Contents

Cover

Title Page

Foreword by Andrew Motion

Using the dictionary

Dictionary

-a-

-ah-

-air-

-ay-

-e-

-er-

-eer-

-ee-

-i-

-ire-

-ie-

-o-

-or-

-oor-

-ow-

-ower-

-oy-

-oe-

-u-

-uu-

-oo-

Index

Copyright

About the Publisher

Foreword

by Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate

Like a lot of people born shortly after the war, and starting to read poems in the 1960s, I was brought up to think that rhyming poetry was done for. My teachers regretted it, but the evidence of the contemporary they liked best (Ted Hughes), and the rising chorus of radical poets appearing at the Albert Hall and elsewhere, told them the great modernist experiment with free verse during the 1910s and ’20s was about to sweep all before it.

In fact things haven’t turned out like that. From the vantage point of a new century, we can see that although the modernist experiment has flourished and diversified, it has done so alongside a continuing tradition of poets doing the old things in new ways. In Great Britain, the rhyming line from Auden and the poets of the 1930s, through Betjeman and Larkin, has been extended through most of the major poets of the late c20, and forward into the best of our contemporaries.

Why is this? Loss of nerve? Another example of local reactionary instincts? I don’t think so. Rhyming poetry – and rhyme in poems which have no settled formal pattern – has survived because it is fundamental to our sense of what poetry is, and what it can achieve. Most of us make our first acquaintance with it in the playground, chanting and playing word games. We learn that rhyme brings words to life, gets them to dance, and makes them memorable. If we forget this later on, when we develop a more elaborate sense of language and a more sophisticated idea of composition, we do so at our peril.

But this isn’t to say metre has to be tum-ti-tum, and rhyme has to be obvious and orthodox. One of the best things about this excellent book is that it encourages us to think broadly about rhyme – to explore part-rhymes, para-rhymes and half-rhymes as well as full and complete ones. It’s easy to use, resourceful in its listing, and ambitious in its reach.

Will people who are already ‘professional’ writers feel it’s somehow beneath them to use it? They shouldn’t. One of the greatest pleasures of poetry, for its authors as well as its readers, is the way it combines a sincere exploration of the world and the self with a delight in tricks and playfulness. To varying degrees, poets are able to devise these games in the solitude of their own heads – but as with everything else in life, a little help never comes amiss. This help might clarify an internal process that is already under way. It might equally well lead to something unexpected and unplanned. Byron was not the only poet to admit that ‘a rhyme led me to a thought’.

Back at school in the ’60s, I mistakenly thought that rhyme was a hindrance: a way of blocking or re-routing what I ‘really wanted to say’. I soon saw the error of my ways. Rhyme – in all its delightful diversity of forms – is a reliable way to recognise and release strong feeling, as well as smart thinking, elegant compression and proper concentration. In this respect, the extent to which it appears ‘unnatural’ (in the sense that we don’t usually chat away to one another in rhyme) conceals a vital paradox. The ingenuity of rhyme is in fact a way of proving what is intrinsic to us as human beings.

Using the dictionary
How the words are arranged

The rhymes are arranged in sections according to the main vowel sound of the word. The first half of each section contains words with this sound as their final or only vowel sound (e.g. cat and unpack in the -a- section); the second half contains words with this sound followed by one or more weaker syllables (e.g. happy and examiner). The sections are as follows, in this order:

-a- (as in mat, unpack, happy, examiner)

-ah- (as in half, depart, larder, impartially)

-air- (as in hair, unfair, scarcely, bearable)

-ay- (as in same, display, waiting, Australia)

-e- (as in pen, infect, ready, separate)

-er- (as in her, return, working, university)

-eer- (as in beer, revere, fiercely, endearment)

-ee- (as in breed, complete, teacher, meaningless)

-i- (as in sit, evict, whistle, revision)

-ire- (as in tire, require, admirer, violently)

-ie- (as in try, untie, glider, reliable)

-o- (as in toss, forgot, copper, historical)

-or- (as in ford, implore, daughter, victorious)

-oor- (as in cure, endure, purely, maturity)

-ow- (as in cow, endow, louder, boundary)

-ower- (as in hour, empower, towering, floury)

-oy- (as in toy, enjoy, noisy, avoidable)

-oe- (as in boat, ago, grocer, totally)

-u- (as in run, instruct, double, gluttony)

-uu- (as in put, withstood, booking, womanly)

-oo- (as in too, rebuke, cruiser, beautiful)

Within each section, the words are arranged in numbered groups according to the sound that follows this vowel (e.g. at/bat/cat, adder/ladder/madder). Many of these groups contain words that are close but not perfect rhymes (e.g. hammer/banner), to give you a fuller range of possibilities.

Within each numbered group, the rhymes are divided by asterisks into sets of words with the same number of syllables (e.g. hack, jack, pack * aback, attack, repack) or with the same rhythm (e.g. aback, attack, repack * hatchback, knapsack, tailback).

How to find a particular rhyme

If you are looking for a rhyme for a particular word, the easiest way is to use the index at the back of the book, which will guide you to the numbered group in which your word appears. For example, batter is in group 2.10. Once you have found this group, cast your eye over all the words – you may find a close rhyme some distance away (e.g. regatta and antimatter). Some of the longer sets of rhymes, e.g. the -ation words, have been divided into several smaller groups, so it is always a good idea to look at the groups above and below the one containing the word you are trying to rhyme.

Words that have more than one sound appear in more than one group. For example, graph can rhyme with naff or half, so both group numbers are given in the index. Similarly, sow rhymes with cow when it means ‘female pig’ and with go when it means ‘put seed in ground’.

If your word is not in the index, does it have an extra ending, such as the -s of stamps or the -ed of dragged? If so, remove the ending and look for the main form of the word (i.e. stamp or drag). You may be able to add the same ending to other words in its group (e.g. cramps/lamps/tramps or bragged/lagged/sagged ). Many words with these endings have groups of their own, often with ‘etc.’ at the end, which means that more rhymes can be made by adding the same ending to other words. For example, group 1.4 contains some of the most common -acks words that rhyme with axe, but there is not room to include them all – you can make many more by adding -s to the other ack words in group 1.3.

If you still cannot find a suitable rhyme for your word, you may find a near-rhyme in another group. Words ending in the ‘f ’ sound, for example, are sometimes rhymed with words ending in the ‘v’ or ‘th’ sound (e.g. leaf/weave/teeth/breathe). Other letter sounds that can be paired in this way are ‘b’ and ‘p’ (crab/tap), ‘k’ and ‘g’ (rack/stag), ‘d’ and ‘t’ (bed/set), ‘m’ and ‘n’ (rim/thin), ‘s’ and ‘z’ (miss/fizz), and ‘sh’ and ‘ch’ (squash/watch).

Finally, here is a list of words that have no rhyme:

bilge

cusp

damask

depth

eighth

else

gouge

month

ninth

period

scarce

sixth

warmth

wasp

Welsh

width

-a-

The rhymes in this section have the ‘a’ sound of mat and happy as their main or final vowel sound.

1.1 blab, cab, crab, Crabbe, dab, drab, fab, flab, gab, grab, jab, lab, Mab, nab, scab, slab, stab, tab, * McNab, Cantab., kebab, vocab, * Ahab, spacelab, prefab, rehab, Skylab, confab, Joab, Moab, * smash-and-grab, hackney cab, taxicab, shish kebab, minicab, baobab

Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer had a very unusual gift of the gab,

They were highly efficient cat-burglars as well, and remarkably smart at a smash-and-grab.

T. S. ELIOT

1.2 abs, Babs, cabs, crabs, dabs, grabs, jabs, nabs, scabs, slabs, stabs, * abdabs, prefabs, * dribs and drabs, shish kebabs, minicabs, etc.

1.3 back, black, Black, Braque, clack, claque, crack, flak, hack, jack, Jack, Jacques, knack, lac, lack, mac, Mac, Mach, pack, plaque, quack, rack, sac, sack, shack, slack, smack, snack, stack, tack, thwack, track, vac, wack, whack, WRAC, wrack, yack, yak, Zack, * aback, unpack, macaque, attack, alack, laid-back, repack, Chirac, Dirac, Iraq, * ack-ack, cashback, flashback, splashback, hatchback, backpack, bratpack, ratpack, NASDAQ, lampblack, Shadrach, backtrack, yashmak, knapsack, ransack, Balzac, Anzac, dhansak, flapjack, blackjack, hardback, halfback, hardtack, fast-track, Tarmac®, Carnac, Karnak, bareback, payback, playback, tailback, haystack, hayrack, racetrack, setback, sweptback, shellac, Lurpak®, feedback, greenback, leaseback, Meshach, Taoiseach, cheapjack, kickback, slingback, switchback, ridgeback, six-pack, ticktack, rickrack, gimcrack, knickknack, skipjack, Dyak, kayak, buy-back, tieback, zwieback, wisecrack, sidetrack, hijack, skyjack, softback, Cognac, Cossack, hopsack, Toshack, clawback, drawback, horseback, Dvořák, outback, soundtrack, blowback, throwback, Kodak, smokestack, Slovak, Prozac®, Kojak, humpback, cutback, comeback, hunchback, mudpack, thumbtack, rucksack, muntjac, fullback, woolpack, bushwhack, woolsack, Blu-Tack®, shoeblack, bootblack, sumac, Cusack, Muzak®, * back-to-back, saddleback, Pasternak, Savernake, almanac, Sassenach, Bacharach, Skagerrak, bladderwrack, anorak, haversack, crackerjack, natterjack, applejack, Cadillac, amphibrach, paddywhack, Dannimac®, heart attack, Armagnac, cardiac, paperback, razorback, maniac, leatherback, Kerouac, Bergerac, steeplejack, coeliac, stickleback, in the black, bric-a-brac, hit the sack, iliac, Syriac, piggyback, ipecac, bivouac, Pontiac, Mauriac, quarterback, Kodiak, zodiac, lumberjack, multipack, multitrack, cul-de-sac, Union Jack, Cluniac, * celeriac, amnesiac, insomniac, ammoniac, demoniac, simoniac, * counterattack, yackety-yak, * kleptomaniac, egomaniac, nymphomaniac, dipsomaniac, pyromaniac, monomaniac, necrophiliac, paedophiliac, haemophiliac, sacroiliac, paradisiac, aphrodisiac, Dionysiac, hypochondriac, sal ammoniac, * megalomaniac

Then I saw the Congo, creeping through the black,

Cutting through the forest with a golden track.

VACHEL LINDSAY

1.4 axe, backs, BACS, Bax, cracks, fax, flax, jacks, Jack’s, lacks, lax, max, Max, packs, pax, racks, Sachs, Sacks, sax, shacks, slacks, snacks, stacks, tax, tracks, wax, whacks, * unpacks, attacks, repacks, relax, * hatchbacks, Tampax®, gravlax, backtracks, anthrax, Balzac’s, flapjacks, Fairfax, haystacks, AWACS, Ajax, Pentax, Ex-Lax®, surtax, earwax, meataxe, Ceefax®, beeswax, slingbacks, pickaxe, syntax, hyrax, styrax, kayaks, climax, sidetracks, hijacks, drawbacks, borax, storax, thorax, smokestacks, poleaxe, toadflax, Lomax, * battleaxe, parallax, gravadlax, almanacs, Sassenachs, Halifax, paperbacks, sealing wax, sticklebacks, minimax, Filofax®, overtax, supertax, Union Jacks, * anticlimax, * kleptomaniacs, aphrodisiacs, etc.

1.5 axed, faxed, taxed, waxed, * untaxed, unwaxed, etc.

1.6 act, backed, bract, cracked, fact, hacked, lacked, packed, pact, quacked, smacked, stacked, tact, tracked, tract, whacked, * compact, unpacked, attacked, attract, subtract, contract, jam-packed, abstract, transact, react, prepacked, detract, retract, refract, impact, intact, distract, extract, diffract, enact, exact, entr’acte, protract, * abstract, backtracked, ransacked, play-act, extract, impact, sidetracked, hijacked, compact, contact, contract, gobsmacked, humpbacked, hunchbacked, * cataract, vacuum-packed, artefact, retroact, re-enact, interact, inexact, Pontefract, counteract, overact, underact, subcontract, * counterattacked, matter-of-fact, overreact, etc.

1.7 batch, catch, hatch, latch, match, natch, patch, scratch, snatch, thatch, * attach, unlatch, Brands Hatch, detach, dispatch, mismatch, * Sandbach, rematch, mismatch, eyepatch, crosspatch, crosshatch, nuthatch, * slanging match, purple patch, reattach

1.8 hatched, latched, matched, patched, scratched, snatched, thatched, * attached, unhatched, unlatched, unscratched, unmatched, detached, dispatched, mismatched, * reattached, unattached, * semidetached

1.9 ad, add, bad, bade, brad, Brad, cad, chad, Chad, clad, dad, fad, gad, Gad, glad, grad, had, lad, mad, pad, plaid, rad, sad, SAD, scad, shad, Strad, tad, trad, Vlad, * unclad, Baghdad, Riyadh, egad, begad, jihad, forbad, * scratchpad, grandad, farad, Amstrad, Karlsbad, sketchpad, stepdad, keypad, kneepad, Sinbad, inkpad, dryad, naiad, triad, cycad, Conrad, monad, launch pad, small ad, notepad, snowclad, gonad, nomad, footpad, * Galahad, Stalingrad, barking mad, helipad, Leningrad, Petrograd, Gilead, Iliad, Trinidad, ironclad, hopping mad, Volgograd, * Jalalabad, Islamabad, bromeliad, Olympiad, Upanishad, * Faisalabad, Hyderabad

Ask you what provocation I have had?

The strong antipathy of good to bad.

ALEXANDER POPE

1.10 ads, adds, adze, cads, dad’s, lads, pads, scads, * kneepads, Conrad’s, small ads, nomads, gonads, etc.

1.11 caff, chaff, daff, faff, gaff, gaffe, Graf, graph, naff, RAF, Taff, WAAF, * carafe, Llandaff, Piaf, giraffe, * decaf, riffraff, chiffchaff, digraph, Olaf, * tachograph, barograph, paragraph, shandygaff, shadowgraph, Cenotaph, stenograph, epitaph, epigraph, telegraph, Dictograph®, pictograph, lithograph, spirograph, micrograph, seismograph, Chinagraph®, logograph, holograph, homograph, chronograph, monograph, polygraph, autograph, blow the gaff, photograph, phonograph, * cardiograph, radiograph, ideograph, Mimeograph®, choreograph, * encephalograph

1.12 daffs, graphs, Staffs, WAAFs, * carafes, giraffes, * paragraphs, photographs, etc.

1.13 bag, blag, brag, Bragg, cag, clag, crag, dag, drag, fag, flag, gag, hag, jag, Jag, lag, mag, nag, quag, rag, sag, scrag, shag, slag, snag, spag, stag, swag, tag, wag, * debag, reflag, * ragbag, handbag, sandbag, ratbag, gasbag, ragtag, stalag, air bag, mailbag, sailbag, jet lag, greylag, workbag, fleabag, teabag, feedbag, beanbag, windbag, kitbag, wigwag, chinwag, zigzag, dogtag, Sontag, washrag, Morag, Gro-bag®, postbag, nosebag, toerag, scumbag, punchbag, Gulag, * saddlebag, scallywag, carpetbag, paper bag, Jiffy bag®, Brobdingnag, tucker-bag

The common cormorant (or shag)

Lays eggs inside a paper bag.

CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD

1.14 bags, brags, crags, flags, gags, nags, rags, wags, * handbags, sandbags, air bags, mailbags, teabags, beanbags, * saddlebags, paper bags, moneybags, etc.

1.15 badge, cadge, hajj, Madge, * rebadge

1.16 Al, gal, Hal, mall, pal, Sal, shall, Val, * cabal, Natal, halal, banal, canal, Pascal, Chagall, Pall Mall, La Salle, Chantal, mescal, et al., decal, Vidal, grand mal, low-cal, * caracal, femme fatale, chaparral, falderal, Amytal®, acetal, barbital, Pentothal®, petit mal, Nembutal®, L’Oréal, * Guadalcanal

1.17 calque, talc, * catafalque

1.18 Alf, Ralph

1.19 alp, palp, scalp

1.20 shalt, * Gestalt, * asphalt

1.21 salve, valve, * lip salve, bivalve

1.22 am, cam, Cam, clam, cram, Cram, dam, damn, drachm, dram, gam, glam, gram, ham, jam, jamb, lam, lamb, Lamb, ma’am, ’Nam, Pam, pram, ram, RAM, Sam, scam, scram, sham, slam, spam, Spam®, swam, Tam, tram, wham, yam, * madame, Saddam, Pan-Am, Assam, mesdames, Vietnam, exam, Siam, goddamn, cheongsam, pro-am, * CADCAM, pangram, ashram, webcam, Edam, Etam, flimflam, Islam, wigwam, iamb, Priam, NICAM, quondam, Potsdam, Oxfam, logjam, doorjamb, program, programme, * deprogramme, reprogram, * Amsterdam, mammogram, anagram, traffic jam, aerogram, Abraham, cablegram, Babycham®, hectogram, pentagram, tetragram, hexagram, Steadicam®, epigram, telegram, centigram, give a damn, pictogram, histogram, kilogram, kissagram, dithyramb, milligram, diagram, seismogram, diaphragm, Rotterdam, cofferdam, hologram, monogram, oriflamme, Surinam, Uncle Sam, * gorillagram, oscillogram, ad nauseam, temazepam, diazepam, Omar Khayyám, * angiogram, cardiogram, radiogram, stereogram, ideogram, battering ram, * encephalogram, * parallelogram, in memoriam

I had written to Aunt Maud,

Who was on a trip abroad,

When I heard she’d died of cramp

Just too late to save the stamp.

HARRY GRAHAM

1.23 amp, camp, champ, clamp, cramp, damp, gamp, lamp, ramp, scamp, stamp, tamp, tramp, vamp, * decamp, revamp, encamp, * gas lamp, headlamp, wheel clamp, streetlamp, firedamp, oil lamp, blowlamp, chokedamp, * standard lamp, afterdamp, lava lamp, Davy lamp, postage stamp, rubber-stamp

1.24 an, Ann, Anne, ban, bran, can, Cannes, clan, dan, Dan, fan, flan, Fran, gan, gran, Jan, Jeanne, man, Mann, nan, Nan, pan, Pan, plan, ran, scan, scran, span, Stan, tan, than, van, * Strabane, Japan, rattan, pavane, Oran, Moran, unman, Kazan, Tehran, élan, Cézanne, Leanne, trepan, began, sedan, Sedan, divan, Milan, tisane, Cheyenne, Diane, Roxanne, Joanne, Johann, Lausanne, Roseanne, outran, yuan, Sudan, Bhutan, Suzanne, * kanban, sampan, cancan, Afghan, gratin, kaftan, banyan, ragman, swagman, adman, badman, sandman, Batman, Salman, gasman, axeman, taxman, claypan, brainpan, brain scan, apeman, caveman, mailman, spaceman, bedpan, deadpan, chessman, pressman, merman, birdman, earthman, pecan, free man, he-man, freedman, liegeman, skidpan, wingspan, hit man, binman, Nissan, fireman, cyan, lifespan, ice man, Chopin, stockman, con man, strongman, saltpan, FORTRAN, doorman, lawman, Outspan®, oilcan, Gauguin, Rodin, snowman, Onan, dustpan, suntan, stuntman, newsman, Poussin, * tragopan, astrakhan, Astrakhan, Aberfan, caravan, Callaghan, Hanrahan, Catalan, rataplan, anchorman, Kazakhstan, Marianne, Caliban, Taliban, Pakistan, Dagestan, Acrilan®, gamelan, handyman, Bantustan, man-to-man, marzipan, artisan, partisan, Parmesan, dairyman, stableman, ladies’ man, weatherman, Telemann, self-made man, jerry can, ferryman, Everyman, exciseman, Turkestan, Kyrgyzstan, Kurdistan, serviceman, turbofan, Peter Pan, spick-and-span, middleman, billycan, minivan, businessman, Hindustan, trimaran, Spiderman, Isle of Man, frying pan, lifeboatman, quarryman, gombeen-man, coq au vin, also-ran, slaughterman, courtesan, Moynihan, open-plan, overran, overman, bogeyman, muscleman, Ku Klux Klan, superman, Superman, Houlihan, * extractor fan, Afghanistan, orang-utan, bipartisan, nonpartisan, remainderman, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, committeeman, Baluchistan, * flash in the pan, carry the can, catamaran, cameraman, cavalryman, infantryman, newspaperman, angry young man

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man,

Bake me a cake as fast as you can.

NURSERY RHYME

1.25 ankh, bank, blank, clank, crank, dank, drank, flank, franc, Franck, frank, Frank, hank, Hank, lank, Planck, plank, prank, rank, Rank, sank, shank, shrank, spank, stank, swank, tank, thank, wank, yank, Yank, * embank, outflank, outrank, point-blank, * sandbank, gangplank, redshank, sheepshank, Millbank, think-tank, Clydebank, mudbank, Cruikshank, Ewbank, * antitank, data bank, interbank, riverbank, piggy bank, Girobank, Jodrell Bank, mountebank, Bundesbank

1.26 banks, Banks, blanks, cranks, flanks, francs, Frank’s, Hanks, Lancs, Manx, pranks, ranks, tanks, thanks, Yanks, * sandbanks, phalanx, Fairbanks, * spindleshanks, piggy banks, mountebanks, etc.

1.27 banked, clanked, flanked, ranked, spanked, thanked, yanked, * unfranked, unthanked, outflanked, outranked, * sacrosanct, etc.

1.28 and, band, banned, bland, brand, canned, fanned, gland, grand, hand, land, Land, manned, panned, rand, sand, spanned, stand, strand, Strand, tanned, * unhand, unmanned, unplanned, crash-land, rebrand, disband, expand, withstand, offhand, * hatband, jazz band, bandstand, grandstand, handstand, backhand, Lapland, adland, gangland, armband, chargehand, parkland, heartland, farmland, grassland, waistband, waveband, stagehand, Lakeland, wasteland, neckband, headband, sweatband, headstand, freehand, Queensland, wristband, kickstand, inkstand, inland, quicksand, firebrand, Thailand, Rhineland, watchband, washstand, longhand, dockland, broadband, forehand, shorthand, browband, cowhand, noseband, homeland, own brand, suntanned, clubland, scrubland, newsstand, * behindhand, beforehand, * sarabande, Samarkand, ampersand, Talleyrand, graduand, hand-to-hand, fatherland, Swaziland, fairyland, Maryland, tableland, lend a hand, second-hand, bellyband, Ferdinand, Rio Grande, timberland, hinterland, Kristiansand, Disneyland, Dixieland, Hildebrand, sleight of hand, contraband, borderland, overhand, Oberland, overland, overmanned, no man’s land, Togoland, understand, underhand, wonderland, motherland, one-night stand, Krugerrand, Newfoundland, * Somaliland, Sudetenland, Van Diemen’s Land, Witwatersrand, misunderstand, cloud-cuckoo-land

The stately homes of England,

How beautiful they stand!

Amidst their tall ancestral trees

O’er all the pleasant land.

FELICIA HEMANS

1.29 bang, Chang, clang, dang, fang, gang, hang, Lang, pang, prang, rang, sang, slang, sprang, tang, Tang, twang, vang, whang, Yang, * harangue, meringue, slap-bang, Shenyang, rehang, shebang, Penang, Pyongyang, * gangbang, headbang, press gang, mustang, Wolfgang, * charabanc, Sturm und Drang, overhang, boomerang, * orang-utang

1.30 Ange, flange, * Falange, phalange

1.31 Hans, Hanse, manse, stance, Vance, * askance, Penzance, expanse, finance, romance, * happenstance, Langerhans, circumstance

1.32 Gdansk, Murmansk

1.33 ant, Brandt, cant, Kant, pant, rant, scant, * Brabant, gallant, decant, recant, descant, extant, Levant, Besant, enceinte, U Thant, * descant, Rembrandt, * gallivant, sycophant, hierophant, commandant, confidant, confidante

1.34 ants, Franz, Hants, Kant’s, pants, rants, * decants, recants, Northants, * gallivants, smarty-pants, sycophants, Rosencrantz, underpants, etc.

1.35 tragacanth, amaranth, coelacanth

1.36 Anne’s, banns, bans, Cannes, cans, clans, Dan’s, fans, glans, Hans, Jan’s, pans, plans, Stan’s, tans, vans, * kaftans, Ray-Bans®, brain scans, bedpans, oilcans, * caravans, Callaghan’s, Marianne’s, artisans, Prestonpans, jerry cans, * Lytham Saint Anne’s, catamarans, etc.

1.37 bap, cap, chap, clap, crap, dap, flap, gap, Gap, hap, Jap, knap, Knapp, lap, Lapp, map, nap, pap, rap, sap, scrap, slap, snap, strap, tap, trap, WAP, wrap, yap, zap, * uncap, unwrap, unstrap, recap, rewrap, enwrap, entrap, * blackcap, madcap, claptrap, mantrap, catnap, mayhap, redcap, death trap, earflap, kneecap, recap, heeltap, mishap, giftwrap, chinstrap, bitmap, kidnap, wiretap, firetrap, nightcap, whitecap, icecap, flytrap, mobcap, stopgap, jockstrap, watchstrap, mousetrap, snowcap, toecap, hubcap, skullcap, mudflap, suntrap, foolscap, dewlap, bootstrap, * rattletrap, Andy Capp, handicap, take the rap, Tonle Sap, overlap, thunderclap, honeytrap, booby trap

1.38 apse, caps, chaps, claps, craps, daps, flaps, gaps, lapse, maps, raps, schnapps, scraps, straps, taps, traps, wraps, yaps, zaps, * perhaps, collapse, unwraps, elapse, relapse, * earflaps, kneecaps, toecaps, prolapse, hubcaps, mudflaps, bootstraps, etc.

1.39 apt, chapped, clapped, flapped, knapped, rapt, strapped, wrapped, * adapt, untapped, unwrapped, unmapped, enwrapped, inapt, * catnapped, kidnapped, snowcapped, * handicapped, readapt, overlapped, etc.

1.40 ass, bass, crass, gas, lass, mass, Mass, sass, strass, TASS, wrasse, vas, * alas, harass, morass, Madras, Patras, amass, Laplace, Alsace, degas, kick ass, crevasse, cuirass, volte-face, en masse, * jackass, badass, Hamas, landmass, Sampras, ACAS, Esdras, tear gas, Mithras, tightass, Ofgas, groundmass, * Calor gas®, sassafras, Candlemas, palliasse, Adidas®, Badedas®, gravitas, Martinmas, Quatermass, demitasse, Pythias, hippocras, Caiaphas, biogas, biomass, Fortinbras, Hudibras, * Tiberias, Leonidas, Herodias, Asturias, * Ozymandias, Herod Antipas, * in vino Veritas, materfamilias, paterfamilias

1.41 asp, hasp

1.42 bast, massed, gassed, hast, * lambast, harassed, amassed, degassed, * bombast, * pederast, cineaste, chloroplast, scholiast, * iconoclast, Elastoplast®, enthusiast

1.43 ash, ASH, Ashe, bash, brash, cache, cash, clash, crash, dash, flash, gash, gnash, hash, lash, mash, MASH, Nash, pash, plash, rash, sash, slash, smash, splash, stash, tache, thrash, trash, * abash, unlash, panache, rehash, encash, * slapdash, backlash, gatecrash, rehash, whiplash, mishmash, earbash, eyelash, potash, Saltash, goulash, newsflash, * have a bash, calabash, pebbledash, Johnny Cash, balderdash, water brash, succotash

1.44 bashed, cashed, crashed, flashed, gashed, mashed, smashed, splashed, thrashed, trashed, * abashed, rehashed, * unabashed, etc.

1.45 at, bat, brat, cat, chat, drat, fat, flat, GATT, gnat, hat, mat, matt, Matt, Nat, pat, Pat, plait, plat, prat, Pratt, rat, sat, scat, shat, skat, slat, spat, splat, sprat, tat, that, twat, vat, VAT, * Sadat, cravat, fat cat, rat-tat, Passat®, hard hat, thereat, whereat, expat, Fermat, hereat, begat, resat, howzat, * backchat, hellcat, hepcat, Zermatt, meerkat, brickbat, dingbat, tipcat, Kit Kat®, diktat, Brinks-Mat, chitchat, whinchat, wildcat, combat, wombat, bobcat, tomcat, top hat, doormat, format, cowpat, Croat, polecat, stonechat, numbat, mudcat, Muscat, sunhat, mud flat, muskrat, * concordat, reformat, * acrobat, rat-a-tat, Ararat, caveat, Kattegat, habitat, marrow fat, aerostat, scaredy-cat, baby-sat, Cheshire cat, democrat, Democrat, technocrat, thermostat, rheostat, pitapat, tit-for-tat, ziggurat, Symonds Yat, diplomat, aegrotat, Montserrat, monocrat, copycat, autocrat, automat, Laundromat®, bureaucrat, Eurocrat, Postman Pat, Photostat®, butterfat, pussycat, plutocrat, Rubáiyát, * Jehoshaphat, Magnificat, * aristocrat, requiescat

But thousands die, without or this or that,

Die, and endow a college, or a cat.

ALEXANDER POPE

1.46 bats, brats, cats, chats, flats, gnats, hats, Katz, mats, Matt’s, Pat’s, plaits, rats, SATs, * cravats, congrats, fat cats, expats, * ersatz, dingbats, cowpats, mud flats, etc.

