It’s easy-peasy

Manche englischen Begriffe sollte man allein deswegen kennen, weil sie so schön klingen. ADRIAN DOFF erklärt ihre Verwendung.

WORDS THAT RHYME

If you like to keep fit, maybe you practise doing handstands or you go walking in the mountains with your

backpack. Or do you prefer to stay at home and listen to your hi-fi or read a cookbook?

So, what do these four highlighted words have in common? That’s right — they all consist of two words that sound good together because they have the same vowel sound and rhyme.

Here are some other common examples (some are written ⋅ as a single word; some are two separate words): A crop top (or cropped top) is a T-shirt or blouse (usually for women) that’s cut short to reveal the ⋅ stomach.

A hotspot is a popular place of entertainment, or a place where there’s a concentration of something dangerous, for example crime or a disease. ⋅ ⋅

Payday is the day when workers get their wages.

Tex-mex is an American version of Mexican food (as ⋅ eaten in Texas).

Prime time is the time when most people watch TV ⋅ or listen to the radio.

A no go is something that’s impossible or forbidden. A no-go area is a place you are not allowed to enter (such as a border area or military zone) — or shouldn’t go to because it’s too dangerous or violent.

REPEATED SOUNDS

Some pairs of words don’t rhyme but sound good because the consonants are repeated, such as hip-hop and pingpong. Here are a few others: ⋅ ⋅

Criss-cross means “to cross in different directions”. A zigzag is a line or pattern that goes left, then right, ⋅ then left again — like the letter Z. It is also a verb. Bric-a-brac consists of small objects and ornaments ⋅ that don’t have much value.

In dribs and drabs (UK) means “a little/few at a time” or “in small sporadic amounts”.