Bouts Rimés

(French, “rhymed endings”), a literary game; a poem, usually impromptu and comic, with unexpected rhymes (rhyming words) given beforehand. Sometimes a theme for bouts rimés is given as well. The game arose in France during the first half of the 17th century.

In Russia, V. L. Pushkin, D. D. Minaev, and A. A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov were famous for their ability to write bouts rimés. There are examples of bouts rimés in N. F. Ostolopov’s Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Poetry (1821). In 1914, the St. Petersburg magazine Vesna held a popular contest for bouts rimés.