double dactyl

See also: double-dactyl

English

Alternative forms

• double-dactyl

Etymology

Coined by poets Anthony Hecht and Paul Pascal; compound of double +‎ dactyl.

Noun

double dactyl (plural double dactyls)

1. A short, usually humorous poem with eight lines in dactylic meter; a higgledy-piggledy.
   • 1980, Gyles Brandreth, The Joy of Lex, page 123:

     Higgledy-piggledies are more sophisticated than clerihews: they comprise double dactyls and rhymes and aren't always biographical.

Synonyms

• higgledy-piggledy