"There once was a man from Nantucket" is the opening line for many limericks, in which the name of the island of Nantucket creates often ribald rhymes and puns. The protagonist in the obscene versions is typically portrayed as well-endowed and hypersexualized. The opening line is so well known that it has been used as a stand-alone joke, implying upcoming obscenities.
History
The earliest published version appeared in 1902 in the Princeton Tiger written by Prof. Dayton Voorhees: Other publications seized upon the "Nantucket" motif, spawning many sequels Among the most well known are: Followed later by:
Ribald versions
The many ribald versions of the limerick are the basis for its lasting popularity. Many variations on the theme are possible because of the ease of rhyming Nantucket with certain vulgar phrases. The following example comes from Immortalia: An Anthology of American Ballads, Sailors' Songs, Cowboy Songs, College Songs, Parodies, Limericks, and Other Humorous Verses and Doggerel, published in 1927.
The poem has become a staple of American humor, both as an iconic example of dirty poetry and as a joking example of fine art, whose vulgarity and simple form provide a surprise contrast to an expected refinement. Some examples:
In Woody Allen's 1966 filmWhat's Up, Tiger Lily?, the protagonist Phil Moskowitz reads the opening line of "ancient erotic poetry": "There once was a man from Nantucket".
The animated sitcomThe Simpsons makes numerous references to the limerick, such as "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo", where Homer comments that he "once knew a man from Nantucket" but "the stories about him are greatly exaggerated".
On the Gilmore Girls season 3, episode 8, Lorelai Gilmore jokes about carving something dirty into a bathroom wall on a tour of Yale, saying, "What rhymes with Nantucket?"
In the Hey Arnold episode New Teacher, Herold Berman volunteers to recite a poem for his schoolmates. He begins to say, "There once was a man from Nantucket" before being shushed by Mr. Simmons. Nickelodeon repeated this joke fourteen years later in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Squidward's School for Grown-Ups", SpongeBob, impersonating an opera singer, begins his act by producing a sheet of paper and reading the same line. The audience is aghast as he realizes he has the wrong sheet.
In That '70s Showseason 2 episode 24, Hyde begins a joke with "There once was a girl from Nantucket..."
In The Bad News Bears season 2 episode 12 "The Good Life" Tanner enters a poetry contest with "There once was a man from Nantucket..." before the principal cuts him off.
In Will & Grace, Grace criticizes her date's poem due to the lack of rhymes, and as an example she recites the first two lines of the ribald version: "There once was a man from Nantucket... Something something something... Suck it.".
In the Suits season 3 episode 9 Rachel starts to recite: "There was once a girl from Nantucket..."
In Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Hugh Grant jokes about his vows by saying "There once was a girl from Nantucket...".
In Solaris, Chris Kelvin mentions that his favorite poem is the most famous poem by Dylan Thomas that starts "There was a young man from Nantucket...".
In the of Babylon 5, Commander Sinclair tells Delenn, an alien, about poetry. Delenn responds with "There once was a man from Nantucket...".
