Ira Bloom says:

    A guy who was terribly shrill,
    Told a woman who’d eaten her fill:
    “Have you stepped on a scale?
    You’re as big as a whale!
    I suggest you cut back on the krill!”

  66. Laura Shavis says:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    Refused to shut up–that’s until
    All his friends said, “Whoa!
    We can’t take no mo’
    Through our bones your voice sends a chill!!”

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Had a tongue that would not stand still
    Even as she’d walk
    She’d talk and she’d talk
    In a voice that pierced like a drill!

  67. scott says:

    A man who was terribly shrill,
    wed a gal who was mentally ill.
    While one’s irritating,
    the other is grating.
    It’s Mr. and Mrs. Carville.

  68. brian miller says:

    a gal who was terribly shrill
    sang from ontop the hill
    shattering glass
    making quite a mess
    their cure was to give her a dill

  69. Shawna says:

    I like Scott’s. :) And here’s mine:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    struggled daftly indeed for to kill;
    his victims could hear him,
    run away ‘fore he neared them
    so the death toll, in total, was nil.

  70. poemblaze says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    rose each morning to take her pill.
    There was no need
    for none leaves his seed
    in a gal who sounds like a drill.


    My muse is to blame.

  71. poemblaze says:

    Or altrnately:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    rose each morning to take her pill.
    But none feels romance
    stir in his pants
    when he hears the sound of a drill.

  72. Kathy El-Assal says:

    Meg Ryan tried not to be shrill
    While moaning and groaning until
    Her orgasmic feat
    Made someone entreat
    “I’ll have what she’s having”…[a thrill!]

  73. A gal who was terribly shrill
    sat still as he popped his next pill
    she sat with romance
    a beat in his pants
    and she felt his pill thrill her still

  74. Granny Smith says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    And a poet, as well, said that, “Still
    I just CAN’T understand
    Using pens now on hand
    Of course I write ONLY with quill!”

  75. Kathy El-Assal says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    By the name of Cruella de Vil
    Tried to dognap dalmations
    But her machinations
    Just led to her landing in swill.

  76. tashtoo says:

    A man who was terribly shrill
    could look like a woman at will
    with the right bit of paint
    a lost feminine saint
    To erase? Not a strong enough pill :)

  77. A gal who was terribly shrill
    Said finally, “Okay! Yes! Yes! I will!”
    But when it came time
    She turned on a dime
    Shrieking “STOP!” – at the now softened Bill.

  78. kanchan bhattacharya says:


    A guy whose voice was awkwardly shrill
    Found a Dunking Lama’s on a Tibetan hill
    Fortunately the Holy Lama
    Blessed him with a pajama
    That warmed his jewels- now he speaks like Buffalo Bill

  79. Poetesswug says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill,
    made yodelers run for the hill.
    Her voice was so loud,
    she could drown out a crowd,
    and make babies shut up and be still.

  80. patience and the prodigal says:

    a gal who was terribly shrill,
    her parents were called Jack and Jill,
    She said “Daddy was dumb,
    Mom roared like a bomb,
    and left me her voice in her will”

  81. G-Man says:

    A man who was terribly Shrill
    Was born Sally, but now prefers Bill
    He changed his gender by choice
    But couldn’t lower his voice
    So in the choir, he’s lead soprano Still!!

  82. Bruce Niedt says:

    I usually don’t read the other limericks before writing mine. Kathy El-Assal and i were just on the same wavelength:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    said “A fur coat will take off the chill!
    I’ll comb the whole nation
    for the perfect Dalmatian,
    or my name’s not Cruella de Vil!”

  83. zongrik says:

    a rock band was terribly shrill
    providing their fans a big thrill
    the lead guitarist was drowned
    by a strange distorted sound
    they were using a stanley hand drill

    shrill limerick

  84. tara tyler says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill
    Haunts the old house on the hill
    She still shrieks and moans
    And rattles her bones
    Giving her neighbors a chill.

  85. daisy mae simon says:

    HALF THE MAN HE USED TO BE
    Mel Gibson shouts hatespeak quite shrill
    May his stardom keep going downhill
    Will his loss from divorce
    Lead to ANY remorse?
    She got half- close to $450 MIL

  86. Mark Kane says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill,
    Arrived at the ball dressed to kill,
    With a very clear plan,
    Find a rich older man,
    Then weasel a place in his will.

  87. Mark Kane says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill,
    But clearly not run of the mill,
    Mae West was her name,
    And sex was her game,
    Reaching fame with her play “Diamond Lil”.

  88. Mark Kane says:

    A gal who was terribly shrill,
    Attempted to sing with no skill.
    Not needing to think,
    I guzzled my drink,
    And quickly paid off my bar bill.

  89. A man who was terribly shrill
    Tried to sing with vibrato and trill.
    The glassware all shattered
    As bar patrons scattered
    And they’ve banned karaoke there still.

  90. madkane says:

    Thanks so much everyone for your delightful limericks. This Limerick-Off is officially over. And the winner is…

    Congratulations to the Limerick of the Week Winner, the Facebook Friends’ Choice Award Winner and the Honorable Mention Winners! Limerick of the Week 53.

    But don’t worry — there’s more limerick-writing fun to be had right here with a brand new Limerick-Off: Brooding Limerick