Silent English 17 April 1999 by Marc Kummel aka Treebeard. Contact mkummel@rain.org, http://www.rain.org/~mkummel/ This is the answer to my Silent English stumper on the Web at : Try to find pairs of words that differ by the addition of just one letter but are pronounced the same way. Can we find a pair for every letter of the alphabet? There were no particular rules, but the best word pairs are standard English dictionary words with different meanings. I've included some proper names and alternate spellings here, but they're not as interesting. * Are there other letter combinations that are silent in the same way? * As a bonus, are there word pairs that are opposites! Dictionaries used: American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition Official Scrabble Players Dictionary Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition Merriam-Webster OnLine dictionary at A ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- border, boarder (perimeter, lodger who gets food) born, borne (birthed, past participle of bear) bred, bread (conceived on purpose, food) Brest, breast (city in France, female) coco, cocoa (coconut, chocolate) corse, coarse (corpse, rough) eon, aeon (alt spelling: long time) Erie, aerie (great lake, high nest) Ernest, earnest (name, serious) eve, eave (evening, edge of roof) herd, heard (animals, listened to) horded, hoarded (gathered into group, stored away) horse, hoarse (animal, rough sound) isle, aisle (island, corridor) lager, laager (beer, circle wagons for defence) led, lead (showed the way, heavy metal) Lent, leant (before Easter, past of lean) loded, loaded (with mineral veins, full loner, loaner (solitary, something loaned) or, oar (conjunction, paddle) peon, paeon (peasant, metrical form of prosody) Perl, pearl (programming language, jewel) red, read (color, yesterday's book) reding, reading (advising, book) semen, seamen (sperm, men at sea) wether, weather (castrated goat, atmospheric conditions) we've, weave (we have, make with yarn) B ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- bans, bands (forbids, musical groups) climed, climbed (with a climate, got to the top) jam, jamb (fruit, side of a door) lam, lamb (flee hastily, young sheep) plum, plumb (fruit, vertical) riband, ribband (ribbon, wood used in shipbuilding) C ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- sent, scent (dispatched, smell) yak, yack (Tibetan mammal, talk too much) D ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ad, add (advertisement, combine) bunt, bundt (baseball, cake) codling, coddling (unripe apple or young fish, pampering) djinn, jinn (alt spelling: spirit grants wishes) leger, ledger (fish bait, book) lens, lends (glass, makes loan) loge, lodge (theater box, hotel) men's, mends (male's, fix) red, redd (color, fish nest) E ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- adz, adze (alt spelling: cutting tool) aid, aide (help, assistant) ax, axe (a tool, using an ax) ay, aye (ay me, yes) bad, bade (not good, past of bid) barer, bearer (more naked, who has it) baring, bearing (being naked, compass course) be, bee (exist, insect) bell, belle (something you ring, pretty lady) bomb, bombe (weapon, dessert) bony, boney (alt spelling: full of bones) born, borne (birth, past part. of bear) braking, breaking (stopping, coming apart) opposites? brows, browse (hair over eyes, casual look) by, bye (near, advance without playing) cart, carte (wagon, menu) cast, caste (to throw, social class) Claus, clause (Santa, part of contract) cops, copse (police, a thicket) cord, cored (rope, without the center) Cory, Corey (alt spelling: name) Di, die (Princess, she did in car crash) do, doe (do re mi, female deer) fiance, fiancee (engaged man, engaged woman) find, fined (discover, received penalty) Flo, floe (name, ice sheet) flu, flue (illness, chimney) for, fore (preposition, in front) forgo, forego (abstain, go before) fort, forte (fortification, strong point) gaff, gaffe (hook, social blunder) gally, galley (frighten, ship kitchen) grater, greater (tool for shredding, better) grill, grille (cook, a grating) hart, heart (male deer, organ that pumps blood) he'd, heed (he would, be careful) high, heigh (way up, interjection) heroin, heroine (drug, female hero) hi, hie (hello, to hurry) ho, hoe (what Santa says, garden tool) hold, holed (grasp, full of holes) holy, holey (sacred, full of holes) laps, lapse (around track, forget) lightning, lightening (electric, removing weight) limy, limey (with calcium, British) main, Maine (most important, state) Matt, matte (name, dull surface) matt, matte (alt spelling: dull surface) meting, meeting (distribute by measure, getting together) mind, mined (thinking, looked for ore) mood, mooed (emotion, what the cows did) moor, Moore (bog, name) Nice, niece (French city, my brother's sister) or, ore (logic, minerals) peas, pease (alt spelling: vegies) pi, pie (Greek letter or 3.14, food) pleas, please (crys for help, polite request) plural, pleural (more than one, relating to lungs) posy, poesy (flowers, poetry) pros, prose (professionals, not poetry) rout, route (to defeat, path) sin, sine (sine function in BASIC, sine function) slight, sleight (not much, deft of hand) sold, soled (bought, with soles) spars, sparse (poles for rigging, thinly distributed) story, storey (a tale, floor of a building) sty, stye (pigpen, inflammed eyelid) teas, tease (herbal beverages, make fun of) tor, tore (craggy hill, ripped) your, you're (belongs to you, you are) waring, wearing (bewaring, clothes) we, wee (us, tiny) we'd, weed (we would, unwanted plant) whisky, whiskey (alt spelling: drink - is whisky only scotch?) who's, whose (who is, who owns it) with, withe (preposition, flexible twig) F ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- a fair, affair (carnival, relationship) (these not legal?) a fine, affine (penalty, math or related by marriage) a firm, affirm (company, to agree with) a fix, affix (what junkies want, to attach) a ford, afford (place to cross river, can pay for it) a front, affront (weather system, insult) kafir, kaffir (sorghum grain, black African (vulgar)) sherif, sheriff (Arab ruler, county police) Waf, waff (Women in Air Force, a puff or gust) G ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- coin, coign (money, a block or wedge) Nat, gnat (name, small fly) natty, gnatty (neat and tidy, lots of flies) hog, hogg (pig, young sheep) magot, maggot (tailless Barbary ape, fly larva) Nash, gnash (name of car, to chew) Nome, gnome (city in Alaska, little person) pekinese, peckingese (alt spelling: dog) rein, reign (restrain, rule of king) sin, sign (sine function in BASIC, symbol) H ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- arc, arch (curve, beginning or fundamental) bang, bhang (noise, hemp in India) burger, burgher (hamburger, citizen of town) coral, choral (make reefs, music with lots of voices) cord, chord (rope, music harmony) do, do'h (do re mi, what Homer Simpson says) dow, dhow (to prosper, Arab sailboat) Jon, John (name, name) no, noh (not so, Japanese theater) ogam, ogham (alt spelling: old Irish runes) om, ohm (meditation sound, unit of resistance) our, hour (belonging to us, time) pincer, pincher (tool, one who pinches) rumba, rhumba (alt spelling: latin dance) sumac, sumach (alt spelling: plants in anacardiaceae) Tai, Thai (China, Thailand) wale, whale (ridge or rib, marine mammal) weal, wheal (well-being, welt) weel, wheel (well, like a tire) wen, when (a cyst or benign tumor, time) wet, whet (moist, sharpen) wether, whether (castrated goat, conjunction) wig, whig (hairpiece, colonial politics) wile, while (trickery, short time) Wimsey, whimsey (Lord Peter, on a wim or whimsy) win, whin (first place, rocks on ground or a plant) wine, whine (from grapes, complain) wit, whit (intelligence, small bit) wither, whither (to shrivel up, where you go) I ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ade, aide (fruit drink, help) baler, bailer (makes hay, empty water from boat) baling, bailing (wire for hay, removong water from boat) bated, baited (reduced, with bait) captan, captain (fungacide, commander) cruse, cruise (a pot, boat trip) farer, fairer (traveler, more fair) faring, fairing (how are you doing, smooth covering) gated, gaited (with a gate, walking a certain way) hadj, hadji (pilgramage to Mecca, one who's been there) haled, hailed (compelled to go, frozen rain) mane, Maine (horse hair, state) maze, maize (puzzle, corn) ordnance, ordinance (military supplies, decree) paned, pained (with glass, it hurts) pared, paired (cut down, doubled up) opposites! place, plaice (location, fish) planer, plainer (one who planes, not as fancy) poly, Polly (white blood cell, name) rase, raise (erase, lift) wave, waive (hand sign, forego) J ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- haj, hajj (alt spelling: pilgramage to Mecca) haji, hajji (pilgramage to Mecca, one who's been there) K ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- bloc, block (alliance, cube) doc, dock (doctor, pier) nap, knap (short sleep, crest of hill) nave, knave (church, scoundrel) Nell, knell (name, ring a bell) new, knew (not used, acquainted