clerihew (KLER-uh-hyoo) noun A humorous, pseudo-biographical verse of four lines of uneven length, with the rhyming scheme AABB, and the first line containing the name of the subject. [After writer Edmund Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956), who originated it.] Here is one of the first clerihews he wrote (apparently while feeling bored in a science class): Sir Humphrey Davy Abominated gravy. He lived in the odium Of having discovered sodium. "Walter Bagehot, our most famous editor (from 1859 to 1877), advocated `animated moderation' in writing. And Sir Walter Layton, Crowther's immediate predecessor, spent hours rewriting his staff's articles--so many hours that one of his frustrated colleagues hit back with a clerihew: Sir Walter Layton Has a passion for alteration Would to God someone could alter Sir Walter." M. Stevenson; Your Chance to Out-write `The Economist'; The Economist (London, UK); Dec 22, 1990. The people of Spain think Cervantes Equal to half-a-dozen Dantes; An opinion resented most bitterly By the people of Italy. E. C. Bentley Mused while he ought to have studied intently; It was this muse That inspired clerihews.      by Michael Curl The novels of Jane Austen Are the ones to get lost in. I wonder if Labby Has read Northanger Abbey.       by  G. K. Chesterton