Possibilities and Limitations

English is a wonderful language full of possibilities. Wiktionary has over two and a half million English entries. Although many words are science and industry specific. Sometimes I think English never met a word it didn't like. Many foreign words have been imported whole. That means many rhyming possibilities.

However, in composing poems, periodically I've come across a word that's hard to rhyme. The Complete Rhyming Dictionary edited by Clement Wood on pages 117 & 118 gives a short list of words that don't rhyme. I've spent the last few months going thru my rhyming dictionaries culling words that don't rhyme or that rhyme with only one or two other words. In other words, these are words to avoid. They can still be used in poetry, just not at the end of the line to rhyme. My hope, dear reader, is that you will help me add words to or delete them from my list. Here's a sample of common English words that don't rhyme: agent, also, ancient, bogus, bozo, budget, bulb, citrus, country, damage, delta, eighth, else, film, fortress, gospel, govern, helmet, hungry, icon, iron, joyful, junior, kiln, kingdom, liquid, limit, market, memo, naked, ninety, object, office, poem, polka, questioned, quotient, refuge, riot, sahib, sculpt, temple, topaz, ulcer, unit, velvet, visit, width, and wolf.  For the complete list, you can contact me by leaving your email address in the comments or use Facebook or whatever works.

Wedding Redding

Every day I try to devote a couple of hours to poetry. My latest efforts have been going thru my rhyming dictionaries (yes, Virginia, there are books with lists of words that rhyme) and finding words that either have no rhyme or have limited rhymes with only one or two other words. I understand that English has over a million words in it. It's like English never met a word it didn't like. In spite of that some common words don't have rhymes: angst, budget, emblem, orange, silver. In any endeavor it helps to know the possibilities and limitations. This is a just-for-fun poem.

Wedding Redding

26 October 2011

In a marriage, who wears the pants?

What makes life more glorious?

According to my maiden aunts

The husband needs to be uxorious.

They only listen to their sycophants

For which they’re notorious.