with) nickers, knickers (those who nick, underwear) night, knight (dark, wears armor) nit, knit (louse egg, weaving) nob, knob (bump, handle) nock, knock (notch in arrow, hit) not, knot (negative, rope) roc, rock (mythical bird, stone) sac, sack (pouch in plant or animal, bag) sic, sick (attack, ill) specs, specks (eyeglasses or requirements, spots) spic, spick (racial slur, spick-and-span) tic, tick (twitch, clock) L ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- bel, bell (10 decibels, something you ring) fils, fills (Iraqi money, to make full) have, halve (possess, cut in half) haves, halves (those who possess, more than one half) idyl, idyll (alt spelling: pastoral poetry) lama, llama (Buddhist monk, Peruvian animal) nil, nill (nothing, to be unwilling) poled, polled (used a pole, asked questions) yoked, yolked (with a harness, like an egg) M ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- mama, mamma (mother, mammary gland) primer, primmer (simple reading book, more prim) programing, programming (alt spelling: one who programs) N ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- an, Ann (article, name) bans, banns (forbids, marriage announcements) opposites? bene, benne (alt spelling: sesame) canon, cannon (belief system or music, weapon) con, conn (scam, steer ship) dam, damn (holds water, curse to damnation) djin, djinn (alt spelling: spirit grants wishes) dun, Dunn (color, name or my school) fin, Finn (fish flipper, nationality) finish, Finnish (be done, nationality) in, inn (included, hotel) mana, manna (elemental power, fed the Israelites) O ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- just, joust (morally good, knight tournement) less, loess (not as much, soil type) mucus, mucous (stuff in nose, slimey or relating to mucus) possum, opossum (alt spelling of animal) to, too (towards, also) P ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- rep, repp (alt spelling: cross-ribbed fabric) salter, psalter (one who adds salt, hymnal) schlep, schlepp (clumsy person, to move slowly or clumsily) shaw, pshaw (tops of veggies, express disapproval) Thomson, Thompson (TinTin names, "with a 'p' like psychology" Tripp, trip (Linda, going somewhere) Q ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- R ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- bur, burr (seed pod, Scotish accent) caries, carries (tooth decay, holds) Cary, carry (name, hold) fur, furr (animal hair, separate with wood strips) overate, overrate (ate too much, think too highly of) par, parr (standard score, young salmon) whir, whirr (alt spelling: move with buzzing sound) S ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- bases, basses (baseball, low guitars or singers) bus, buss (vehicle, kiss) canvas, canvass (cloth, examine thoroughly) cent, scent (money, smell) coup de grace, coups de grace (french decisive event: singular, plural) coup d'etat, coups d'etat (french revolution: singular, plural) coup d'main, coups d'main (french sudden attack: singular, plural) desert, dessert (dry place, after dinner sweet) fleur-de-lis, fleurs-de-lis (french iris design: singular, plural) groser, grosser (gooseberry, more disgusting) nom de plume, noms de plume (french psuedonym: singular, plural) pincher, pinscher (one who pinches, dog) tour de force, tours de force (french feat: singular, plural) T ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- bat, batt (baseball, cotton cloth) bit, bitt (used teeth, tie post on ship) borsch, borscht (alt spelling: beet soup) but, butt (on the contrary, what you sit on) lets, Letts (allows, Latvian people) mat, matt (alt spelling: not glossy) matzo, matzot (passover bread, lots of it) net, nett (alt spelling: to catch in a net) premises, premisses (house, assumption in logic?) put, putt (place in position, short stroke in golf) taro, tarot (plant, cards) U ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ant, aunt (insect, family) armor, armour (alt spelling: metal protection) bolder, boulder (more bold, big rock) born, bourn (birth, stream) boy, buoy (male child, warning float) by, buy (preposition, purchase) calk, caulk (part of horseshoe, waterproof) callus, callous (no sympathy, hard skin) clanger, clangour (alt spelling: noise) color, colour (alt spelling: light) corse, course (corpse, route) Doug, dug (name, made hole) falter, faulter (hesitate, one who faults) for, four (preposition, 2+2) forth, fourth (direction, after third) gage, gauge (token of security, measure) gild, guild (cover with gold, trade union) gilt, guilt (gold, feel blame) honor, honour (alt spelling: respect) mold, mould (alt spelling: fungus) molt, moult (alt spelling: to shed) morn, mourn (sunrise, feel sorrow) morning, mourning (before noon, feeling sorrow) odor, odour (alt spelling: smell) pored, poured (with pores, when it rained) V ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- civies, civvies (alt spelling: civilians and their clothes) navy, navvy (ships, laborer) pronounce? W ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- bo, bow (a pal, shoots arrows) bra, braw (brassiere, well dressed) hole, whole (a cavity, complete) opposites! hoop, whoop (circular metal ring, loud cry) Flo, flow (name, to move along) lo, low (interjection, not high) Ra, raw (sun god, uncooked) rack, wrack (hanger, wreckage or seaweed) rap, wrap (hit or sing, to cover) reck, wreck (to care for, to destroy) opposites! rest, wrest (relax, take away) retch, wretch (to gag, someone miserable) right, wright (correct, a maker) ring, wring (noise, twist or squeeze) rite, write (ceremony, make words) rote, wrote (routine, past of write) rung, wrung (step on a ladder, twisted) so, sow (so what, scatter seeds) to, two (preposition, 1+1) toed, towed (with toes, taken away) X ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- beau, beaux (french lover: singular, plural) eau, eaux (french water: singular, plural) nouveau, nouveaux (french new: singular, plural) Y ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- canon, canyon (alt spelling: deep valley) ew, yew (it stinks, tree) he, hey (5th Hebrew letter, interjection) rial, riyal (alt spelling, Saudi Arabian money) re, rey (do re mi, king?) there, they're (that place, they are) wane, Wayne (to become less, name) Z ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- biz, bizz (business, dialect var. of buzz) fezes, fezzes (alt spelling: Middle East hats) friz, frizz (a tight curl, to form into curls) fuzed, fuzzed (with a fuse, became fuzzy) (pronounce?) gros, grosz (Gros Ventre Mountains, Polish money) gros, grosz (thick silk fabric, Polish money) pizazz, pizzazz (alt spelling: flamboyance) GH ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- hi, high (hello, way up) taut, taught (tight, past of teach) sited, sighted (with a place, seen) strait, straight (narrow waterway, no curves) taut, taught (tight, past of teach) So close! This differs in two letters but still sounds the same ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- sycosis, psychosis (hair follicle infection, mental derangement) Opposite word pairs (*sort of*) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- bans, banns (forbids, marriage announcements) braking, breaking (stopping, coming apart) fiance, fiancee (engaged man, engaged woman) have, halve (possess, cut in half) hole, whole (a cavity, complete) new, knew (not used, acquainted with) pared, paired (cut down, doubled up) reck, wreck (to care for, to destroy) Other opposite homonyms that don't fit the rule ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- adds, adze (combines, cuts apart) aural, oral (heard, spoken) raise, raze (lift up, tear down) The final list: I tried to pick familiar words with different meanings. All of these are in Merriam-Webster OnLine at , except "haji" which is in the _Official Scrabble Players Dictionary_. ============================================================================= A isle, aisle (island, corridor) B plum, plumb (fruit, vertical) * C sent, scent (dispatched, smell) D ad, add (advertisement, combine) E pros, prose (professionals, not poetry) * F kafir, kaffir (sorghum grain, black African (vulgar)) G rein, reign (restrain, rule of king) H cord, chord (rope, music harmony) I maze, maize (puzzle, corn) * J haji, hajji (pilgramage to Mecca, one who's been there) K new, knew (not used, acquainted with) L have, halve (possess, cut in half) * M primer, primmer (simple reading book, more prim) N canon, cannon (belief system or music, weapon) O to, too (towards, also) * P salter, psalter (one who adds salt, hymnal) * Q ? R caries, carries (tooth decay, holds) S cent, scent (money, smell) T but, butt (on the contrary, what you sit on) U morning, mourning (before noon, feeling sorrow) * V civies, civvies (alt spelling: civilians and their clothes) W hole, whole (a cavity, complete) * X beau, beaux (french lover: singular, plural - beaux gestes) * Y there, they're (that place, they are) * Z pizazz, pizzazz (alt spelling: flamboyance) * C, F, J, M, P, Q, V, X, Y, and Z were the hard ones. I'm surprised by C, M, and P which seem so ordinary. The real stumper is: what else do all these letters have in common?