This was frankly a bit of a slog, more so than the first volume, possibly due to sheer quantity.

In the introduction to his version of the song ‘Clementine’, Tom Lehrer posits that ‘the reason most folk songs are so atrocious is that they were written by the people’, and I suspect much the same applies to limericks. While there are a few gems where the writing shines and you actually laugh out loud, they are swamped by a lot of dross.

The problem is not that the limericks are crude – many would argue that that’s entirely the point of limericks – but rather that so many of them are only crude: if the use of a taboo word or the description of a taboo practice is in itself enough to tickle your ribs, then you’re in luck, but a reader of any sophistication might hope and expect to get actual humour: jokes and linguistic play to give the verses some heft. And that’s the extra layer that professional wordsmiths can add to comic verse: they first have an ear for the meter, knowing whether the rhythm works and having the skill to rework a line that doesn’t until it does. Then they also have a sense of comic timing, knowing which line(s) to put the set-up in and where to deliver the punchline for best effect.

I think taboo language is like seasoning: it can add piquancy to a bland meal if applied by someone with the necessary experience, but it carries little nutrition and you wouldn’t want to eat it on its own. ( )