In English, it is never enough to know the spelling of a word; the pronunciation must also be specified. While there are a few helpful rules of spelling, we learn pronunciation of new words only by trial and error. We guess a pronunciation based on experience, and then are laughed at when we make a serious error. And sometimes, we laugh at our friends when we think they're wrong. I still remember a friend from fourth grade who insisted on going to the "the-AY-ter".
A minor result of this curiosity of English is that many words rhyme that "shouldn't", and many that "should" don't. Collected here are a few sets of words that look like they ought to rhyme, but which vary in interesting ways. Notice, among other things, the large number of oddball words involving a "w" just before the vowel. This suggests that the letter "w" really does have a semi-vowel status, which explains why bash doesn't rhyme with wash, which "really" has a different vowel sound w(ua)sh.
| above | approve | ||||
| ache | attache | mustache | |||
| ad | wad | ||||
| addle | waddle | ||||
| adobe | probe | ||||
| aft | waft | ||||
| again | attain | ||||
| ague | plague | Prague | |||
| all | shall | ||||
| allot | ballot | ||||
| allow | sallow | wallow | |||
| ally | tally | ||||
| along | among | ||||
| amber | chamber | ||||
| amen | stamen | ||||
| Amish | famish | Hamish | |||
| an | wan | ||||
| anal | canal | ||||
| and | wand | ||||
| anger | danger | ||||
| anon | canon | ||||
| ant | want | ||||
| any | zany | ||||
| are | bare | ||||
| argon | jargon | ||||
| Arkansas | Kansas | ||||
| arm | warm | ||||
| as | gas | was | |||
| ascent | nascent | ||||
| ash | wash | ||||
| asp | wasp | ||||
| assail | wassail | ||||
| astern | pastern | ||||
| at | swat | what | |||
| aver | saver | ||||
| bagged | ragged | ||||
| ballet | mallet | wallet | |||
| baked | naked | ||||
| banged | ranged | ||||
| banish | Danish | ||||
| banquet | bouquet | ||||
| barn | warn | ||||
| barrel | quarrel | ||||
| barren | warren | ||||
| baseline | Vaseline | ||||
| bases | gases | ||||
| batch | watch | ||||
| bath | swath | ||||
| bathed | pathed | ||||
| bather | father | gather | |||
| battle | wattle | ||||
| bead | dead | ||||
| beady | ready | ||||
| beak | break | ||||
| bear | hear | ||||
| beard | heard | ||||
| beast | breast | ||||
| beat | great | sweat | |||
| been | seen | ||||
| beer | freer | ||||
| bier | crier | ||||
| binder | hinder | ||||
| binged | ringed | ||||
| biped | griped | ||||
| bison | prison | ||||
| bisque | risque | ||||
| biter | liter | ||||
| blood | food | good | |||
| blown | brown | ||||
| boat | Croat | ||||
| body | Cody; grody | ||||
| boing | doing | going | |||
| Boise | noise | ||||
| bomb | comb | tomb | |||
| bomber | somber | ||||
| bone | gone | one | |||
| book | kook | ||||
| boot | foot | ||||
| both | cloth | ||||
| bother | mother | ||||
| bough | cough | hiccough | though | through | tough |
| bought | drought | ||||
| bower | lower | ||||
| bowl | howl | ||||
| breather | weather | ||||
| broad | road | ||||
| bruise | guise | ||||
| bruit | fruit | quit | |||
| Buick | quick | ||||
| bull | dull | ||||
| bully | sully | ||||
| bunion | union | ||||
| burger | surger | ||||
| bury | jury | ||||
| bus | flus | ||||
| buses | fuses | ||||
| bush | gush | ||||
| buss | puss | ||||
| but | put | ||||
| butch | hutch | ||||
| cafe | strafe | ||||
| cajoled | caroled | ||||
| camp | swamp | ||||
| canapes | jackanapes | ||||
| canary | granary | ||||
| canton | wanton | ||||
| cap | swap | ||||
| car | war | ||||
| caraway | faraway | ||||
| card | ward | ||||
| carp | warp | ||||
| carry | quarry | starry | |||
| cart | wart | ||||
| caste | paste | ||||
| caught | draught | ||||
| ceiling | veiling | ||||
| certain | pertain | ||||
| cheese | geese | ||||
| cheated | created | ||||
| chemise | demise | premise | |||
| chic | tic | ||||
| chino | rhino | ||||
| choose | loose | ||||
| chose | dose | lose | |||
| cliche | fiche | ||||
| climb | limb | ||||
| climbed | imbed | limbed | |||
| climber | timber | ||||
| clothing | frothing | nothing | |||
| coed | shoed | toed | |||
| colic | folic | ||||
| colon | solon | ||||
| color | dolor | ||||
| come | home | ||||
| comely | homely | ||||
| compromise | promise | ||||
| coney | honey | ||||
| copier | dopier | ||||
| cork | work | ||||
| couch | touch | ||||
| coup | soup | ||||
| cove | love | move | |||
| coven | proven | woven | |||
| cover | mover | over | |||
| coverage | overage | ||||
| coverall | overall | ||||
| cow | low | ||||
| cowboy | lowboy | ||||
| coward | toward | ||||
| crevice | device | ||||
| crises | rises | ||||
| crooked | looked | ||||
