The robin may be the official State Bird of Wisconsin, but a listener from the Badger State shares a limerick about the unofficial state bird: the mosquito. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Mosquito Limerick”
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it.
I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette.
Grant, do you remember that conversation that we had a while back about mosquitoes, large bugs that would bite you?
Oh, yes.
Galley nippers.
Galley nippers, right.
Words like that.
Blood suckers.
Blood sucking sparrows.
Blood sucking sparrows.
Something like that.
That’s right.
Yeah.
Well, that inspired a limerick by one of our listeners. This is from Jackie Bergman. She’s from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
There is a small bug that I’ve heard. Her whining’s so loud, it’s absurd. Her bite’s a bad habit. Her beak, she will stab it. The mosquito, Wisconsin’s state bird.
Nice, right?
That’s very nice.
Do they have a problem with mosquitoes in Wisconsin?
I think they do.
Apparently.
Certain times of the year, anyway.
Well, I got such a kick out of that, I wrote back to Jackie and thanked her for it, and she sent me another limerick.
Oh, really?
A bonus limerick?
Yes, a bonus limerick.
Wisconsin’s a feast for the eyes. Our beer, brats, and cheese take first prize. Among our fine dishes are red cherries, delicious, but don’t ever eat our cow pies.
That’s true.
Well, funny we should be talking about Wisconsin because we’re going to be talking about Wisconsin talk later in the show.
Oh, great. There’s a lot going on in Wisconsin.
There’s a lot going on.
If you’ve got a question about language, you’ve got something to say, give us a call, 877-929-9673, or put it in an email to wordsinwaywardradio.org.