1.47 Cath, Gath, hath, lath, Plath, * aftermath, telepath, psychopath, polymath, * naturopath, osteopath, homeopath, sociopath

1.48 Cath’s, laths, maths, * telepaths, psychopaths, polymaths, etc.

1.49 chav, have, lav, * satnav, Olav

1.50 as, Baz, Chas, Daz®, Gaz, has, jazz, * La Paz, whereas, Shiraz, pizzazz, * Boaz, topaz, * razzmatazz, Alcatraz

2.1 abbey, Abby, cabbie, crabby, flabby, Gaby, gabby, grabby, Rabbie, scabby, shabby, tabby, yabby, Bambi, can be, Ashby, chappie, crappy, flappy, gappy, happy, nappy, pappy, sappy, scrappy, snappy, strappy, yappy, zappy, scampi, * unhappy, * slaphappy, * Newtownabbey, namby-pamby, happy-clappy

2.2 baccy, Bacchae, Blackie, cacky, Jackie, lackey, Mackie, raki, sake, tacky, wacky, cranky, Frankie, hanky, lanky, manky, Sankey, swanky, Yankee, ASCII, Askey, Laski, Spassky, Aggie, baggy, craggy, daggy, draggy, jaggy, Maggie, quaggy, ragi, saggy, scraggy, shaggy, * Iraqi, Baisakhi, Polanski, * Nagasaki, Kawasaki, Yamasaki, teriyaki, sukiyaki, catananche, hanky-panky, Killiecrankie, Widow Twankey, Stanislavsky

2.3 Addy, baddie, caddie, caddy, daddy, faddy, gladdie, had he, laddie, Maddy, paddy, Paddy, Andy, bandy, brandy, candy, dandy, Dandy, Gandhi, handy, Mandy, randy, sandy, shandy, Tandy, batty, catty, chatty, fatty, flattie, Hattie, natty, Patti, patty, ratty, Satie, scatty, Tati, tattie, tatty, ante, anti, Dante, scanty, shanty, Asti, pasty, * Vivaldi, unhandy, chapati, Hanratty, Scarlatti, Bugatti, bacchante, Ashanti, Ferranti, Chianti, Durante, * grandaddy, * finnan haddie, Fittipaldi, Andy Pandy, Rio Grande, Tonypandy, Kiribati, Cincinnati, Alicante, in flagrante, dilettante, vigilante, rhinoplasty, * Asti spumante, * modus operandi

2.4 café, daffy, NAAFI, Taffy, Malfi, navvy, savvy, Canvey, Cathy, Xanthe, * Gaddafi, Amalfi, * cybercafé, Iolanthe

2.5 Ali, alley, Ally, bally, dally, galley, Halley, pally, Raleigh, rally, sally, Sally, scally, tally, valley, Chablis, brambly, haply, amply, blackly, crackly, frankly, Shankly, straggly, waggly, gangly, badly, Bradley, gladly, Hadleigh, madly, sadly, grandly, Attlee, Batley, flatly, rattly, aptly, Bramley, family, Hanley, Manley, manly, Stanley, Langley, Ashley, rashly, Barrie, Barry, Carrie, carry, Cary, Clarrie, Gary, harry, Harry, Larry, marry, parry, Parry, tarry, blackberry, cranberry, lamprey, angry, Crabtree, gantry, pantry, Langtry, * McNally, Aunt Sally, reveille, O’Malley, doolally, exactly, unmanly, Winstanley, Osmanli, glengarry, remarry, miscarry, du Barry, Deganwy, Myfanwy, * peely-wally, Tin Pan Alley, dilly-dally, shillyshally, intermarry, etc.

Of all the girls that are so smart

There’s none like pretty Sally,

She is the darling of my heart,

And she lives in our alley.

HENRY CAREY

2.6 chamois, clammy, gammy, Grammy, hammy, jammy, mammy, ramie, Sammy, shammy, tammy, Tammy, whammy, acme, Lakshmi, Annie, can he, canny, cranny, Danny, fanny, Fanny, granny, nanny, trannie, acne, Hackney, Cagney, Daphne, slangy, tangy, * Miami, uncanny, Giovanni, Evadne, * double whammy, hootenanny, Ariadne, * damn me, sack me, etc.

2.7 Bassey, brassie, Cassie, chassis, gassy, lassie, Lassie, Massey, Plassey, massy, sassy, jacksie, Laxey, maxi, taxi, waxy, Patsy, antsy, Yangtze, Clancy, fancy, Nancy, has he, jazzy, snazzy, Ramsay, Ramsey, pansy, tansy, ashy, flashy, mashie, splashy, trashy, catchy, patchy, scratchy, snatchy, hajji, algae, Algy, Angie, * Manasseh, Apache, Hitachi, Comanche, * Malagasy, Tallahassee, paparazzi, cartomancy, necromancy, * Haile Selassie

2.8 Abba, blabber, crabber, dabber, drabber, grabber, jabber, amber, camber, clamber, mamba, samba, timbre, clapper, crapper, dapper, flapper, grappa, kappa, mapper, nappa, napper, rapper, sapper, scrapper, slapper, snapper, strapper, tapper, trapper, wrapper, yapper, Zappa, zapper, scalper, camper, clamper, damper, hamper, pamper, scamper, stamper, Tampa, tamper, Caspar, jasper, Jasper, * kidnapper, * liquidambar, handicapper, whippersnapper, * viola da gamba, * grab her, trap her, etc.

2.9 backer, blacker, clacker, cracker, Dakar, Dhaka, hacker, knacker, lacker, lacquer, nutcracker, Nutcracker, packer, sacker, slacker, smacker, stacker, tacker, tracker, wacker, Kafka, anchor, banker, canker, chancre, danker, flanker, franker, hanker, rancour, ranker, spanker, tanker, wanker, blagger, bragger, dagger, flagger, gagger, Jagger, lagger, nagger, quagga, ragga, stagger, swagger, alga, anger, Bangor, clangour, kanga, Kanga, languor, manga, * unpacker, attacker, Malacca, maraca, alpaca, Kamchatka, Bianca, Sri Lanka, Alaska, Nebraska, Trafalgar, realgar, Kananga, Northanger, * backpacker, safecracker, shelf-stacker, firecracker, hijacker, skyjacker, wisecracker, bushwhacker, Schumacher, * illywhacker, Casablanca, lingua franca, supertanker, Madagascar, Athabaska, carpetbagger, cloak-and-dagger, * thank her, nag her, etc.

This particularly rapid, unintelligible patter

Isn’t generally heard, and if it is it doesn’t matter.

W. S. GILBERT

2.10 adder, bladder, Claddagh, ladder, madder, sadder, lambda, LAMDA, Banda, blander, candour, dander, gander, grander, panda, pander, sander, stander, Asda, Mazda, attar, batter, chatter, clatter, fatter, flatter, hatter, latter, matter, natter, patter, platter, ratter, satyr, scatter, shatter, spatter, splatter, tatter, ABTA, captor, chapter, raptor, actor, factor, tractor, BAFTA, Yalta, banter, canter, Fanta®, Granta, manta, plantar, ranter, Santa, aster, Astor, pasta, Rasta, raster, Baxter, hamster, gangsta, gangster, * veranda, Amanda, germander, pomander, Menander, backhander, left-hander, Leander, meander, expander, philander, Miranda, right-hander, Lysander, Luanda, Rwanda, Uganda, Buganda, Luganda, two-hander, goosander, ciabatta, Al Fatah, Mad Hatter, Kenyatta, bespatter, regatta, adaptor, protractor, contractor, reactor, detractor, retractor, extractor, refractor, Atlanta, decanter, Vedanta, infanta, levanter, trochanter, cadaster, piastre, pilaster, canasta, Jocasta, * Tadcaster, Lancaster, Doncaster, * stepladder, Laplander, Queenslander, bystander, Icelander, * Esmeralda, jacaranda, salamander, Afrikander, Netherlander, memoranda, chest-expander, gerrymander, propaganda, oleander, coriander, Parramatta, antimatter, pitter-patter, overmatter, malefactor, benefactor, chiropractor, subcontractor, Atalanta, tam-o’-shanter, alabaster, poetaster, Zoroaster, * Anaximander, velociraptor, cotoneaster, * virgo intacta, * forbade her, sacked her, etc.

2.11 chaffer, gaffer, Jaffa, Shaffer, Staffa, Agfa, alpha, Balfour, camphor, chamfer, slaver, salver, salvor, naphtha, anther, panther, blather, gather, lather, Mather, * alfalfa, cadaver, Samantha, ingather, foregather, * Luftwaffe, quacksalver, * pyracantha, * chaff her, have her, etc.

2.12 Allah, Bala, Calor®, pallor, valour, babbler, dabbler, gabbler, ambler, Ambler, gambler, rambler, scrambler, trampler, cackler, haggler, straggler, angler, strangler, wrangler, Adler, paddler, saddler, Sadler, handler, battler, prattler, rattler, Tatler, tattler, antler, dazzler, ashlar, Barra, Farrah, para, Varah, Vanbrugh, chakra, bhangra, Sandra, Tantra, mantra, Aphra, camera, CAMRA, Basra, aqua, stature, Anya, Vanya, * Valhalla, Alhambra, podagra, pellagra, Niagara, Viagra®, Cassandra, Biafra, subaqua, Managua, lasagne, Britannia, * Alexandra, Cleopatra, * Caracalla, bobby-dazzler, Nicaragua, * abracadabra, etc.

2.13 clamour, crammer, gamma, glamour, grammar, hammer, jammer, mamma, rammer, scammer, shammer, slammer, stammer, yammer, drachma, agma, magma, asthma, Alma, halma, Palma, palmar, Cranmer, plasma, Anna, banner, Branagh, canner, Hanna, Hannah, manna, manner, manor, nana, planner, scanner, spanner, tanner, Abner, Wagner, Radnor, Patna, Ratner, Shatner, banger, clanger, clangour, ganger, hangar, hanger, Langer, Sanger, * enamour, syntagma, Mahatma, miasma, Havana, Kavanagh, savanna, Savannah, Alannah, Fermanagh, bandanna, Diana, Guiana, Guyana, Montana, goanna, Joanna, hosanna, Susanna, Stavanger, haranguer, * sledgehammer, windjammer, programmer, straphanger, head-banger, cliffhanger, * Alabama, yellowhammer, Santa Ana, caravanner, Indiana, Pollyanna, paperhanger, doppelgänger, * Louisiana, * ipecacuanha, * damn her, outran her, etc.

It’s awf’lly bad luck on Diana,

Her ponies have swallowed their bits;

She fished down their throats with a spanner

And frightened them all into fits.

JOHN BETJEMAN

2.14 gasser, NASA, Nasser, Yasser, lapser, Saxa, taxer, waxer, Khalsa, salsa, cancer, Cancer, Hansa, Gazza, Lanza, panzer, stanza, azure, Asher, dasher, flasher, gnasher, Jascha, lasher, masher, pasha, rasher, Sacha, slasher, smasher, thrasher, Hampshire, catcher, dacha, Hatcher, patcher, scratcher, snatcher, stature, thatcher, Thatcher, capture, rapture, fracture, badger, cadger, Alger, ganja, grandeur, * amasser, madrasah, Nyasa, Mombasa, relapser, relaxer, piazza, merganser, romancer, Balthazar, Belshazzar, Braganza, bonanza, organza, Natasha, focaccia, dispatcher, recapture, enrapture, contracture, gastralgia, myalgia, nostalgia, neuralgia, phalanger, * gate-crasher, rat-catcher, backscratcher, flycatcher, spycatcher, cowcatcher, * necromancer, Salmanazar, haberdasher, cradle snatcher, oystercatcher, manufacture, * extravaganza, * antimacassar, * splash her, scratch her, etc.

2.15 Arab, carob, scarab

2.16 Braddock, Craddock, haddock, Madoc, paddock, shaddock, mattock, havoc, arrack, barrack, carrack, hammock, bannock, Cannock, Lanark, Rannoch, Zanuck, cassock, hassock, * Caradoc, Portmadoc

cage me and i d go frantic

my life is so romantic

capricious and corybantic

DON MARQUIS

2.17 aspic, Bacchic, asdic, attic, Attic, batik, static, lactic, tactic, antic, frantic, mantic, drastic, mastic, plastic, spastic, crabstick, chapstick, slapstick, matchstick, * syllabic, iambic, stomachic, sporadic, nomadic, heraldic, Icelandic, aquatic, chromatic, dramatic, fanatic, pragmatic, asthmatic, Carnatic, phlegmatic, spermatic, schematic, thematic, hepatic, ecstatic, emphatic, lymphatic, erratic, stigmatic, prismatic, schismatic, sciatic, climatic, Socratic, quadratic, dogmatic, traumatic, somatic, pneumatic, rheumatic, galactic, syntactic, didactic, climactic, Atlantic, romantic, pedantic, Vedantic, semantic, gigantic, scholastic, monastic, shagtastic, fantastic, sarcastic, aplastic, elastic, dynastic, gymnastic, bombastic, * dissyllabic, trisyllabic, dithyrambic, acrobatic, aromatic, achromatic, pancreatic, Hanseatic, antistatic, astigmatic, charismatic, Adriatic, Asiatic, democratic, emblematic, enigmatic, enzymatic, thermostatic, symptomatic, systematic, cinematic, diplomatic, Hippocratic, hierocratic, operatic, problematic, autocratic, automatic, morganatic, bureaucratic, programmatic, subaquatic, plutocratic, chiropractic, prophylactic, transatlantic, necromantic, sycophantic, Corybantic, unromantic, periphrastic, thermoplastic, inelastic, orgiastic, hudibrastic, * polysyllabic, monosyllabic, aristocratic, meritocratic, undemocratic, semiaquatic, anagrammatic, axiomatic, asymptomatic, melodramatic, telegrammatic, idiomatic, diagrammatic, psychosomatic, undiplomatic, paradigmatic, intergalactic, anaphylactic, anticlimactic, iconoclastic, ecclesiastic, enthusiastic, * semiautomatic, idiosyncratic, unenthusiastic, * overenthusiastic

2.18 graphic, maffick, traffic, Sapphic, * seraphic, empathic, * tachygraphic, calligraphic, cartographic, reprographic, demographic, stenographic, ethnographic, epigraphic, telegraphic, xerographic, geographic, cryptographic, pictographic, lithographic, biographic, typographic, hydrographic, seismographic, topographic, holographic, homographic, polygraphic, autographic, orthographic, pornographic, photographic, phonographic, psychopathic, telepathic, * hagiographic, radiographic, palaeographic, cardiographic, stereographic, lexicographic, bibliographic, choreographic, naturopathic, osteopathic, homeopathic, sociopathic, * cinematographic, photolithographic

2.19 Alec, Gaelic, Gallic, phallic, baric, Garrick, Tariq, fabric, cambric, Patrick, hat trick, gastric, Chadwick, Gatwick, * smart aleck, italic, metallic, cephalic, oxalic, vocalic, Uralic, Amharic, barbaric, tartaric, Pindaric, Kirkpatrick, theatric, Fitzpatrick, Downpatrick, * bimetallic, nonmetallic, Balearic, geriatric, paediatric, psychiatric, nasogastric

2.20 Alnwick, manic, panic, stannic, tannic, * Islamic, ceramic, dynamic, balsamic, ophthalmic, phantasmic, miasmic, orgasmic, botanic, satanic, tetanic, galvanic, Germanic, tympanic, Hispanic, mechanic, Britannic, titanic, Titanic, volcanic, organic, Koranic, * panoramic, dioramic, ectoplasmic, cytoplasmic, protoplasmic, Magellanic, talismanic, messianic, inorganic, oceanic, * aerodynamic, thermodynamic, transoceanic

2.21 classic, Grassic, dabchick, magic, tragic, * boracic, Jurassic, thoracic, Triassic, pelagic, myalgic, nostalgic, neuralgic, * apparatchik, haemorrhagic

2.22 Maddox, paddocks, hallux, barracks, hammocks, bannocks, cassocks, Hassocks, * Appomattox, etc.

2.23 attics, tactics, antics, plastics, matchsticks, affix, graphics, Alec’s, Alex, fabrics, Patrick’s, classics, * aquatics, dramatics, pneumatics, rheumatics, semantics, gymnastics, theatrics, ceramics, dynamics, mechanics, * acrobatics, aerobatics, mathematics, informatics, numismatics, demographics, geriatrics, paediatrics, * aerodynamics, thermodynamics, etc.

2.24 crabbed, rabid, rapid, vapid, jagged, ragged, caddied, bandied, candid, candied, avid, gravid, dallied, pallid, rallied, tallied, valid, arid, carried, married, tarried, acrid, Astrid, Alfred, languid, hackneyed, acid, flaccid, placid, fancied, rancid, * invalid, unmarried, remarried, miscarried, Mohammed, arachnid, antacid, * caryatid, dilly-dallied, shillyshallied, semiarid, intermarried, etc.

