Originally Posted by wofahulicodoc
I gotta work on this some more.

A dactyl is ONE-two-three - a triple rhythm. But maybe an anapest is not just a matter of the stress being on the final beat instead, but (musical analogy) it's two pickup notes and the downbeat, which makes it more a four-count rhythm: three-four-ONE like a galloping horse - pa-da-POM, pa-da-POM etc - with a short unvoiced pause providing an implied "two,"

Yes, I agree, and I have tried to reproduce this rhythm as far as possible by using a long vowel and/or a consonant cluster for the 'downbeats'.

Originally Posted by wofahulicodoc
Otherwise you really can't tell one from the other. If you string them together how do you decide whether it's a poly-dactyl or a poly-anapest?

Well, if you begin and end each line with a complete anapestic foot, I would call it a poly-anapest.

Originally Posted by wofahulicodoc
Sung to the tune of the Irish Washerwoman: " We got PAR-a-di-CHLOR-o-a-MI-no-benz-AL-de-hyde / PAR-a-di-CHLOR-o-a-MI-no-benz-AL-de-hyde / PAR-a-di-CHLOR-o-a-MI-no-benz-AL-de-hyde / PAR-a-di-CHLOR-o-a-MI-no-benz-AL

de-hyde / PAR-a-di-CHLOR-o-a-MI-no-benz-AL-de-hyde / PAR-a-di-CHLOR-o-a-MI-no-benz-AL-de-hyde / PAR-a-di-CHLOR-o-a-MI-no-benz-AL-de-hyde / PAR-a-di-CHLOR-o-a-MI-no-benz-AL..." repeat ad-libitum. Is it ONE.two.three.ONE.two.three or two.three.ONE.two.three.ONE?

Yes, I am familiar with this tune. The distinction is not so clear here, but since the tune begins with two upbeats and ends with a downbeat, it seems more anapestic than dactylic. "We got SEV-en-ty-THOU-sand-two-HUN-dred-and-FOUR/ We got SEV-en-ty-THOU-sand-two-HUN-dred-and-FOUR/ We got SEV-en-ty-THOU-sand-two-HUN-dred-and-FOUR/ We got SEV-en-ty-THOU-sand-two-HUN-dred-and-FOUR". (Some of the later lines begin with only one upbeat, i.e. "We've SEV-en-ty...")