[Jayne Osborn]

I am feeling spectacularly dim concerning this challenge . . .
My excuse is that it's very late here and I'm tired.

Julie, you're quite right that this isn't a thread for posting our own work, but even so I'd dearly love to see a good example of what, exactly, we're meant to do!

Melissa, can you come to the recue here? A ''for example'' post from you, for clarification, on this thread is permissible, whereas poems from the rest of us isn't.

(I hope I'm not the only one who's feeling a complete numpty over this! )

Jayne

[Brian Allgar]

Originally Posted by Roger Slater

"Clothes" has many rhymes, doesn't it? At least according to rhymezone.com

Yes, but Rhymezone is notoriously unreliable and slipshod. They seem to think that "froze", "nose", "owes" and countless others all rhyme with "clothes". (Ironically in this context, they also think that "elbows" rhymes with "clothes"!) Well, not in my speech they don't. As far as I know, the only rhyme that includes the "th" sound is "loathes".

[Ann Drysdale]

Yes - naughty Herrick (whenas in silks etc.)...

[Catherine Chandler]

Can we invent words?

[Jerome Betts]

Oaths, Brian? Or is the plural unvoiced?

[Melissa Balmain]

Hi everyone,

I can see, from a number of your questions, that I should have been a bit clearer about what we're looking for... Per Jayne's excellent suggestion, I have edited my original post, including a bunch of examples that I hope will help.

Melissa

[Brian Allgar]

Originally Posted by Ann Drysdale

Yes - naughty Herrick (whenas in silks etc.)...

Herrick might have thought he could get away with it, Ann, but it would never pass muster with Melissa.

[Brian Allgar]

Originally Posted by Jerome Betts

Oaths, Brian? Or is the plural unvoiced?

You could be right, Jerome. I had overlooked that one. I think it's pronounced with a hard "th", but I can't be sure, as I never use the word. Which is odd when you consider how often I utter oaths directed at Bill Gates, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump, and many others.

[Roger Slater]

Originally Posted by Brian Allgar

Yes, but Rhymezone is notoriously unreliable and slipshod. They seem to think that "froze", "nose", "owes" and countless others all rhyme with "clothes". (Ironically in this context, they also think that "elbows" rhymes with "clothes"!) Well, not in my speech they don't. As far as I know, the only rhyme that includes the "th" sound is "loathes".

Not everyone is British, and if you look at American dictionaries you will see that the first pronunciation that's given is ˈklōz , with only the alternative pronunciation voicing the th in the way you prefer.

[Ann Drysdale]

Ð or Þ, eh?