When the lamp is shattered

The light in the dust lies dead –

When the cloud is scattered

The rainbow’s glory is shed.

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY

2.25 jabbered, scabbard, tabard, halberd, knackered, lacquered, hankered, tankard, blackguard, haggard, Haggard, laggard, staggered, swaggered, angered, added, laddered, padded, branded, landed, standard, stranded, battered, dratted, fatted, matted, plaited, scattered, shattered, tattered, Apted, acted, bastard, dastard, Stafford, Strafford, Trafford, Bradford, Radford, Blandford, Catford, Ashford, ballad, salad, farad, Garrard, Harrod, backward, landward, galliard, halyard, lanyard, Spaniard, clamoured, Talmud, mannered, hazard, Hazzard, captured, fractured, * substandard, unbranded, backhanded, cack-handed, crash-landed, barehanded, red-handed, left-handed, disbanded, expanded, philandered, high-handed, right-handed, nonstandard, offhanded, forehanded, short-handed, two-handed, adapted, compacted, protracted, abstracted, reacted, impacted, distracted, extracted, decanted, Angharad, Muhammad, enamoured, unmannered, haphazard, * empty-handed, heavy-handed, even-handed, single-handed, underhanded, unadapted, subcontracted, etc.

2.26 scabbards, tankards, blackguards, bastards, ballads, salads, Harrods, backwards, landwards, Spaniards, hazards, etc.

2.27 Babbage, cabbage, package, baggage, adage, bandage, lavage, ravage, savage, Savage, salvage, carriage, garage, Harwich, marriage, sandwich, Sandwich, language, damage, manage, passage, * repackage, disparage, miscarriage, mismanage, stage-manage, * intermarriage, undercarriage

For you dream you are crossing the Channel, and tossing about in a steamer from Harwich –

Which is something between a large bathing machine and a very small second-class carriage.

W. S. GILBERT

2.28 babble, dabble, Drabble, gabble, rabble, scrabble, Scrabble®, amble, bramble, Campbell, gamble, gambol, ramble, scramble, shamble, apple, chapel, Chappell, dapple, grapple, scrapple, scalpel, ample, trample, Aspel, cackle, crackle, grackle, hackle, jackal, mackle, shackle, tackle, ankle, rankle, Wankel, Gaskell, paschal, gaggle, haggle, straggle, waggle, algal, angle, bangle, dangle, jangle, mangel, mangle, spangle, strangle, tangle, wangle, wrangle, addle, paddle, raddle, saddle, staddle, straddle, candle, dandle, Handel, handle, Randall, sandal, scandal, vandal, battle, Battle, cattle, chattel, prattle, rattle, tattle, dactyl, fractal, mantle, pastel, pastille, baffle, raffle, snaffle, yaffle, thankful, tactful, manful, bashful, Cavell, gavel, gravel, ravel, Savile, travel, Athol, Aral, barrel, carol, Carol, carrel, Carroll, Darrell, Farrell, gambrel, mackerel, mandrel, lateral, astral, Avril, tranquil, Maxwell, Daniel, spaniel, camel, Hamill, mammal, Tamil, trammel, annal, channel, Channel, flannel, panel, grapnel, shrapnel, Bracknell, cracknel, Bagnell, Cassell, hassle, tassel, vassal, axle, cancel, Hansel, Mansell, basil, Basil, dazzle, frazzle, razzle, damsel, satchel, Tatchell, * unscramble, preamble, Whitechapel, pineapple, unshackle, bedraggle, untangle, entangle, astraddle, unsaddle, skedaddle, mishandle, Seattle, embattle, dismantle, unravel, apparel, collateral, bilateral, trilateral, Nathaniel, enamel, phantasmal, empanel, Newcastle, bedazzle, substantial, financial, Tintagel, * ramshackle, rectangle, pentangle, triangle, right angle, quadrangle, packsaddle, side-saddle, manhandle, panhandle, Fremantle, * technobabble, psychobabble, tabernacle, raggle-taggle, disentangle, fiddle-faddle, Coromandel, pterodactyl, tittle-tattle, consonantal, covenantal, equilateral, quadrilateral, multilateral, unilateral, multichannel, Newport Pagnell, razzle-dazzle, antidazzle, circumstantial, insubstantial, * Quetzalcoatl

On the coast of Coromandel

Dance they to the tunes of Handel.

OSBERT SITWELL

2.29 dappled, trampled, rankled, mangled, spangled, tangled, addled, handled, baffled, travelled, Harold, Jarrold, panelled, dazzled, * bedraggled, entangled, embattled, dismantled, newfangled, unravelled, untravelled, well-travelled, untrammelled, etc.

2.30 brambles, shambles, apples, hackles, shackles, ankles, paddles, sandals, vandals, baffles, Raffles, barrels, carols, Darrell’s, Daniels, spaniels, mammals, trammels, annals, panels, * at right angles, * Feast of Tabernacles, etc.

2.31 Antrim, passim, maxim, Maxim, * smacks him, catch him, etc.

2.32 Brabham, album, Clapham, Rackham, Malcolm, talcum, Adam, madam, random, tandem, atom, Chatham, sanctum, bantam, phantom, anthem, Grantham, fathom, alum, Balham, Calum, Malham, carom, marram, antrum, tantrum, angstrom, ashram, stannum, magnum, sphagnum, gladsome, handsome, hansom, ransom, Ransome, transom, chasm, spasm, Masham, * amalgam, macadam, McCallum, alarum, panjandrum, per annum, phantasm, * sarcasm, orgasm, * memorandum, cataplasm, ectoplasm, neoplasm, pleonasm, cytoplasm, protoplasm, * nil desperandum, iconoclasm, enthusiasm, * grab ’em, had ’em, etc.

2.33 albums, Adams, Addams, atoms, fathoms, Calum’s, tantrums, spasms, etc.

2.34 cabin, hatpin, backspin, napkin, Atkin, catkin, Slatkin, lambkin, Rankin, lambskin, stand-in, Latin, satin, captain, plantain, Baffin, Gavin, Alvin, Calvin, chaplain, Chaplin, Jacklin, Franklin, Shanklin, javelin, Hamelin, Hamlyn, aspirin, chagrin, Kathryn, Brangwyn, sanguine, Chatwin, famine, gamin, admin, jasmine, Yasmin, tannin, * grimalkin, Aladdin, Prestatyn, prolactin, examine, assassin, imagine, * Portakabin®, alexandrine, re-examine, cross-examine, * grabbin’, slackin’, etc.

2.35 cap’n, happen, crampon, dampen, aspen, blacken, bracken, clachan, slacken, Strachan, Gascon, dragon, flagon, wagon, bad ’un, gladden, madden, sadden, Camden, Hampden, Brandon, Landon, Ramsden, baton, batten, fatten, flatten, Grattan, Hatton, patten, pattern, Patton, platen, Saturn, slattern, Staten, Tatton, Clapton, Hampton, Acton, Clacton, plankton, Lambton, canton, lantern, Langton, Aston, pastern, capstan, Caxton, Paxton, Gladstone, Branston, Ashton, Cavan, cavern, raven, tavern, Alan, Allen, Callan, Fallon, gallon, talon, raglan, Raglan, Scanlon, Aran, Arran, Arun, baron, barren, Darren, Karen, marron, Sharon, saffron, scallion, stallion, banyan, canyon, Ammon, gammon, mammon, salmon, shaman, cabman, chapman, Chapman, Hackman, bagman, flagman, ragman, swagman, adman, Bradman, Caedmon, madman, batman, hangman, axeman, cracksman, Flaxman, Paxman, Manxman, batsman, Tasman, bandsman, clansman, Flashman, cannon, canon, Shannon, Casson, Masson, flaxen, Jackson, klaxon, Saxon, waxen, Datsun, Samson, Branson, Jansen, Manson, Nansen, damson, Kansan, ashen, fashion, passion, ration, caption, action, faction, fraction, traction, sanction, mansion, scansion, stanchion, * Sri Lankan, Alaskan, Nebraskan, Pendragon, Abaddon, McFadden, abandon, Rwandan, Ugandan, Manhattan, harmattan, Mountbatten, Rockhampton, Northampton, Southampton, Okehampton, Hunstanton, Craigavon, Van Allen, decathlon, heptathlon, pentathlon, biathlon, triathlon, McLaren, Biafran, battalion, rapscallion, medallion, Italian, companion, d’Artagnan, Cro-Magnon, colcannon, Dungannon, Clackmannan, Guianan, Guyanan, Rhiannon, Montanan, Buchanan, compassion, refashion, impassion, dispassion, contraption, compaction, attraction, protraction, subtraction, contraction, abstraction, transaction, reaction, impaction, detraction, retraction, distraction, extraction, diffraction, refraction, infraction, inaction, exaction, olfaction, proaction, expansion, * snapdragon, bandwagon, backgammon, * Madagascan, Littlehampton, Wolverhampton, jack-o’-lantern, parrot-fashion, abreaction, satisfaction, rarefaction, petrifaction, benefaction, retroaction, interaction, liquefaction, counteraction, stupefaction, putrefaction, * self-satisfaction, dissatisfaction, counterattraction, overreaction, overexpansion

I can’t get no satisfaction

I can’t get no girl reaction.

MICK JAGGER & KEITH RICHARDS

2.36 happened, blackened, maddened, saddened, flattened, patterned, Langland, gangland, Hammond, dachshund, rationed, sanctioned, * impassioned, old-fashioned, unsanctioned, etc.

2.37 calends, badlands, dachshunds

2.38 cabins, hatpins, Atkins, catkins, matins, satins, captains, aspirins, Kathryn’s, * examines, assassins, etc.

2.39 dragons, flagons, wagons, battens, patterns, lanterns, caverns, taverns, Athens, gallons, talons, barons, Saxons, damsons, fashions, passions, rations, actions, factions, fractions, sanctions, mansions, etc.

2.40 lambent, rampant, bacchant, hadn’t, patent, Havant, haven’t, savant, advent, Advent, gallant, talent, arrant, Lamont, fragment, catchment, hatchment, stagnant, nascent, passant, absent, accent, hasn’t, pageant, plangent, tangent, * attractant, surfactant, reactant, apparent, transparent, entrapment, encampment, embankment, enactment, abashment, encashment, attachment, detachment, renascent, relaxant, cotangent, * re-enactment

2.41 savants, balance, valance, talents, Clarence, fragments, nascence, absence, accents, pageants, * reactance, unbalance, imbalance, off-balance, outbalance, transparence, embankments, renascence, * counterbalance, overbalance, etc.

2.42 grabbing, stabbing, capping, clapping, flapping, mapping, napping, rapping, slapping, strapping, tapping, trapping, wrapping, yapping, scalping, camping, cramping, stamping, tramping, backing, blacking, cracking, hacking, lacking, packing, racking, sacking, slacking, smacking, stacking, tacking, tracking, whacking, banking, clanking, flanking, planking, ranking, spanking, thanking, bragging, dragging, flagging, gagging, lagging, nagging, sagging, wagging, adding, cladding, madding, padding, banding, landing, sanding, standing, batting, chatting, Gatting, matting, plaiting, ratting, tatting, acting, Banting, panting, ranting, chaffing, faffing, having, babbling, dabbling, brambling, gambling, rambling, grappling, sapling, crackling, tackling, angling, gangling, strangling, wrangling, handling, Gatling, rattling, baffling, handspring, hamstring, lapwing, waxwing, batwing, cramming, damming, jamming, lambing, shamming, banning, canning, Canning, Channing, manning, Manning, planning, tanning, banging, clanging, hanging, slanging, gassing, massing, lapsing, taxing, waxing, bashing, crashing, dashing, flashing, gnashing, lashing, mashing, slashing, smashing, thrashing, catching, matching, snatching, scratching, thatching, cadging, * unwrapping, decamping, revamping, unpacking, attacking, outranking, unflagging, debagging, upstanding, freestanding, outstanding, adapting, attracting, contracting, distracting, exacting, decanting, haranguing, relaxing, financing, * handclapping, backslapping, catnapping, kneecapping, kidnapping, phone-tapping, backpacking, nerve-racking, hijacking, formatting, play-acting, programming, cliffhanging, square-bashing, gate-crashing, tongue-lashing, backscratching, * understanding, notwithstanding, subcontracting, photographing, undermanning, overhanging, * misunderstanding, etc.

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

EDGAR ALLAN POE

2.43 scavenge, challenge

2.44 gallop, Gallup, Salop, scallop

2.45 haggis, caddis, Gladys, brattice, gratis, lattice, practice, practise, mantis, Travis, Alice, chalice, Challis, malice, palace, Sallis, Tallis, Clarice, Harris, Paris, Janice, Daphnis, axis, praxis, taxis, * malpractice, Atlantis, oxalis, Beaumaris, Onassis, * praying mantis, prophylaxis, peristalsis, * anaphylaxis, * mutatis mutandis

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace –

Christopher Robin went down with Alice.

A. A. MILNE

2.46 Abbas, tapas, Malpas, campus, grampus, pampas, Bacchus, Gracchus, Angus, cactus, Sanctus, cantus, canvas, canvass, aphthous, Callas, callous, callus, Dallas, Pallas, phallus, thallus, hapless, strapless, backless, trackless, thankless, landless, atlas, Atlas, hatless, tactless, cashless, matchless, arras, Arras, harass, mattress, Patras, actress, Lammas, stannous, drabness, dampness, blackness, slackness, frankness, Agnes, Magnus, badness, gladness, madness, sadness, blandness, grandness, flatness, aptness, rashness, Crassus, Lassus, lapsus, Kansas, captious, factious, fractious, anxious, * Barabbas, Cerne Abbas, Caracas, Damascus, acanthus, dianthus, embarrass, St Pancras, Las Palmas, marasmus, Erasmus, chiasmus, McManus, Manassas, Parnassus, * hippocampus, Diophantus, agapanthus, Rhadamanthus, Erymanthus, helianthus, polyanthus, disembarrass, benefactress, overanxious, * Grammaticus, * Halicarnassus, * track us, splash us, etc.

2.47 Trappist, Baptist, practised, backlist, blacklist, fascist, * unpractised, * Anabaptist

2.48 drabbest, dampest, blackest, slackest, dankest, rankest, maddest, saddest, damnedest, blandest, grandest, fattest, canvassed, ballast, harassed, * embarrassed, * unembarrassed, etc.

2.49 Lappish, snappish, blackish, brackish, Frankish, waggish, caddish, laddish, radish, Standish, blandish, brandish, flattish, catfish, flatfish, lavish, ravish, parish, vanquish, anguish, languish, Amish, famish, Spanish, banish, clannish, mannish, vanish, hashish, * outlandish, establish, McTavish, * horseradish, * disestablish

2.50 abbot, Abbott, Cabot, Albert, Lambert, Ascot, mascot, agate, braggart, faggot, maggot, Taggart, Calvert, ballot, palate, Barrett, carat, caret, carrot, claret, garret, Garrett, Jarrett, parrot, gamut, cannot, magnate, * Newton Abbott

2.51 Babbitt, habit, rabbet, rabbit, ambit, gambit, lappet, tappet, sandpit, bracket, jacket, packet, placket, racket, blanket, gasket, bandit, pandit, pamphlet, davit, mallet, palette, pallet, valet, tablet, applet, caplet, chaplet, lamplit, backlit, anklet, flatlet, hamlet, Hamlet, Hazlitt, Sanskrit, banquet, dammit, Hammett, gannet, granite, Janet, planet, Thanet, magnet, asset, basset, facet, tacit, transit, Cratchit, Datchet, hatchet, Pratchett, ratchet, gadget, Paget, * inhabit, cohabit, Hugh Capet, in transit, * pay packet, straitjacket, * leatherjacket, lumberjacket, underblanket, Shepton Mallet, pomegranate, Narragansett, * electromagnet, * had it, catch it, etc.

