And smelled like some rotten liqueur. (Rosie . . . um, nope, sorry . . . "Lines 1, 2 and 5 of a limerick should ideally consist of three anapests each" My first line has three anapests just like a limerick should . . . now, as for Stevie's line, it doesn't).
Compare and contrast with English as she is spoke and limericks as they be scanned: I REAlly must PROtest dear SIR: correct metre, but "PROtest" is the noun. I REAlly must proTEST dear SIR: "proTEST" is correct, but the metre is trying to be a different verse form:
I'll PAY for my MEAL with some RUpees: correct metre and word stress but difficult to rhyme with. I'll PAY for my MEAL with some ruPEES: extraneous "some". I'll PAY for my MEAL with ruPEES: correct metre, and the stress in"ruPEES" is also correct.
Fuck all about making a stew [Raak] Hidden textSorry, the stress doesn't turn it from noun to verb in my neck of the woods and it sounds just fine when I say the line out loud. I've never heard anyone call them pro-TEST songs either. So, all-in-all, Thrrrp! 8oP 8ob 8oP
So now they're once bitten [Raak] Hidden text I think KS was claiming the line should be read as 'I'll pay FOR my meal WITH some ruPEES', which is (sorry KS) a very odd reading, given that it requires stressing propositions that would most naturally be the least stressed words in the sentence. As for Stevie's line, my sense, which dictionaries appear to confirm, is that 'protest' as a verb can be stressed on either syllable; I'm not sure if the stress on the first syllable is primarily Am. Eng., but it might be. That said, I do--like you--find the stress on the second syllable to be more natural for the verb.