Similar Combinations
A comparable group is omb, which can be pronounced in at least four ways: bomb /bɒm/ (rhymes with Tom), comb /koʊm/ (rhymes with home), sombre /ˈsɒmbə/, and tomb /tuːm/ (rhymes with gloom).
augh is visually rather similar to ough but admits much less pronunciation variation.
- /æf/, /ɑːf/ as in "laughter"
- /ɔː/ as in "daughter"
Read more about this topic: Ough (orthography)
Famous quotes containing the words similar and/or combinations:
“It is surely a matter of common observation that a man who knows no one thing intimately has no views worth hearing on things in general. The farmer philosophizes in terms of crops, soils, markets, and implements, the mechanic generalizes his experiences of wood and iron, the seaman reaches similar conclusions by his own special road; and if the scholar keeps pace with these it must be by an equally virile productivity.”
—Charles Horton Cooley (18641929)
“Science is feasible when the variables are few and can be enumerated; when their combinations are distinct and clear. We are tending toward the condition of science and aspiring to do it. The artist works out his own formulas; the interest of science lies in the art of making science.”
—Paul Valéry (18711945)