Dittograms “The nose knows.”  This aphorism is a classic example of a homophone pair, two adjacent words that have the same sound.  The soccer score “two to two” is a homophone triplet.  Words and phrases with repeated sounds are called dittograms.  Although many sentences contain dittograms (“A table for four, please.”), the trick is to see how many dittograms you can get into one coherent sentence.  Let’s start with a few simple examples and slowly get more ambitious. Roadkill Rick usually took carrion carry-on when he flew. On breezy days Gale couldn’t find stationary stationery for his novel novel. In the Vatican, a popery potpourri comes from sealing ceiling art. For a Roma aroma, the popery sent the potpourri scent. When playing his fiddle, Count Sheep read red notes but blew blue tunes. The new ewe knew you. Although she can’t cant, she certainly can can-can. A noise annoys the principle principal. Lulu had had a notion that that herd heard a grisly grizzly. The rude roomers rued rumors. Cliff Hanger could bear bare bear barely. A calligrapher is a write wright who can write right after submitting to the right write wright rite. While growing marijuana, the more weed due, the more we’d do. My son read bread beats sun-red bred beets for nutrition. Paul Bunyan threw a gnu whole through a new hole. Turn a round dear tern around deer. One idol heroine won idle heroin. We knew wee new hair hides hare hides. Foursome dears meet for some deer’s meat. That hour, we knew that our wee new wood parish would perish. Most dittograms are of little interest, like weight wait and fir fur, while others, like flees fleas and buries berries, have obvious meanings.  But some offer clever or humorous meanings, a sampling of which are shown below.  Although dittograms employing proper nouns are excluded from this list, like Philly filly, an exception is made for the first one given here because it’s so darn cute. Appalachian appellation — Blue Ridge ate eight — fell off a diet awful offal — roadkill with ketchup barren baron — heirless breed better bettor — fish with chips birth berth — place for labor day bridal bridle — wedding ring caws cause — scarecrow cell sell — anytime minutes cereal serial — grainy picture chance chants — random noise choose chews — tobacco advertisement claws clause — pet shop disclaimer climb clime — scaling weather coarse course — vulgar education compliment complement — “same to you” cursor curser — unhappy PC user damn dam — beaver business daze days — lost weekend dear deer — hart with heart dual duel — double header due dew — missed mist fairy ferry — imaginary boat faux foe — the opposite sex faze phase — teen years feet feat — hundred yard dash foul fowl — dirty bird gaff gaffe — sailing blunder gays gaze — a look of love hare hair — critter cover heals heels — podiatrist heard herd — stampede hoarse horse — neigh boring no more humorous humerus — funny bone idle idol — unsung hero kernel colonel — popcorn king knows nose — rhinologist lien lean — foreclosure lone loan — one-time offer made maid — wealthy housekeeper maize maze — crop circles major major — big brass manor manner — good behavior mean mien — bad behavior meddle metal — lead pipe mettle medal — silver star mews muse — mooed music missed mist — long over dew mooed mood — feeling low morning mourning — good grief naval navel — belly of the ship night knight — The Shadow our hour — quality time together packed pact — something for everyone patient’s patience — ill tempered paws pause — hand break pear pair — two-ty fruity peddles pedals — bike salesman piece peace — intermission popery potpourri — religious odor principle principal — the main man profit prophet — fortune teller prose pros — poet laureates roomers rumors — talk of the townhouse rose rows — garden view second second — tock seen scene — public spat senses census — sanity survey sight site — scenic turnout sore soar — ill eagle flight sweet suite — neat digs tail tale — The End thrown throne — abdication timbre timber — sounding board torte tort — deadly dessert tracked tract — ATV playground trussed trust — building confidence use yews — wood it be vice vise — extortion vile vial — secret ingredient waist waste — love handles ware wear — tool belt weak week — seven day flu whole hole — all of nothing Comprehendible dittograms of triple and quadruple homophones are much rarer.  Can you think of any not given below and supply a meaning? bored board bored — tired of holey wood do doodoo — go hale hail hail — very cold greeting kneed knead need — call for an unorthodox masseuse lays laze leis — puts down relaxing necklaces male mail mail — armor catalog mall moll maul — gangster’s girl mishap at shopping center ore or oar — rock and row pear pair pare — double a peel rain reign rein — umbrella sense cents scents — smell the money two to two, too — similar soccer scores towed toed toad — mutant frog dragged tutu to two — encyclopedia volume vain vein vane — sign of futile mining This entertaining page is just one of the many humorous pages showing how English language words can be fun, often being the center of jokes, witticisms, puns, and jest and bringing smiles if not laughter to the comedian in each of us.