2.52 sabbath, Lambeth, Gareth, Brandreth, Dankworth, Tamworth, mammoth, Falmouth

2.53 captive, active, massive, passive, * adaptive, attractive, subtractive, reactive, refractive, inactive, proactive, substantive, impassive, * maladaptive, interactive, hyperactive, overactive, underactive, unattractive, unreactive, * radioactive

2.54 abbeys, cabbies, nappies, lackeys, hankies, Yankees, baddies, caddies, Andes, candies, patties, panties, pasties, cafés, navvies, alleys, galleys, rallies, valleys, families, taxis, pansies, Ganges, * Cervantes, * vigilantes, Happy Families, * Ecclesiastes, etc.

2.55 clappers, sappers, champers, Pampers®, crackers, daggers, staggers, tatters, Danvers, ramblers, stragglers, anglers, Stranglers, antlers, Hannah’s, manners, planners, lasses, masses, ashes, Ashes, flashes, sashes, patches, scratches, * maracas, molasses, * eyelashes, * carpetbaggers, etc.

Billy, in one of his nice new sashes,

Fell in the fire and was burnt to ashes.

HARRY GRAHAM

2.56 Jacobi, Appleby, canopy, Malachy, anarchy, Saturday, malady, parody, rhapsody, maggoty, Rafferty, carroty, faculty, atrophy, anchovy, apathy, Chatterley, latterly, Natalie, thankfully, tactfully, bashfully, gravelly, mannerly, palpably, affably, damnably, panoply, dastardly, gallantly, valiantly, randomly, handsomely, callously, tactlessly, anxiously, Hattersley, blackberry, Bradbury, Cadbury, Banbury, cranberry, Lansbury, hackery, quackery, Thackeray, Zachary, Calgary, battery, cattery, flattery, Slattery, factory, Calvary, calorie, gallery, Malory, salary, Valerie, saddlery, mammary, cannery, granary, stannary, tannery, brasserie, lingerie, Canterbury, Glastonbury, mandatory, lavatory, amatory, Daventry, gallantry, pageantry, cavalry, cannonry, canonry, alchemy, blasphemy, Laramie, balcony, Gascony, agony, Anthony, Antony, barony, Chamonix, scammony, Tammany, Saxony, calumny, abbacy, Battersea, fallacy, fantasy, bankruptcy, galaxy, Anglesey, allergy, * philanthropy, misanthropy, lycanthropy, O’Flaherty, catastrophe, philately, diastole, unmannerly, substantially, financially, infallibly, haphazardly, apparently, phylactery, refractory, olfactory, menagerie, preparatory, declaratory, retaliatory, defamatory, declamatory, exclamatory, inflammatory, explanatory, reactionary, academy, anatomy, transparency, analogy, metallurgy, tetralogy, * unilaterally, understandably, satisfactory, intercalary, haberdashery, self-explanatory, genealogy, mineralogy, * unsatisfactory, etc.

Oh, dear, what can the matter be?

Three old ladies locked in the lavatory,

They were there from Monday to Saturday,

Nobody knew they were there.

CHILDREN’S RHYME

2.57 plasticky, panicky, raggedy, Cassidy, tragedy, sanctity, chastity, cavity, gravity, suavity, charity, clarity, parity, amity, sanity, vanity, laxity, travesty, sacristy, amnesty, majesty, salsify, * rheumaticky, smart-alecky, Macavity, depravity, concavity, fatality, morality, banality, mentality, centrality, reality, legality, vitality, finality, formality, normality, mortality, causality, plurality, locality, modality, sodality, totality, tonality, duality, frugality, brutality, neutrality, vulgarity, polarity, barbarity, disparity, hilarity, alacrity, calamity, profanity, urbanity, inanity, insanity, humanity, capacity, rapacity, sagacity, voracity, pugnacity, mendacity, veracity, edacity, vivacity, tenacity, loquacity, audacity, opacity, fugacity, * nationality, rationality, practicality, abnormality, actuality, partiality, temporality, generality, bestiality, speciality, technicality, sensuality, sexuality, personality, verticality, geniality, liberality, literality, immorality, triviality, principality, physicality, whimsicality, illegality, criminality, immortality, informality, topicality, logicality, hospitality, cordiality, joviality, functionality, punctuality, mutuality, capillarity, regularity, circularity, similarity, singularity, insularity, solidarity, Solidarity, popularity, jocularity, Christianity, inhumanity, perspicacity, pertinacity, incapacity, * irrationality, impracticality, impartiality, conventionality, potentiality, eventuality, materiality, ethereality, congeniality, conviviality, municipality, originality, illogicality, irregularity, subsidiarity, familiarity, dissimilarity, particularity, unpopularity, peculiarity, overcapacity, undercapacity, * sentimentality, instrumentality, universality, horizontality, spirituality, * confidentiality, homosexuality, artificiality, superficiality, individuality, territoriality, unfamiliarity, perpendicularity, * heterosexuality

O wearisome condition of humanity!

Born under one law, to another bound;

Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity;

Created sick, commanded to be sound.

FULKE GREVILLE

2.58 shabbily, happily, scrappily, handily, chattily, nattily, scantily, angrily, family, cannily, flashily, radically, practically, tactically, frantically, drastically, classically, magically, tragically, rapidly, candidly, avidly, languidly, placidly, fancifully, actively, massively, passively, dazzlingly, lavishly, savagely, Valkyrie, category, allegory, banditry, planetary, sanitary, transitory, gadgetry, tapestry, baptistry, ancestry, sanguinary, savagery, sashimi, satiny, captaincy, chaplaincy, cabbagy, strategy, * unhappily, uncannily, sporadically, dramatically, grammatically, fanatically, pragmatically, ecstatically, emphatically, erratically, dogmatically, traumatically, romantically, fantastically, sarcastically, theatrically, nostalgically, attractively, substantively, impassively, outstandingly, subcategory, insanitary, imaginary, * sal volatile, satisfactorily, mathematically, democratically, thermostatically, systematically, diplomatically, automatically, unromantically, geographically, biographically, photographically, telepathically, interplanetary, * enthusiastically, * melodramatically, idiomatically, etc.

2.59 thankfully, tactfully, bashfully, annually, manually, casually, actually, factually, gradually, strangury, January, actuary, sanctuary, statutory, salutary, * contractually, etc.

2.60 galloper, massacre, Málaga, Canada, Agutter, amateur, shamateur, baluster, Pavlova, Agatha, Gallagher, mandala, traveller, caroller, Pamela, bachelor, Angela, Flamborough, Canberra, Ankara, agora, swaggerer, batterer, chatterer, flatterer, amphora, gatherer, camera, hammerer, stammerer, wagoner, flattener, Kavanagh, Tavener, Taverner, canvasser, balancer, Lancashire, Staffordshire, aperture, tablature, tanager, calibre, calliper, Attica, trafficker, Africa, Anneka, brassica, Candida, lavender, calendar, calender, Lampeter, traditor, taffeta, catheter, janitor, ammeter, character, Alistair, barrister, banister, Bannister, canister, ancestor, Manchester, aquifer, Tabitha, algebra, Fatima, Latimer, maxima, patina, mariner, lamina, stamina, practiser, ravisher, vanquisher, packager, salvager, manager, scavenger, challenger, Salinger, Massinger, passenger, Slazenger, Papua, vacua, jaguar, Mantua, Padua, valuer, tabular, scapula, Dracula, macula, vascular, angular, glandular, spatula, blastula, valvular, annular, granular, * ambassador, parabola, enameller, Diaspora, mandragora, Niagara, philanderer, cataphora, anaphora, in camera, Te Kanawa, Northamptonshire, entablature, Excalibur, sciatica, cohabiter, per capita, parameter, pentameter, hexameter, diameter, voltameter, capacitor, submariner, examiner, Gargantua, coadjutor, oracular, vernacular, spectacular, rectangular, triangular, tarantula, campanula, * Addis Ababa, manufacturer, incunabula, unspectacular, * deus ex machina, cardiovascular

2.61 Gambia, Zambia, flabbier, shabbier, happier, scrappier, tackier, wackier, Saskia, baggier, shaggier, faddier, handier, randier, chattier, fattier, nattier, rattier, tattier, scantier, Mafia, raffia, clavier, Xavier, Latvia, salvia, Anthea, dallier, rallier, Anglia, ganglia, barrier, carrier, farrier, harrier, Harrier, tarrier, Cambria, angrier, sangria, Andrea, kalmia, cannier, pannier, daphnia, cassia, gassier, glacier, fancier, Lancia, brassiere, snazzier, catchier, * unhappier, Slovakia, souvlakia, Finlandia, agraphia, dysgraphia, espalier, ophthalmia, Britannia, Hispania, eclampsia, ataxia, apraxia, dystaxia, dyspraxia, estancia, financier, * chocolatier, Alitalia, Alexandria, pre-eclampsia, * Czechoslovakia, etc.

2.62 canopied, parodied, atrophied, galleried, salaried

2.63 balloted, patented, talented, rabbited, jacketed, blanketed, faceted, * untalented, inhabited, cohabited, * uninhabited, multifaceted

2.64 mappable, palpable, placable, sackable, stackable, bankable, tractable, affable, fallible, arable, parable, sparable, flammable, scannable, damnable, taxable, cashable, catchable, matchable, frangible, tangible, manacle, Arundel, palatal, mackerel, admiral, lateral, natural, caramel, bacchanal, national, rational, factional, fractional, prandial, axial, mandible, cannibal, Hannibal, maniple, manciple, radical, practical, tactical, canticle, graphical, clavicle, classical, fascicle, magical, tragical, madrigal, capital, Capitol, marital, sagittal, fanciful, lacrimal, animal, maximal, paginal, Samuel, annual, manual, casual, actual, factual, tactual, gradual, valuable, Hasdrubal, chasuble, * unflappable, impalpable, implacable, compatible, get-at-able, adaptable, contactable, intractable, infallible, inflammable, nonflammable, programmable, irascible, impassible, collapsible, nontaxable, unmatchable, detachable, intangible, collateral, bilateral, trilateral, Canaveral, bicameral, unnatural, diaconal, decagonal, heptagonal, pentagonal, hexagonal, diagonal, octagonal, irrational, transactional, preprandial, postprandial, coaxial, sabbatical, grammatical, fanatical, piratical, unpractical, impractical, fantastical, theatrical, botanical, mechanical, tyrannical, pyramidal, premarital, extramarital, Emmanuel, biannual, contractual, invaluable, * understandable, incompatible, un-get-at-able, equilateral, quadrilateral, multilateral, unilateral, unicameral, preternatural, supernatural, international, multinational, mathematical, ungrammatical, geographical, biographical, typographical, puritanical, neoclassical, * ecclesiastical, * archidiaconal, lexicographical, * autobiographical

Rhyme

The rhymes in this book are based on the standard pronunciation of British English, that is, the way words are spoken in southern England by people who do not have a regional accent. Different rhymes are possible in other parts of the English-speaking world. In northern Britain, for example, words such as class, glass and grass rhyme with gas and lass rather than farce. And in the USA, missile rhymes with whistle, and fertile with turtle, as in the following rhyme:

The turtle lives ’twixt plated decks

Which practically conceal its sex.

I think it clever of the turtle

In such a fix to be so fertile.

OGDEN NASH

2.65 Absalom, Dagenham, Faversham, Amersham, cambium, allium, gallium, thallium, Valium®, capsicum, maximum, platinum, Sandringham, alyssum, stratagem, pabulum, * chrysanthemum, potassium, * mesembryanthemum

2.66 Aragon, paragon, tarragon, Flanagan, mastodon, Clarendon, Sarandon, Chatterton, Atherton, Allerton, Appleton, Shackleton, Athelstan, marathon, Marathon, Callaghan, Hanrahan, Cameron, Lateran, dragoman, abdomen, Andaman, Bannerman, cattleman, Algernon, Andersen, Anderson, Patterson, Saracen, Mackeson, Amundsen, Adamson, Amazon, habergeon, pathogen, allergen, halogen, androgen, Albion, Gambian, Zambian, campion, Campion, champion, Grampian, rampion, tampion, Andean, Scandian, Dantean, Kantian, bastion, Latvian, Pantheon, galleon, scallion, stallion, Anglian, ganglion, carrion, clarion, Darien, Marian, Marion, Cambrian, Bactrian, amnion, halcyon, Vatican, Anglican, African, Rattigan, harridan, Macedon, Chalcedon, Abingdon, Farringdon, Hamilton, badminton, Badminton, Babington, Addington, Paddington, Allington, Barrington, Carrington, Harrington, Accrington, lamington, Galveston, sacristan, antiphon, tallyman, Harriman, talisman, Addison, Madison, Grandison, Salvesen, Mathieson, Alison, malison, garrison, Harrison, Acheson, Atkinson, antigen, Papuan, Paduan, albumen, acumen, * Decameron, Sanatogen®, Slovakian, Atlantean, Sebastian, battalion, rapscallion, medallion, Italian, Heraklion, Calabrian, Cantabrian, Lancastrian, Parnassian, Circassian, South African, Penhaligon, Mohammedan, Samaritan, Saskatchewan, caparison, comparison, gargantuan, * Tetragrammaton, Trinidadian, Alexandrian, Zoroastrian, * Czechoslovakian

2.67 battalions, Italians, shenanigans, Samaritans, comparisons, etc.

2.68 arrogant, afferent, adamant, sacrament, battlement, bafflement, harassment, assonant, ambient, sapient, valiant, transient, applicant, accident, habitant, palpitant, aspirant, aliment, blandishment, ravishment, banishment, management, abstinent, adjutant, adjuvant, ambulant, flatulent, * extravagant, entanglement, abandonment, embarrassment, inhabitant, cohabitant, recalcitrant, aggrandizement, enfranchisement, establishment, Establishment, disparagement, mismanagement, contaminant, intransigent, coadjutant, coagulant, * self-aggrandizement, disenfranchisement, * anticoagulant

2.69 arrogance, transference, sacraments, battlements, assonance, ambience, sapience, dalliance, transience, applicants, accidents, appetence, blandishments, abstinence, affluence, ambulance, flatulence, * extravagance, mésalliance, inhabitants, inappetence, capacitance, recalcitrance, intransigence, etc.

2.70 galloping, à la king, barracking, scaffolding, travelling, atheling, jabbering, scampering, tampering, hankering, battering, flattering, nattering, scattering, shattering, smattering, gathering, clamouring, hammering, stammering, Angmering, happening, maddening, fattening, ravening, rationing, canvassing, balancing, Mafeking, trafficking, panicking, practising, brandishing, ravishing, packaging, savaging, managing, scavenging, challenging, * enamelling, meandering, unflattering, embarrassing, etc.

