ODDITIES
It is claimed that -OUGH can be
pronounced 9 different ways in the following sentence: A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through
the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and
hiccoughed. The only countries in the world with one syllable in their names
are CHAD, FRANCE, GREECE, LAOS (one pronunciation), and SPAIN DREAMT is the only common word in English ending in -MT. EARTHLING is first found in print in 1593. SPACESHIP is another surprisingly old word (1894). MS. (used instead of Miss or Mrs.) has been found in 1949. EIGHT is the first number, if all numbers are arranged in alphabetical
order; ZERO would be the last number EWE and YOU are pronounced exactly the
same, yet share no letters in common. Another example: EYE/I, OH/EAU (de
cologne), A/EH, FORTY is the only number which has its letters in alphabetical order.
FIRST shares this property [Stuart Kidd]. According to Stuart Kidd, ONE is the only number with its letters
in reverse alphabetical order.
The three-syllable word HIDEOUS, with the
change of a single consonant, becomes a two-syllable word with no vowel
sounds in common: HIDEOUT IO (one of the moons of Jupiter), AI (the three-toed sloth), EO,
OK, and AA (rough volcanic rock) seem to be the shortest two-syllable words.
MONDAY is the only day of the week that
has an anagram, DYNAMO. The only months that have anagrams are MARCH, APRIL,
and MAY. The anagrams are CHARM, RIPAL, and YAM.
OF is apparently the only commonly used
word in which F is pronounced like a V. The only other words with this
property are HEREOF, THEREOF and WHEREOF
President Woodrow Wilson used the spelling
OKEH rather than OK. He preferred this spelling, believing (incorrectly)
that the origin of the word is a Choctaw word meaning "it is so."
It is said that no word rhymes with ORANGE.
However, BLORENGE is a 1,833 ft. hill near Abergavenny, Wales. Some other
words difficult to rhyme are MONTH, SILVER, WASP, and PURPLE.
PIERRE, the capital of South Dakota, is
pronounced PEER and is the only state capital name that shares no letters
with the name of its state
PIKES PEAK is spelled without an apostrophe
by law.
POLISH is pronounced two ways, depending
on whether or not the first letter is capitalized. Some other such words:
AUGUST, BEGIN, JOB, LIMA, RAINIER, NICE, SAID.
Q is the only letter that does not occur
in the names of the states of the U. S.
WACO and WARE are the only U. S. radio
station call letters that exactly spelled the cities in which they were
located (Waco, Texas, and Ware, Massachusetts).
ALMS is a word with no singular form. Other
such words are: AGENDA, IDES, BRACES, CATTLE, CLOTHES, EAVES, MARGINALIA,
PANTS, PLIERS, SCISSORS, SHORTS, and TROUSERS (although there is "trouser
leg") [Stuart Kidd]. Strictly speaking, Ides is not plural, although it
is singular or plural in construction, according to MWCD10. Agenda is not
plural although its origin is the plural of the Latin agendum.
PANGRAMS are sentences
containing all the letters of the alphabet.
"Quit beer," vows dizzy, puking, Michael
J. Fox (by Idris Mercer)
A large fawn jumped quickly over white
zinc boxes.
A mad boxer shot a quick, gloved jab
to the jaw of his dizzy opponent.
A popular belief is that fornication
would be a quick fix for some overzealously judicious governments.
A quart jar of oil mixed with zinc
oxide makes a very bright paint.
A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
dog.
A quick movement of the enemy will
jeopardize six gunboats.
A very bad quack might jinx zippy fowls.
32
About sixty codfish eggs will make
a quarter pound of very fizzy jelly.
Alfredo just must bring very exciting
news to the plaza quickly.
All questions asked by five watch experts
amazed the judge.
Amazingly few discotheques provide
jukeboxes (40)
An inspired calligrapher can create
pages of beauty using stick ink, quill, brush, pick-axe, buzz saw, or even
strawberry jam.
Anxious Paul waved back his pa from
the zinc quarry just sighted.
As we explored the gulf of Zanzibar,
we quickly moved closer to the jutting rocks.
Astronaut Quincy B. Zack defies gravity
with six jet fuel pumps.
Back in June we delivered oxygen equipment
of the same size.
Back in my quaint garden, jaunty zinnias
vie with flaunting phlox.
Ban foul, toxic smogs which quickly
jeopardize lives.
Barkeep! A flaming tequila swizzle
and a vodka and Ajax, hold the cherry.
Baroque? Hell, just mix a dozen wacky
pi fonts & you've got it.
Bawds jog, flick quartz, vex nymph.
27 (by Sir Jeremy Morse)
Big July earthquakes confound zany
experimental vow.
Blowzy frights vex, and jump quick.
(28)
Blowzy night-frumps vex'd Jack Q. 26
Blowzy red vixens fight for a quick
jump.
Brawny gods just flocked up to quiz
and vex him.
Breezily jingling $3,416,857,209, wise
advertiser ambles to the bank, his exchequer amplified.
Brick quiz whangs jumpy veldt fox.
By Jove, my quick study of lexicography
won a prize.
Cozy lummox gives smart squid who asks
for job pen. 41
Cozy sphinx waves quart jug of bad
milk. (32)
Crazy Fredericka bought many very exquisite
opal jewels. 48
Cwm kvutza qoph jynx fled brigs. (by
Greg and Peter Maggs)
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz 26
(by Dmitri Borgmann)
Dangerously frozen, he quickly judged
his extremities to be waterproof.
Doxy with charming buzz quaffs vodka
julep.
Dr. Jekyll vows to finish zapping quixotic
bum (by Idris Mercer)
Dub waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex.
28
Dumpy kibitzer jingles as exchequer
overflows.
Ebenezer unexpectedly bagged two tranquil
aardvarks with his jiffy vacuum cleaner.
Emily Q. Jung-Schwartzkopf XV, B.D.
(26)
Exquisite farm wench gives body jolt
to prize stinker.