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crambo

 - 3 dictionary results

cram⋅bo

  [kram-boh]
Use crambo in a Sentence
–noun, plural -boes.
1. a game in which one person or side must find a rhyme to a word or a line of verse given by another.
2. inferior rhyme.
Origin:
1600–10; earlier crambe < L crambē repetīta phrase used by Juvenal in reference to unimaginative writing, lit., repeated (i.e., re-served) cabbage (< Gk krambē kind of cabbage)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cram·bo   (krām'bō)   
n.   pl. cram·boes or cram·bos

  1. A word game in which a player or team must find and express a rhyme for a word or line presented by the opposing player or team.

  2. Doggerel.


[Obsolete crambe, cabbage, from Latin crambē (repetīta), (warmed-over) cabbage, said of pedestrian writing, from Greek krambē.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

crambo

a game in which one player gave a word or line of verse to be matched in rhyme by other players. Thus, one said, "I know a word that rhymes with bird." A second asked, "Is it ridiculous?" "No, it is not absurd." "Is it a part of speech?" "No, it is not a word." This proceeded until the right word was guessed. Under the name of the ABC of Aristotle, crambo reportedly was played in England as early as the 14th century. It is frequently mentioned in the literature of the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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