| cross | gross | ||||
| croupier | soupier | ||||
| dais | Thais | ||||
| daughter | laughter | ||||
| deaf | leaf | ||||
| death | heath | ||||
| debacle | manacle | ||||
| debut | rebut | ||||
| debuted | refuted | ||||
| decal | fecal | ||||
| decreted | secreted | ||||
| defanged | deranged | ||||
| defeated | permeated | ||||
| deist | heist | ||||
| demon | lemon | ||||
| demur | lemur | ||||
| denial | menial | ||||
| deposition | reposition | ||||
| despite | respite | ||||
| deter | meter | ||||
| detour | devour | ||||
| deviled | reviled | ||||
| dive | live | ||||
| diver | river | ||||
| divest | jivest | ||||
| do | go | ||||
| does | goes | ||||
| doll | roll | ||||
| donkey | monkey | ||||
| donor | honor | ||||
| dose | lose | rose | |||
| dossier | glossier | ||||
| double | rouble | ||||
| douche | touche | ||||
| douches | touches | ||||
| dozen | frozen | ||||
| drawer | rawer | ||||
| duet | suet | ||||
| dumber | lumber | ||||
| early | nearly | ||||
| earth | hearth | ||||
| egret | regret | ||||
| eight | height | ||||
| either | wither | ||||
| emit | exit | ||||
| enable | tenable | ||||
| enclave | enslave | ||||
| encourage | entourage | ||||
| enchant | penchant | ||||
| engine | entwine | ||||
| epitome | metronome | ||||
| ether | tether | ||||
| even | seven | ||||
| evil | devil | ||||
| ewer | sewer | ||||
| excited | exited | ||||
| eyed | preyed | ||||
| facile | gracile | ||||
| farish | garish | ||||
| fasted | tasted | ||||
| fasten | hasten | ||||
| fasting | tasting | ||||
| fetal | petal | ||||
| fetched | wretched | ||||
| feud | Freud | ||||
| fever | never | ||||
| few | sew | ||||
| fevered | revered | severed | |||
| fiend | friend | ||||
| finger | ginger | singer | |||
| flower | lower | ||||
| font | front | ||||
| form | worm | ||||
| foster | poster | ||||
| foul | ghoul | soul | |||
| four | hour | ||||
| from | tom | whom | |||
| frontage | montage | ||||
| fussy | pussy | ||||
| futon | puton | ||||
| gallop | wallop | ||||
| gamelan | gameplan | ||||
| gamester | semester | ||||
| garage | garbage | ||||
| garble | warble | ||||
| garden | warden | ||||
| genus | menus | ||||
| gild | mild | ||||
| glacier | racier | ||||
| gladiator | radiator | ||||
| golf | wolf | ||||
| gouge | rouge | ||||
| gulley | pulley | ||||
| hasty | nasty | ||||
| have | pave | ||||
| here | there | were | |||
| heresy | hereby | ||||
| heretic | hermetic | ||||
| hinged | ringed | ||||
| hoe | shoe | ||||
| holly | wholly | ||||
| homey | honey | ||||
| honk | monk | ||||
| hostage | postage | ||||
| how | low | ||||
| hunger | plunger | ||||
| idolater | isolater | ||||
| imply | simply | ||||
| indict | predict | ||||
| into | pinto | ||||
| irate | pirate | ||||
| isled | misled | ||||
| is | skis | this | |||
| ivy | privy | ||||
| Judy | study | ||||
| kilo | silo | ||||
| kind | wind | ||||
| lager | wager | ||||
| latte | matte | ||||
| laid | plaid | said | |||
| later | water | ||||
| lease | please | ||||
| legate | negate | ||||
| lint | pint | ||||
| liven | riven | ||||
| longed | sponged | ||||
| lorry | sorry | worry | |||
| lost | post | ||||
| lousy | mousy | ||||
| lynch | synch | ||||
| macrame | madame | ||||
| magnate | stagnate | ||||
| massage | passage | ||||
| mature | nature | ||||
| medial | redial | ||||
| message | dressage | ||||
| model | yodel | ||||
| mouse | rouse | ||||
| mullet | pullet | ||||
| nation | ration | ||||
| navel | ravel | ||||
| Niger | tiger | ||||
| niton | piton | ||||
| north | worth | ||||
| notice | novice | ||||
| novel | shovel | ||||
| number | plumber | ||||
| omen | women | ||||
| omit | vomit | ||||
| once | sconce | ||||
| opaque | plaque | ||||
| outage | outrage | ||||
| pander | wander | ||||
| pant | want | ||||
| Pericles | testicles | ||||
| petty | pretty | ||||
| player | prayer | ||||
| ponder | wonder | ||||
| predate | sedate | ||||
| prelate | relate | ||||
| process | profess | ||||
| proper | roper | ||||
| pusher | usher | ||||
| recant | secant | ||||
| recipe | rewipe | ||||
| recure | secure | ||||
| redo | retro | ||||
| regime | retime | ||||
| relish | rewish | ||||
| ringed | tinged | ||||
| Roman | woman | ||||
| salon | talon | ||||
| scarf | wharf | ||||
| scholar | solar | ||||
| Simon | Timon | ||||
| south | youth | ||||
| stingy | stringy | ||||
| sword | word | ||||
| tenon | xenon | ||||
| tricked | wicked | ||||
| unable | usable |
I've hesitated to assemble pairs where one item is not a word, but a phrase, or where one word is a name. And yet I hate to have no place for such beauties as
| figurine | big urine |
| malinger | Salinger |
Thanks to: Stephen Elliott for epitome/metronome.
Back to the wordplay section.