2.71 Antrobus, abacus, hazardous, scandalous, tantalus, Tantalus, talentless, fathomless, cankerous, rancorous, clangorous, languorous, valorous, amorous, clamorous, glamorous, cancerous, Lazarus, rapturous, blasphemous, thalamus, cavernous, ravenous, backwardness, bashfulness, barrenness, callousness, Thaddeus, Marius, pancreas, aqueous, Cassius, gaseous, platypus, varicose, Tacitus, acetous, Angelus, Stanislas, animus, flabbiness, shabbiness, happiness, cattiness, chattiness, tattiness, gangrenous, vacuous, fatuous, garrulous, fabulous, calculus, valueless, annulus, * Caratacus, Galapagos, analogous, asparagus, cantankerous, Pythagoras, Protagoras, unglamorous, ambassadress, diaphanous, left-handedness, right-handedness, Germanicus, Britannicus, calamitous, magnanimous, unanimous, unhappiness, gelatinous, attractiveness, miraculous, * hypothalamus, pusillanimous, Circus Maximus, cartilaginous, oleaginous, Anaxagoras, mucilaginous, ignis fatuus, * Ecclesiasticus, etc.

2.72 flabbiest, shabbiest, happiest, scrappiest, tackiest, wackiest, baggiest, shaggiest, faddiest, handiest, randiest, chattiest, fattiest, nattiest, rattiest, tattiest, scantiest, angriest, canniest, gassiest, fanciest, snazziest, catchiest, * unhappiest, etc.

2.73 anarchist, masochist, dramatist, pragmatist, catalyst, analyst, panellist, Accurist®, mannerist, alchemist, agonist, Jansenist, allergist, pantheist, pacifist, amethyst, activist, satirist, animist, Calvinist, classicist, strategist, altruist, * philanthropist, philatelist, tobacconist, antagonist, protagonist, metallurgist, evangelist, romanticist, somnambulist, * sadomasochist, psychoanalyst, televangelist, genealogist, mineralogist, neoclassicist

2.74 parapet, advocate, accurate, baronet, passionate, chariot, Harriet, lariat, Marriott, Marryat, patriot, halibut, aggregate, candidate, aspirate, adequate, animate, cabinet, laminate, graduate, Capulet, amulet, * elaborate, inaccurate, diaconate, permanganate, compassionate, dispassionate, Plantagenet, Iscariot, compatriot, expatriate, inadequate, inanimate, Palatinate, postgraduate, ejaculate, immaculate, * undergraduate, * overelaborate

2.75 Nazareth, azimuth

2.76 palaces, radishes, cabbages, packages, bandages, savages, carriages, Claridge’s, garages, languages, challenges, etc.

2.77 faculties, blackberries, cranberries, calories, Stannaries, lavatories, fantasies, allergies, cavities, charities, tapestries, * profanities, * similarities, * peculiarities, etc.

2.78 admiralty, casualty, naturally, nationally, rationally, gradually, actually, factually, annually, manually, casually, lamentably, fashionably, amicably, charitably, admirably, accurately, passionately, adequately, maddeningly, amorously, glamorously, ravenously, Canterbury, Glastonbury, adversary, farriery, January, statuary, actuary, sanctuary, cabinetry, casuistry, sanctimony, antimony, alimony, palimony, acrimony, matrimony, patrimony, advocacy, accuracy, magistracy, adequacy, baronetcy, * unnaturally, diagonally, irrationally, spectacularly, uncharitably, inaccurately, compassionately, dispassionately, inadequately, contractually, immaculately, comparatively, embarrassingly, disparagingly, magnanimously, unanimously, miraculously, constabulary, vocabulary, inadequacy, inaccuracy, * supernaturally, internationally, unimaginably

2.79 palatable, lamentable, admirable, fathomable, fashionable, malleable, fanciable, practicable, amicable, navigable, habitable, charitable, salvageable, marriageable, damageable, manageable, valuable, calculable, * unpalatable, unfathomable, companionable, unfashionable, eradicable, impracticable, uncharitable, imaginable, unsalvageable, unmanageable, invaluable, incalculable, * ineradicable, indefatigable, uninhabitable, unimaginable

-ah-

The rhymes in this section have the ‘ah’ sound of half and larder as their main or final vowel sound

3.1 ah, are, baa, bah, bar, Barr, barre, Blois, bra, car, Carr, char, fa, far, Fra, gar, ha, haar, jar, la, lar, Loire, ma, mar, moire, noir, pa, pah, par, parr, Parr, pas, qua, R, Ra, Saar, Sarre, scar, schwa, shah, ska, spa, Spa, spar, star, Starr, ta, tar, tsar, yah, * Dunbar, papa, catarrh, afar, Navarre, galah, hurrah, Accra, mama, hussar, bazaar, ajar, Qatar, ta-ta, Stranraer, aha, ha-ha, tra-la, foie gras, sang-froid, François, Armagh, Lehár, bête noire, Del Mar, ER, PR, debar, disbar, cigar, guitar, sitar, film noir, bizarre, OR, faux pas, beaux-arts, * kasbah, grandpa, Caspar, fracas, tramcar, ashlar, fatwa, patois, Valois, chamois, Magyar, grandma, gaga, Dada, ha-ha, La-La, rah-rah, wah-wah, Zsa Zsa, railcar, agar, Degas, radar, daystar, Braemar, Tamar, quasar, feldspar, Redcar, Elgar, Telstar, Kevlar®, memoir, Renoir, earthstar, heel bar, streetcar, dinar, kiblah, Ingmar, sidecar, Weimar, nightjar, crossbar, stock car, boxcar, sol-fa, Colmar, bourgeois, crowbar, towbar, rollbar, co-star, lodestar, Omagh, Omar, sonar, pulsar, toolbar, oompah, nougat, doodah, Utah, Pooh-Bah, hoo-ha, hoopla, boudoir, Dumas, * rum baba, * Calabar, Malabar, handlebar, grandpapa, advocaat, avatar, baklava, samovar, Kandahar, Yamaha, baccarat, abattoir, jacamar, Palomar, grandmama, Panama, Balthazar, caviar, Zanzibar, Hamilcar, iechyd da, Shangri-la, Cantuar., armoured car, R&R, Amen-Ra, langue de chat, entrechat, cha-cha-cha, la-di-da, Mardi Gras, cable car, steak tartare, aide-mémoire, APR, megastar, Hezbollah, repertoire, reservoir, SLR, Peckinpah, registrar, petit pois, escritoire, seminar, deodar, Nicobar, cinnabar, millibar, minibar, isobar, Myanmar, Bogotá, waratah, objet d’art, Bolivar, Lochinvar, commissar, touring car, Eurostar, motor car, Omaha, au revoir, under par, um and ah, cultivar, Buddh Gaya, coolabah, superstar, brouhaha, coup d’état, rouge et noir, Cooch Behar, * conservatoire, * Leamington Spa, kala-azar, ménage à trois, je ne sais quoi, budgerigar, avoirdupois

Man’s heart expands to tinker with his car

For this is Sunday morning, Fate’s great bazaar.

LOUIS MACNEICE

3.2 barb, carb, garb, Saab, sahib, * nawab, Punjab, memsahib, * bicarb, rhubarb

3.3 arc, ark, Bach, bark, Braque, Clark, Clarke, clerk, dark, hark, Jacques, lark, marc, Marc, mark, Mark, marque, narc, nark, park, Park, plaque, quark, Sark, shark, snark, spark, Spark, stark, Stark, * macaque, Kazakh, Lamarck, black mark, debark, embark, Iraq, remark, Remarque, Hyde Park, * bank clerk, landmark, car park, aardvark, waymark, trademark, Petrarch, tetrarch, Denmark, benchmark, birthmark, earmark, skid mark, Widmark, Bismarck, hierarch, tyre mark, skylark, tidemark, Reichsmark, pockmark, ballpark, hallmark, Deutschmark, postmark, loan shark, mudlark, brushmark, woodlark, bookmark, footmark, Plutarch, * matriarch, patriarch, telemark, meadowlark, Regent’s Park, re-embark, in the dark, fingermark, disembark, Offenbach, oligarch, watermark, Joan of Arc, double-park, Cutty Sark

3.4 arcs, Bach’s, Berks, clerks, larks, Marks, Mark’s, Marx, parks, Parkes, sharks, sparks, * landmarks, benchmarks, stretchmarks, pockmarks, brushmarks, footmarks, etc.

3.5 barked, marked, parked, * unmarked, embarked, infarct, remarked, * waymarked, earmarked, pockmarked, hallmarked, postmarked, bookmarked, * disembarked, unremarked, double-parked, etc.

3.6 arch, larch, march, March, parch, starch, * frogmarch, cornstarch, routemarch, * overarch

3.7 arched, marched, parched, starched, * unstarched, * frogmarched, routemarched, * overarched

3.8 baaed, bard, barred, card, chard, charred, Dard, guard, hard, jarred, lard, marred, pard, Sade, sard, shard, scarred, sparred, starred, tarred, yard, Yard, * charade, façade, saccade, estrade, debarred, disbarred, discard, regard, petard, retard, ill-starred, jihad, glissade, bombard, en garde, rock-hard, pomade, roulade, * Jacquard, placard, scratchcard, vanguard, Ballard, mallard, Garrard, back yard, canard, Hansard, mansard, smart card, farmyard, barnyard, railcard, racecard, safeguard, graveyard, kaleyard, Maynard, Gerard, churchyard, rearguard, steelyard, Rickard, Liskeard, Fishguard, shipyard, brickyard, vineyard, Izzard, wild card, lifeguard, diehard, spikenard, fireguard, Lombard, Stoppard, Goddard, bollard, Lollard, Pollard, dockyard, stockyard, scorecard, courtyard, postcard, phonecard, Bogarde, coastguard, boatyard, boneyard, mudguard, junkyard, Coulthard, foulard, schoolyard, Cunard, * battle-scarred, Abelard, avant-garde, Savoyard, Everard, esplanade, credit card, self-regard, birthday card, Kierkegaard, greetings card, leotard, zindabad, Isambard, interlard, timberyard, Hilliard, milliard, disregard, Scotland Yard, promenade, bodyguard, Communard, boulevard, * Islamabad, * Allahabad, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, camelopard, fanfaronade, Marquis de Sade, rodomontade

No memory of having starred

Atones for later disregard,

Or keeps the end from being hard.

ROBERT FROST

3.9 barf, calf, chaff, graph, half, laugh, quaff, scarf, Scarfe, staff, strafe, * carafe, behalf, giraffe, Clontarf, * flagstaff, Metcalfe, headscarf, distaff, tipstaff, pikestaff, digraph, Falstaff, mooncalf, * tachograph, Van de Graaff, barograph, paragraph, shadowgraph, Cenotaph, stenograph, epitaph, epigraph, telegraph, Dictograph®, pictograph, lithograph, spirograph, micrograph, seismograph, Chinagraph®, logograph, holograph, homograph, chronograph, monograph, polygraph, quarterstaff, autograph, photograph, phonograph, * cardiograph, radiograph, ideograph, Mimeograph®, choreograph, * encephalograph

3.10 aft, barfed, chaffed, craft, daft, draft, draught, graft, haft, Kraft, laughed, quaffed, raft, shaft, staffed, waft, * abaft, unstaffed, redraft, engraft, * handcraft, crankshaft, camshaft, aircraft, statecraft, spacecraft, stagecraft, fieldcraft, priestcraft, lift shaft, kingcraft, witchcraft, drive shaft, mine shaft, swordcraft, downdraught, updraught, woodcraft, bushcraft, * handicraft, needlecraft, hovercraft, watercraft, overstaffed, photographed, overdraft, understaffed, Wollstonecraft

3.11 blague, Prague, * Camargue, Den Haag, * Reichstag, * Bundestag

3.12 barge, charge, hajj, large, marg, marge, raj, sarge, Taj, targe, * the Raj, recharge, enlarge, in charge, discharge, * surcharge, discharge, * turbocharge, countercharge, overlarge, overcharge, undercharge, supercharge

3.13 plage, raj, * the Raj, ménage, sondage, frottage, potage, montage, collage, corsage, * barrage, garage, massage, dressage, mirage, triage, * badinage, cabotage, sabotage, camouflage, arbitrage, décolletage, decoupage, reportage, persiflage, bricolage, bon voyage, entourage, curettage, fuselage, * espionage, photomontage, * counterespionage

3.14 Arles, Baal, Basle, Carl, Dahl, dhal, gnarl, Karl, kraal, marl, snarl, toile, * Natal, corral, morale, Jamal, Kemal, banal, unsnarl, timbale, halal, Chantal, Vidal, chorale, Bhopal, locale, * Transvaal, Stendahl, mistral, * femme fatale, pastorale, Albemarle, rationale, Parsifal, Taj Mahal, Heyerdahl, Emmenthal, Provençal, Provençale, * Neanderthal, Massif Central, Escorial, * Internationale, succès de scandale, entente cordiale

3.15 Arles, Charles, Karl’s, snarls, etc.

3.16 arm, balm, barm, calm, charm, farm, Guam, harm, ma’am, palm, psalm, qualm, smarm, * madame, alarm, salaam, unarm, rearm, embalm, becalm, imam, disarm, forearm, * yardarm, gendarme, napalm, wind farm, Islam, firearm, forearm, schoolmarm, * Notre Dame, overarm, underarm, * Dar es Salaam, Omar Khayyám

3.17 armed, calmed, charmed, farmed, harmed, * unarmed, unharmed, alarmed, rearmed, embalmed, becalmed, disarmed, forearmed

3.18 alms, arms, Brahms, farms, Glamis, palms, Psalms, qualms, * alarms, salaams, rearms, embalms, becalms, * gendarmes, wind farms, firearms, etc.

Ben Battle was a soldier bold,

And used to war’s alarms:

But a canon-ball took off his legs,

So he laid down his arms!

THOMAS HOOD

3.19 Arne, barn, darn, Hahn, Juan, khan, Khan, Marne, naan, Sian, tarn, yarn, * Pathan, pavane, Amman, McMahon, Hassan, Kazan, Aswan, Antoine, Tehran, élan, Vientiane, Tzigane, Iran, Gibran, Sichuan, Dayan, Taiwan, Koran, Don Juan, Osman, Oran, Oman, Qumran, Cwmbran, lucarne, Sudan, Bhutan, * astrakhan, Astrakhan, Abadan, Ramadan, Karajan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Dagestan, macedoine, Abidjan, Bantustan, Aga Khan, Rajasthan, Shah Jahan, Genghis Khan, Turkestan, Kyrgyzstan, Kurdistan, Isfahan, Christiaan, Lindisfarne, Hindustan, t’ai chi ch’uan, Omdurman, autobahn, Yucatán, Suleiman, Kublai Khan, * Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Baluchistan

3.20 blanch, Blanche, branch, ranch, stanch, tranche, * carte blanche, * avalanche

3.21 darned, * command, demand, remand, * reprimand, countermand

3.22 chance, dance, France, glance, lance, prance, stance, trance, Vance, aunts, chants, grants, plants, * askance, Provence, advance, perchance, enhance, entrance, mischance, faïence, * seance, freelance, off-chance, mumchance, nuance, * happenstance, ambience, Afrikaans, renaissance, Renaissance, circumstance, contredanse, * par excellence, * pièce de résistance

O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,

How can we know the dancer from the dance?

