poulter's measure

[ pohl-terz ]

/ ˈpoʊl tərz /

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noun Prosody.

a metrical pattern using couplets having the first line in iambic hexameter, or 12 syllables, and the second in iambic heptameter, or 14 syllables.

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Origin of poulter's measure

1570–80; so called because poulters (see poulterer) used to give extra eggs when counting by the dozen

Taraji manages to bring an equal measure of truth to the mother in her character.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the inability to measure progress in the ISIS campaign is widespread.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
With that, there is no means to consistently measure progress.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“A guy drives up in a 2008 Mercedes, brand new,” Harry S. Connelly Jr. says in the video, according to the Times.
Are Police Stealing People’s Property?|Joan Blades, Matt Kibbe|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

“Personal hotspots can get speeds of up to 60 Mb/s down, whereas hotel Wi-Fi can be as slow as 1.5 Mb/s,” Sesar said.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet if there is a measure of untruth in such pretty flatteries, one needs to be superhuman in order to condemn them harshly.
Children's Ways|James Sully
(p. 054) At this period it appears that tobacco was used as money, and as the measure of price and value.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Ajoutez cecy, s'il vous plaist, la grande difficult qu'il y a de tirer d'eux les mots mesmes qu'ils ont.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Not only have its fundamental principles been fully vindicated but in most details the working of the measure has been successful.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
The alternate hexameter and pentameter are, for most purposes, a more agreeable measure than the hexameter by itself.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various