I just like saying:

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21 December 2009 @ 10:16 am

I just like saying:

One hen.

One hen; two ducks.

One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese.

One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters.

One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises.

One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers.

One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array.

One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt.

One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt; nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth.

One hen; two ducks; three squawking geese; four Limerick oysters; five corpulent porpoises; six pairs of Don Alversos tweezers; 7,000 Macedonians in full battle array; eight brass monkeys from the ancient sacred crypts of Egypt; nine apathetic, sympathetic, diabetic old men on roller skates with a marked propensity toward procrastination and sloth; 10 lyrical, spherical, diabolical denizens of the deep who hall stall around the corner of the quo of the quay of the quivery, all at the same time.

16 comments | Leave a comment

16 comments —

( 16 comments — Leave a comment )

bldrnrpdx on December 21st, 2009 04:30 pm (UTC)

And a partridge in a pear tree. :)

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kightp on December 21st, 2009 04:32 pm (UTC)

One of my favorite vocal warmups for actors. When I can remember past eight...

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fatfred on December 21st, 2009 06:32 pm (UTC)

I kinda remember Don Alphonso. But you may be correct. It's been many years!

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janetmiles on December 21st, 2009 07:39 pm (UTC)

Folk process / regional variation. You probably did learn it as Don Alphonso, and for that matter, I don't think that the very last bit of "10 lyrical, spherical, ..." is exactly the way I remember learning it from

rahirah or

sillymagpie.

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fatfred on December 21st, 2009 07:41 pm (UTC)

Still, it's a great piece of sillyness to remember!

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janetmiles on December 21st, 2009 07:44 pm (UTC)

It is indeed!

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kengr on December 21st, 2009 10:18 pm (UTC)

Actually, it started out as part of the memory section of a set of pysch exams, as I understand it.

The version I'm familiar with is from H. Beam Piper's "Day of the Moron":

"'One hen, two ducks, three squawking geese, four corpulent porpoises, five Limerick oysters, six pairs of Don Alfonso tweezers...."

"... five Limerick oysters, six pairs of Don Alfonso tweezers, seven hundred Macedonian warriors in full battle array, eight golden crowns from the ancient, secret crypts of Egypt, nine lymphatic, sympathetic, peripatetic old men on crutches, and ten revolving heliotropes from the Ipsy-Wipsy Institute"

http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/8/9/4/18949/18949.htm

Edited at 2009-12-21 10:22 pm (UTC)

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leiacat on December 22nd, 2009 01:31 am (UTC)

Can men on crutches be peripatetic?

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micheinnz on December 23rd, 2009 06:20 pm (UTC)

Eventually.

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rahirah on December 22nd, 2009 03:49 am (UTC)

I was just gonna say, the #10 I learned was "Ten lyrical spherical diabolical denizens of the deep who haul quay around the quo of the quivvy of the quarry all at the same time."

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janetmiles on December 22nd, 2009 01:42 pm (UTC)

And that's the version you taught me, which I couldn't remember, but I knew when I found the version posted above that it didn't sound quite "right". Thanks!

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aedifica on December 21st, 2009 08:04 pm (UTC)

I sent a friend a link to this entry. :-)

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janetmiles on December 21st, 2009 08:57 pm (UTC)

I hope zie enjoys it!

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traveller_blues on December 22nd, 2009 12:58 am (UTC)
I learned it as part...

...of a Comedy Sportz improv class. You had to be able to say it clearly and flawlessly in less than 50 seconds.

-Trav

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sweh on December 22nd, 2009 05:14 am (UTC)

A college drinking competition... and you had to keep the incorrect grammar in mind... First person said the first; second person said the first 2; third person said the first 3... 9th person said...

A big hen, a couple duck, three brown bear, four running hare, five fickle freckle female, six simple simons sitting sipping scotch, seven sinbad sailor sailing the seven seas, eight egotistical egotist egotistically eating egg, nine nymphomaniacal nympho nymphomaniacally nymphing.

The guy who taught me this never made it to ten.

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wcg on December 22nd, 2009 06:04 am (UTC)

Wow! I haven't heard that since 1978-79 when I was on Okinawa.

Differences from the version I learned:

Don Alversos -> Don Alberto's
hall stall -> haul skual
the quo of the quay of the quivery -> the qoo, the queasy, and the quay
all at the same time -> all at the very same time

As you noted, it's the folk process.

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