W. B. YEATS

3.23 aren’t, aunt, can’t, chant, grant, Grant, Nantes, plant, shan’t, slant, * supplant, aslant, transplant, détente, replant, implant, enchant, * transplant, ashplant, plainchant, eggplant, implant, house plant, * debutante, disenchant, commandant, confidante

3.24 Barnes, barns, darns, naans, Sian’s, tarns, yarns, * Afrikaans, Genghis Khan’s, etc.

3.25 Arp, carp, harp, scarp, sharp, Sharpe, tarp, * cardsharp, * razor-sharp, Polycarp

3.26 arse, baas, brass, class, farce, glass, grass, Mass, pass, sparse, * surpass, Madras, stained glass, third-class, first-class, volte-face, outclass, * impasse, smartarse, bypass, eyeglass, spyglass, wineglass, Snodgrass, knotgrass, hourglass, subclass, bluegrass, goosegrass, * gravitas, Stallybrass, galloglass, sparrowgrass, masterclass, second-class, Plexiglas®, working-class, middle-class, Khyber Pass, fibreglass, isinglass, overpass, underpass, upper-class, underclass, superclass, supergrass, coup de grâce, * snake in the grass

3.27 ask, bask, basque, Basque, cask, casque, flask, mask, masque, task, * unmask, * Monégasque, overtask, multitask

The trivial round, the common task,

Would furnish all we ought to ask.

JOHN KEBLE

3.28 asked, basked, masked, * unmasked, unasked, etc.

3.29 clasp, gasp, grasp, hasp, rasp, * unclasp

3.30 arsed, blast, cast, caste, classed, fast, grassed, karst, last, mast, passed, past, vast, * surpassed, aghast, avast, contrast, half-mast, recast, repast, miscast, dismast, outclassed, outlast, * rat-arsed, sandblast, mainmast, webcast, steadfast, Belfast, wormcast, precast, bypassed, flypast, typecast, contrast, topmast, forecast, broadcast, sportscast, foremast, outcast, downcast, stonecast, holdfast, roughcast, Buckfast, newscast, * flabbergast, narrowcast, hard and fast, Prendergast, telecast, simulcast, mizzenmast, Gormenghast, counterblast, overcast, opencast, unsurpassed, colourfast, * Elastoplast®

Love in a palace is perhaps at last

More grievous torment than a hermit’s fast.

JOHN KEATS

3.31 harsh, marsh, * moustache, panache, démarche, gouache, * Titchmarsh

3.32 art, Bart, Barthes, cart, chart, dart, fart, hart, Hart, Harte, heart, kart, mart, part, Scart, smart, start, tart, * apart, spare part, Descartes, restart, depart, impart, stop-start, outsmart, * rampart, handcart, Cathcart, Earhart, redstart, Bernhardt, teacart, restart, sweetheart, Britart, kick-start, Reinhardt, op art, dogcart, Lockhart, forepart, mouthpart, Hobart, go-kart, Bogart, Mozart, flow chart, dustcart, upstart, pushcart, Stuttgart, * applecart, à la carte, heart-to-heart, counterpart, D’Oyly Carte, Bonaparte, underpart, Bundesrat, Gujarat, * state-of-the-art

Words may be false and full of art,

Sighs are the natural language of the heart.

THOMAS SHADWELL

3.33 arts, Bart’s, carts, charts, clarts, darts, farts, hearts, Herts, karts, parts, smarts, starts, tarts, * ramparts, handcarts, sweethearts, foreparts, mouthparts, Mozart’s, * underparts, etc.

3.34 bath, Bath, Ba’th, garth, Garth, hearth, lath, path, * birdbath, eyebath, warpath, towpath, Hogarth, bloodbath, mudbath, footpath, * aftermath

3.35 calve, carve, grave, Graves, halve, Slav, starve, suave, varve, * Algarve, Gustave, Zouave, * Yugoslav

3.36 calves, halves, scarves, * headscarves, mooncalves

3.37 bars, cars, jars, Lars, Mars, parse, SARS, scars, stars, vase, * hussars, bazaars, Shiraz, three Rs, cigars, guitars, * memoirs, Renoir’s, co-stars, Gauloise, * handlebars, grandpapa’s, seminars, vichyssoise, * salade niçoise, etc.

Have you heard it’s in the stars,

Next July we collide with Mars?

COLE PORTER

4.1 Barbie®, Darby, Derby, harpy, * kohlrabi, Punjabi, Mugabe, okapi, * Hammurabi, Abu Dhabi

4.2 khaki, larky, narky, parky, sake, Saki, sarky, sparky, Starkey, * malarkey, menarche, Iraqi, * hierarchy, squirearchy, autarky, * Nagasaki, Kawasaki, Yamasaki, teriyaki, matriarchy, patriarchy, oligarchy, sukiyaki

4.3 cardie, hardy, Hardie, Hardy, lardy, Mahdi, mardy, tardy, Yardie, arty, clarty, hearty, party, Smartie, smarty, crafty, draughty, auntie, nasty, * Bacardi®, Lombardi, Coolgardie, chapati, karate, Frascati, Astarte, coati, * foolhardy, * Maserati, charterparty, arty-farty, digerati, glitterati, literati, Moriarty, Gujarati, arty-crafty, * Laurel and Hardy, illuminati

And he chirped and sang, and skipped about, and laughed with laughter hearty –

He was wonderfully active for so very stout a party.

W. S. GILBERT

4.4 ave, Garvey, Harvey, jarvey, larvae, Ravi, * Gaddafi, agave, peccavi, Mojave, McCarthy, * Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

4.5 Ali, Bali, barley, Carly, charlie, Charlie, Dali, Farley, gnarly, Harley, Kali, Mali, Marley, parley, Raleigh, snarly, sharply, Barclay, Berkeley, clerkly, darkly, sparkly, starkly, hardly, Yardley, Hartley, partly, smartly, ghastly, lastly, vastly, suavely, calmly, Darnley, parsley, sparsely, Barnsley, harshly, archly, largely, Marie, sari, starry, tarry, raspberry, * tamale, Svengali, Diwali, finale, bizarrely, Somali, safari, Polari, Ferrari, Harare, Vasari, Campari®, Qatari, Cagliari, curare, Scutari, Malawi, Mascagni, * Muhammad Ali, Ras Tafari, Kalahari, calamari, Stradivari, Mata Hari, Carbonari, charivari, etc.

4.6 army, balmy, barmy, palmy, smarmy, swami, Arnie, barney, Barney, blarney, Carney, rani, sarnie, Varney, * salami, pastrami, gourami, tsunami, Afghani, Galvani, Armani, Killarney, Giovanni, Omani, McCartney, * origami, Mantovani, maharani, Rafsanjani, frangipani, Pakistani, Mastroianni, biryani, Hindustani, Modigliani, * Azerbaijani, chilli con carne, * debar me, harm me, etc.

4.7 brassy, classy, Darcy, Farsi, glassy, grassy, Nazi, chancy, khazi, quasi, Stasi, Swazi, malmsey, marshy, Archie, starchy, bhaji, * Nastase, Benghazi, Givenchy, Karachi, hibachi, * Ashkenazi, Ashkenazy, kamikaze, Esterházy, mariachi, Liberace, Fibonacci, argy-bargy

4.8 arbour, barber, Barber, Barbour®, harbour, Saba, carper, Harper, scarper, sharper, gasper, grasper, * macabre, Ann Arbor, Pearl Harbor, rum baba, * Ali Baba, etc.

4.9 Barker, darker, Farquhar, marker, markka, parka, Parker, starker, Tarka, asker, masker, Aga®, laager, lager, raga, saga, * Osaka, moussaka, Lusaka, * backmarker, waymarker, * Titicaca, nosy parker, Aga saga, * Hamilcar Barca, * nark her, ask her, etc.

It is no time for mirth and laughter,

The cold, grey dawn of the morning after.

GEORGE ADE

4.10 ardour, Bader, cadre, carder, Garda, harder, Lada®, larder, RADA, Pravda, slander, barter, charter, carter, Carter, darter, data, garter, Garter, martyr, sartor, smarter, Sparta, starter, strata, tartar, Tartar, after, dafter, grafter, laughter, rafter, chanter, Granta, grantor, planter, blaster, caster, castor, Castor, faster, master, pastor, plaster, * Haggadah, Granada, lambada, armada, cicada, retarder, Nevada, commander, Jakarta, toccata, sonata, substrata, cassata, passata, cantata, self-starter, Inkatha, Siddhartha, frittata, errata, stigmata, Renata, nonstarter, pro rata, thereafter, whereafter, hereafter, Vedanta, headmaster, disaster, old master, * sought-after, bandmaster, grandmaster, taskmaster, paymaster, webmaster, ringmaster, quizmaster, choirmaster, forecaster, broadcaster, scoutmaster, housemaster, postmaster, toastmaster, newscaster, schoolmaster, * enchilada, Eid-ul-Adha, intifada, promenader, Torquemada, Alexander, Magna Carta, alma mater, Stabat Mater, chipolata, protomartyr, thereinafter, hereinafter, alabaster, harbour master, stationmaster, ghetto blaster, burgomaster, concertmaster, quartermaster, * piña colada, inamorata, La Traviata, desiderata, persona grata, * persona non grata, * taramasalata, Río de la Plata, * medulla oblongata, * guard her, outsmart her, etc.

See-saw, Margery Daw,

Jacky shall have a new master;

Jacky shall have but a penny a day,

Because he can’t work any faster.

NURSERY RHYME

4.11 laugher, staffer, carver, Carver, fava, guava, Java, larva, lava, laver, Arthur, Martha, farther, father, lather, rather, * Mustapha, cadaver, palaver, cassava, MacArthur, * grandfather, stepfather, godfather, forefather, * balaclava, Balaklava, Bratislava, Costa Brava, * bath her, starve her, etc.

4.12 Carla, gala, Mahler, parlour, snarler, sampler, sparkler, chandler, Chandler, Clara, Lara, Sara, Tara, Zara, Barbara, Sandra, Chartres, Sartre, genre, Farquhar, * cabbala, masala, Kampala, La Scala, Marsala, impala, koala, Uppsala, Sahara, Carrara, Ferrara, Tamara, cascara, mascara, tiara, O’Hara, O’Mara, macabre, Cassandra, Sinatra, Montmartre, Sumatra, Le Havre, Chihuahua, Campagna, * Guatemala, McNamara, capybara, carbonara, Che Guevara, Connemara, candelabra, Alexandra, Okinawa, Kurosawa, * Guadalajara, double entendre, * Emilia-Romagna, etc.

4.13 amah, armour, Balmer, Brahma, calmer, charmer, dharma, drama, farmer, Kama, karma, lama, llama, Palmer, Parma, Rama, Schama, bwana, Dana, darner, garner, Garner, Ghana, Lana, Marner, nana, Wagner, gardener, Gardner, Lardner, pardner, partner, * embalmer, Osama, cabana, sultana, banana, mañana, Svetlana, nirvana, Tijuana, Guiana, Guyana, liana, gymkhana, piranha, Tirana, iguana, Fontana, Montana, Botswana, * snake charmer, * Atacama, panorama, Dalai Lama, melodrama, Cinerama®, diorama, cyclorama, psychodrama, docudrama, Yokohama, Tatiana, Mariana, Africana, Afrikaner, marijuana, Santayana, Pax Romana, Mahayana, ikebana, Indiana, Lipizzaner, Weimaraner, Silas Marner, Rosh Hashanah, vox humana, Gloriana, rusticana, Juliana, Ljubljana, * Australiana, Americana, Shakespeareana, Louisiana, Victoriana, Edwardiana, * Vasco da Gama, Fata Morgana, Bophuthatswana, * Carmina Burana, * ipecacuanha, * harm her, disarm her, etc.

There was a young lady of Parma,

Whose conduct grew calmer and calmer.

EDWARD LEAR

4.14 Lhasa, passer, sparser, answer, chancer, dancer, lancer, prancer, Gaza, parser, plaza, harsher, Marsha, pasha, Berkshire, archer, Archer, marcher, starcher, rancher, pasture, charger, larger, rajah, slàinte, * Kinshasa, advancer, enhancer, departure, recharger, enlarger, discharger, * maharajah, turbocharger, supercharger, * tabula rasa, * entrance her, charge her, etc.

4.15 charlock, Charnock, * Kilmarnock

4.16 Harpic®, bardic, artic, Partick, arctic, Arctic, yardstick, Narvik, Slavic, garlic, Harlech, Hardwick, karmic, arsenic, carsick, heartsick, Tajik, * anarchic, hierarchic, monarchic, Sephardic, cathartic, subarctic, Antarctic, lethargic, * subantarctic

4.17 harboured, larboard, starboard, scarpered, guarded, charted, chartered, martyred, parted, started, drafted, shafted, granted, slanted, bastard, blasted, plastered, Dartford, Hartford, Hertford, Harvard, fathered, armoured, garnered, answered, * unguarded, regarded, retarded, bombarded, uncharted, unchartered, hardhearted, half-hearted, faint-hearted, departed, imparted, big-hearted, kind-hearted, light-hearted, softhearted, warm-hearted, stouthearted, downhearted, wholehearted, enchanted, unanswered, * unregarded, disregarded, tenderhearted, heavy-hearted, brokenhearted, disenchanted, flabbergasted, etc.

4.18 garbage, yardage, vantage, Carthage, carnage, cartridge, partridge, Partridge, * advantage, * disadvantage

4.19 barbel, garble, marble, Schnabel, carpal, carpel, Marple, sample, sparkle, rascal, gargle, startle, stratal, artful, harmful, carvel, larval, Havel, marvel, Marvell, Cherwell, narwhal, Carmel, carnal, charnel, darnel, Parnell, Hartnell, castle, parcel, tarsal, chancel, Basel, marshal, Marshall, martial, Martial, partial, * ensemble, example, debacle, monarchal, catarrhal, impartial, court-martial, * sandcastle, Hardcastle, Newcastle, Boscastle, Oldcastle, * metacarpal, matriarchal, patriarchal, metatarsal

I’m the king of the castle,

Get down, you dirty rascal.

CHILDREN’S RHYME

4.20 garbled, marbled, sampled, startled, Arnold, marshalled, * court-martialled, * unexampled, etc.

4.21 marbles, Sharples, samples, castles, parcels, etc.

4.22 Markham, stardom, datum, stratum, Harlem, slalom, Arnhem, Barnum, Farnham, * substratum, erratum, postpartum, alarum, * superstardom, superstratum, candelabrum, * desideratum, * park ’em, guard ’em, etc.

4.23 Larkin, parkin, sharkskin, calfskin, bargain, marten, martin, Martin, Marvin, marlin, Stalin, Darwen, Darwin, Tarquin, Brahmin, margin, * Gagarin, * markin’, starrin’, etc.

4.24 carbon, sharpen, Aachen, darken, hearken, kraken, argon, jargon, Arden, Baden, garden, harden, lardon, pardon, Marsden, Aten, Barton, carton, hearten, smarten, Spartan, tartan, Parton, Grafton, Carlton, Charlton, Marston, Charleston, carven, Javan, Marlon, Amen, barman, Brahman, Carmen, Jarman, Rahman, Scarman, marksman, craftsman, draughtsman, guardsman, arson, Carson, fasten, parson, sarsen, Clarkson, Tarzan, Martian, harshen, stanchion, Farjeon, * Petrarchan, Dumbarton, dishearten, Caernarfon, Carmarthen, Macfarlane, Saharan, Sumatran, unfasten, infarction, * Volkswagen, * hydrocarbon, Interlaken, Copenhagen, Covent Garden, Coloradan, Akhenaten, kindergarten, Sydney Carton, Dolly Parton, Aldermaston, Wilhelmshaven, Guatemalan, Tutankhamen

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,

One is nearer God’s heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

DOROTHY FRANCES GURNEY

4.25 sharpened, darkened, hardened, pardoned, garland, Garland, parkland, Cartland, marshland, almond, fastened, * disheartened, unfastened, etc.

4.26 bargains, martins, Darwin’s, margins, * Doc Martens®, etc.

