Almost everyone remembers being taught: ''i'' before ''e'', except after ''c''. Right?
If only I could simply seize my weird neighbour's sleigh (maybe after making a veiled threat?),
at leisure of course, to haul away his feisty foreign born beige rottweiler. Considering its eight foot height and weight (the sleigh, not the dog AND NO REINDEER!), I'd likely have to forfeit my weekend to do it!

GET THE POINT ?!
Seize, weird, rottweiler, neighbour's (Canadian English), sleigh, veiled, leisure, feisty, foreign, beige, eight, height, weight, reindeer, forfeit....
as well as geisha, either, wherein, feigned, geiger, absenteeism, queueing, sheik, reindeer,
edelweiss, heiress, surveillance, reign, plebeian, atheist, vein, deigned, counterfeit,
kaleidoscope, seismic, homogeneity, paperweight, stein, and numerous others-
"E" is clearly BEFORE "I" & NOT AFTER a "C" !!!

Most (ALL??) of these English language rules have many exceptions.
Almost everyone is also likely to remember being taught ''NOTHING RHYMES WITH ORANGE!''

Well...............let's take a shot at this ''rule''.

English defines how words rhyme with each other in several ways.
There are perfect rhymes; these may be stressed (hand & stand), or unstressed (handing & standing).
Then there are ''pararhymes'' (silver & salver)
And, there are even half-rhymes. (like the ones that follow)

Most important, is where your own regional dialect, or 'accent' comes into play.
Reality is people across the world pronounce English words in many ways.
You'll have to be the judge as to whether or not you consider these words to rhyme with ORANGE.

How you pronounce ORANGE  is important. Is your "AN" pronounced as ''IN'', ''EN'', or ''AN''.

FOR THE ''IN'' CROWD:
LOZENGE (/lozinj/) is a common word, especially during the upcoming winter cold season.
SYRINGE (/sirinj) (My personal favourite to win a bet!)

HINGE & UNHINGE
IMPINGE
FRINGE, BEFRINGE & INFRINGE

BINGE
CRINGE
SYNGE / SINGE
TINGE
TWINGE

FOR THE ''AN'' CROWD:
FLANGE (/flanj/)

AND, FOR ALMOST EVERYONE IN THE CROWD:
SCAVENGE

While none of the above RHYMES may be 'defined' as 'perfect' (and let's face it- WHO or WHAT IS ???), feel free to use this GUIDE'S information as it it best suits your needs.

So the next time someone says ''NOTHING rhymes with ORANGE''- throw some of the above words at them, and let them decide........

P.S. Does anyone also remember the ''rule''- ''TWO NEGATIVES MAKE A POSITIVE- HOWEVER, TWO POSITIVES NEVER MAKE A NEGATIVE.''? (Please see Guide's title for another great contadiction.)

And, PLEASE, if this is useful to you- take a moment to hit the button below and vote......

©2007 by smla / Sir Mark L. Alter Updated 2008/10/03