4.27 ardent, guardant, garment, parchment, argent, sergeant, Sargent, * retardant, disbarment, escarpment, bombardment, commandment, apartment, compartment, department, enchantment, advancement, enhancement, enlargement, * disenchantment, overgarment, undergarment, self-advancement

4.28 parlance, garments, sergeants, * commandments, apartments, compartments, departments, * overgarments, undergarments, etc.

4.29 carping, harping, grasping, rasping, barking, Barking, larking, marking, parking, asking, basking, masking, guarding, Harding, darting, farting, karting, parting, smarting, starting, drafting, grafting, shafting, chanting, planting, blasting, casting, fasting, lasting, laughing, staffing, calving, carving, starving, farthing, Carling, darling, Darling, marling, snarling, starling, marbling, sampling, darkling, sparkling, starveling, barring, marring, scarring, sparring, starring, arming, calming, charming, farming, harming, darning, classing, passing, parsing, dancing, glancing, lancing, prancing, arching, marching, parching, starching, branching, ranching, barging, charging, * embarking, unmasking, discarding, regarding, bombarding, commanding, demanding, departing, transplanting, enchanting, contrasting, alarming, embalming, disarming, surpassing, advancing, entrancing, recharging, enlarging, discharging, * skylarking, safeguarding, broadcasting, woodcarving, co-starring, bypassing, * multitasking, undemanding, everlasting, photographing, penny-farthing, overarching, overcharging, etc.

4.30 markings, castings, carvings, farthings, starlings, heartstrings, etc.

4.31 Sardis, Tardis, Jarvis, parvis, marquess, marquis, Frances, Francis, * quo vadis, Polaris, catharsis, * aurora borealis

4.32 carpus, carcass, Marcus, Argus, Cardus, stratus, braless, Carlos, parlous, starless, artless, chartless, heartless, charmless, harmless, classless, grassless, slanderous, harness, sharpness, darkness, Harkness, starkness, hardness, smartness, tartness, fastness, vastness, calmness, harshness, tarsus, Tarsus, * Hipparchus, regardless, enchantress, disastrous, * steadfastness, * metacarpus, streptocarpus, Aristarchus, apparatus, altostratus, nimbostratus, cirrostratus, Nostradamus, gaudeamus, metatarsus, * posse comitatus, * coitus reservatus, * mark us, harm us, etc.

4.33 harpist, artist, Chartist, harvest, tsarist, palmist, psalmist, classist, Marxist, * guitarist, alarmist

4.34 sharpest, darkest, starkest, hardest, darnedest, smartest, daftest, fastest, farthest, calmest, harnessed, sparsest, harshest, etc.

4.35 sharpish, smartish, garfish, starfish, garnish, tarnish, varnish, * schoolmarmish

4.36 garnished, tarnished, varnished, * untarnished, unvarnished

4.37 Tarbert, Charlotte, harlot, Margaret, marmot, * incarnate, * reincarnate

4.38 carpet, armpit, market, basket, casket, target, Parfitt, scarlet, starlet, starlit, varlet, Bartlett, martlet, tartlet, halfwit, Barnet, garnet, Garnett, lancet, Lancet, * upmarket, Alf Garnett, downmarket, * Haymarket, Newmarket, breadbasket, * hypermarket, Common Market, supermarket, * park it, start it, etc.

An ape’s an ape, a varlet’s a varlet,

Though they be clad in silk or scarlet.

SAYING

4.39 Yarmouth, Dartmouth, * Great Yarmouth

4.40 darbies, harpies, parties, Smarties®, Barclays, armies, Nazis, * Pilates, Benares, * primus inter pares, etc.

4.41 barbers, Flanders, garters, rafters, casters, masters, Masters, Mahler’s, Chalmers, farmers, classes, glasses, passes, answers, chances, glances, marshes, arches, archers, Archers, marches, Marches, branches, * Bahamas, pyjamas, sultanas, * forefathers, eyeglasses, sunglasses, * Alexander’s, etc.

Men seldom make passes

At girls who wear glasses.

DOROTHY PARKER

4.42 Barnaby, Carnaby, Carnegie, Arcady, bastardy, Flaherty, Tarporley, rascally, masterly, artfully, fatherly, partially, laughably, ardently, guardedly, artlessly, heartlessly, Barbary, raspberry, Shaftesbury, artery, Tartary, mastery, carvery, chandlery, armoury, chancery, archery, Marjorie, harmony, argosy, pharmacy, garlicky, suavity, sparsity, varsity, heartily, craftily, nastily, farcically, markedly, startlingly, charmingly, marquetry, parquetry, basketry, carpentry, artistry, palmistry, larceny, * grandfatherly, impartially, remarkably, half-heartedly, light-heartedly, wholeheartedly, disastrously, self-mastery, gendarmerie, chinoiserie, disharmony, foolhardily, lethargically, alarmingly, disarmingly, * camaraderie, Devanagari, intervarsity, etc.

4.43 Hanukkah, yarmulke, chancellor, Barbara, Scarborough, yarborough, Marlborough, Farnborough, slanderer, barterer, charterer, plasterer, armourer, Marmara, sharpener, bargainer, gardener, Gardiner, hardener, pardoner, almoner, fastener, Hertfordshire, armature, arbiter, Pargiter, carpenter, harvester, harnesser, Derbyshire, varnisher, harbinger, arguer, * Antarctica

4.44 clarkia, hardier, Nadia, heartier, craftier, draughtier, nastier, Parthia, aria, maria, barmier, Chania, Narnia, classier, Marcia, tarsier, chancier, starchier, * La Guardia, gaillardia, Somalia, Titania, intarsia, bilharzia, Abkhazia, * tachycardia, pericardia, Yugoslavia, passacaglia, Christiania, Kristiania, Oceania, Anastasia, etc.

4.45 Castleford, afterward, carpeted, marketed, targeted, harvested, * uncarpeted

4.46 Castleford’s, afterwards

4.47 laughable, farmable, passable, chargeable, Barnstaple, barnacle, masterful, pastoral, arsenal, Arsenal, article, particle, farcical, Parsifal, carnival, cardinal, marginal, * remarkable, impassable, rechargeable, anarchical, hierarchical, * unremarkable, unsurpassable, pericardial, myocardial

4.48 barnacled, Archibald, articled

4.49 martyrdom, marjoram, cardamom, * pericardium, myocardium, * started ’em, answer ’em, etc.

4.50 Harpenden, charlatan, Palmerston, Parthenon, Farquharson, Sanderson, guardian, Graafian, Barthian, Parthian, Charmian, Marmion, Marylebone, barbican, Barbican, cardigan, Cardigan, ptarmigan, Arlington, Darlington, harvestman, partisan, Parkinson, * Mozartian, Falstaffian, Hogarthian, Somalian, Zimbabwean

4.51 parliament, armament, argument, rearmament, disarmament

4.52 harbouring, scarpering, bartering, answering, sharpening, darkening, gardening, hardening, heartening, fastening, carpeting, marketing, garnishing, varnishing, * telemarketing, etc.

4.53 Barnabas, Spartacus, marvellous, fatherless, partnerless, barbarous, slanderous, Tartarus, artfulness, artlessness, heartlessness, arquebus, Artemas, hardiness, tardiness, heartiness, craftiness, nastiness, arduous, * kind-heartedness, light-heartedness, foolhardiness, etc.

4.54 arsonist, pharmacist, Dadaist, Stalinist, Darwinist, narcissist, * Neo-Darwinist

4.55 hardiest, heartiest, craftiest, draughtiest, nastiest, barmiest, classiest, chanciest, starchiest, etc.

4.56 marginally, arguably, chancellery, arbitrary, parsimony

4.57 answerable, pardonable, marketable, arguable, * unanswerable, unpardonable, unmarketable, unarguable

-air-

The rhymes in this section have the ‘air’ sound of hair and barely as their main or final vowel sound.

5.1 air, Ayr, bare, bear, Blair, blare, br’er, care, chair, Cher, Claire, Clare, dare, e’er, ere, Eyre, fair, fare, fayre, flair, flare, glair, glare, hair, hare, heir, Herr, Khmer, lair, mare, mayor, ne’er, pair, pare, pear, père, prayer, quare, rare, scare, share, snare, spare, square, stair, stare, swear, tare, tear, their, there, they’re, ware, wear, where, yeah, * compare, Astaire, affair, unfair, aware, unswear, meunière, Daguerre, Basse-Terre, Sancerre, parterre, éclair, Jane Eyre, elsewhere, whene’er, where’er, Pierre, prepare, repair, impair, despair, midair, Kildare, Hilaire, declare, Sinclair, beware, ensnare, misère, Niger, Voltaire, forbear, forswear, howe’er, coheir, au pair, go spare, O’Hare, Lothair, * ampere, fanfare, flatware, Rambert, hardware, glassware, armchair, haircare, air fare, shareware, daycare, Mayfair, threadbare, hectare, welfare, neckwear, headsquare, set square, menswear, deckchair, Edgware, workfare, workwear, fieldfare, freeware, wheelchair, skincare, slipware, knitwear, swimwear, tinware, childcare, nightwear, nightmare, timeshare, highchair, compère, confrère, software, forebear, warfare, horsehair, foursquare, sportswear, corsair, ploughshare, Flaubert, mohair, nowhere, stoneware, Robespierre, bugbear, funfair, somewhere, footwear, pushchair, groupware, Gruyère, * Camembert, Aberdare, camel hair, cafetiere, savoir-faire, aftercare, jardinière, wear and tear, fair and square, maidenhair, tableware, pied-à-terre, Fred Astaire, Delaware, de la Mare, debonair, questionnaire, laissez faire, derrière, premiere, teddy bear, Medicare, secretaire, everywhere, anywhere, Burke and Hare, earthenware, legionnaire, silverware, kitchenware, billionaire, millionaire, trillionaire, rivière, disrepair, Finisterre, chinaware, ironware, nom de guerre, Molière, solitaire, doctrinaire, commissaire, rocking chair, hollowware, corsetière, overbear, polar bear, Baudelaire, open-air, au contraire, thoroughfare, Tupperware®, underwear, unaware, ovenware, * chemin de fer, concessionaire, the worse for wear, commissionaire, Apollinaire, couturière, * chargé d’affaires, devil-may-care, Folies-Bergère, Vanity Fair, surface-to-air, ready-to-wear, * multimillionaire, Weston-super-Mare, son et lumière

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

W. H. DAVIES

5.2 aired, Baird, bared, cared, dared, fared, flared, glared, laird, paired, pared, scared, shared, snared, squared, stared, * compared, prepared, repaired, impaired, despaired, declared, ensnared, * dark-haired, fair-haired, grey-haired, red-haired, long-haired, short-haired, * unprepared, unrepaired, unimpaired, undeclared

5.3 auberge, * concierge

5.4 bairn, cairn, Nairn, * Auvergne, * Fairbairn, Pitcairn

5.5 airs, Ayers, bears, cares, chairs, Claire’s, dares, flares, hairs, pairs, pears, prayers, spares, stairs, theirs, wares, * compares, upstairs, affairs, backstairs, repairs, downstairs, * Carstairs, hectares, deckchairs, nightmares, * legionnaire’s, unawares, etc.

Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!

Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

A. A. MILNE

6.1 Verdi, barely, Fairlie, fairly, rarely, sparely, squarely, scarcely, airy, Carey, chary, Clary, dairy, fairy, hairy, lairy, Mary, nary, prairie, scary, vary, wary, Airdrie, carefree, * unfairly, contrary, unwary, canary, * Monteverdi, cassowary, Salieri, Alighieri, airy-fairy, Tipperary, Inveraray, Miserere, Nyerere, condottiere, * carabiniere, arrivederci, * Dante Alighieri, etc.

6.2 airer, bearer, carer, Clara, Eire, fairer, parer, rarer, Sarah, scarer, sharer, starer, swearer, tearer, wearer, Ayrshire, * caldera, Sierra, preparer, repairer, declarer, * macebearer, talebearer, wayfarer, seafarer, swordbearer, pallbearer, torchbearer, cupbearer, * de Valera, demerara, Riviera, cordillera, * dare her, scare her, etc.

6.3 varied, * unvaried

6.4 careful, prayerful, mayoral

6.5 arum, Fareham, harem, Sarum, Wareham, heirdom, * harum-scarum, * wear ’em, shared ’em, etc.

6.6 hairpin, bearskin, Erin, * carin’, wearin’, etc.

6.7 Ayrton, Aaron, Charon, airman, chairman

6.8 parent, * transparent, impairment, ensnarement, * grandparent, step-parent, godparent

6.9 parents, * transparence, impairments, forbearance, * grandparents, step-parents, godparents

6.10 airing, baring, bearing, blaring, caring, daring, fairing, glaring, pairing, paring, raring, sharing, sparing, staring, swearing, tearing, Waring, wearing, * comparing, unsparing, hard-wearing, preparing, repairing, despairing, forbearing, ball bearing, * cheeseparing, seafaring, childbearing, time-sharing, * overbearing, etc.

Like whatever they say has no bearing,

It’s so scary in a house that allows no swearing

To see him walking around with his headphones blaring.

EMINEM

6.11 airless, careless, hairless, bareness, fairness, * Carreras, unfairness, awareness, * self-awareness, * scare us, prepare us, etc.

6.12 bearish, fairish, garish, squarish, * nightmarish

6.13 rarebit, bear pit, * swear it, tear it, etc.

6.14 Aries, dairies, fairies, prairies, varies, * Canaries, etc.

6.15 carefully, carelessly, rarity, scarcity, airily, warily, daringly, glaringly, sparingly, garishly, * unbearably, transparency, overbearingly, etc.

6.16 airier, area, hairier, scarier, warier, * Bulgaria, Bavaria, malaria, aquaria, Samaria, herbaria, filaria, solaria, * Carpentaria, Berengaria, cineraria, Gran Canaria, oceanaria, urticaria, planetaria, araucaria, * calceolaria, etc.

6.17 bearable, tearable, wearable, aerial, Ariel, * unbearable, unwearable, repairable, malarial, bursarial, filarial, * unrepairable, adversarial, secretarial, actuarial, estuarial, * antimalarial

6.18 barium, * aquarium, samarium, herbarium, vivarium, solarium, rosarium, sudarium, * honorarium, oceanarium, planetarium, sanitarium, dolphinarium

6.19 Arian, Arien, Aryan, Darien, dairyman, * Bulgarian, vulgarian, Hungarian, Bavarian, valerian, Valerian, agrarian, Aquarian, grammarian, barbarian, sectarian, Caesarean, Nigerien, riparian, librarian, Voltairean, Ontarian, Rotarian, ovarian, fruitarian, Sumerian, * Sabbatarian, libertarian, Rastafarian, prelapsarian, nonsectarian, Sagittarian, vegetarian, Trinitarian, proletarian, Unitarian, antiquarian, centenarian, seminarian, millenarian, Gibraltarian, * infralapsarian, supralapsarian, parliamentarian, abecedarian, egalitarian, totalitarian, humanitarian, utilitarian, authoritarian, veterinarian, sexagenarian, octogenarian, nonagenarian, premillenarian, disciplinarian, * establishmentarian, * latitudinarian, valetudinarian, septuagenarian

6.20 variant, * invariant

6.21 parenting, dairying, varying, * unvarying, etc.

6.22 parentless, carefulness, carelessness, Arius, carious, Darius, Marius, various, airiness, chariness, wariness, * Aquarius, calcareous, burglarious, precarious, vicarious, gregarious, nefarious, hilarious, denarius, * Sagittarius, multifarious, Stradivarius, etc.

6.23 secretariat, proletariat, commissariat

6.24 variable, * invariable

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