# Do "thing" and "sing" rhyme to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 13, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718 "2012-02-13T16:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/81 "2012-02-14T04:47:40Z")
You think that non-rhyme is hard? Try “how now brown cow” in Northern Ireland. The first two rhyme but not the others. To me it sounds like “high nigh broyn cuay”. ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/82 "2012-02-14T05:02:04Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > Oh, good lord. > > I pronounce “get” with a short i sound - “git.” “Wet” has a more standard short e. > > “Thing” is more like “thang” - in fact, this is one of those words that took me forever to learn to spell, because I could never remember which vowel went in there. “Sing” has I guess a long e vowel sound. I can’t even try to make them rhyme without it sounding weird. I’m going to go ask people to read that page for me. > > My accent is primarily Midwestern (St. Louis) with a dash of rural Kentucky, but perhaps this is my own idiosyncrasy. Unless I make an effort, “get” comes out more like “git.” I can see what you mean about “thing” and “sing.” They rhyme for me now, but when I was a kid, before I started trying to eradicate my accent, “thing” was more like “thaing,” and “finger” was “fainger.” I can’t think of any other words that followed that pattern, though. I am from Louisville, Kentucky, where the prevailing accent is a blend of Midwest and hillbilly. My dad is originally from St. Louis. We probably have similar accents. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/83 "2012-02-14T05:23:15Z")
“Wet” and “Get” rhyme enough. (I tend toward “git” more than “get”) not entirely, but enough to make Dr. Seuss work and I don’t have to stretch too far to make them rhyme. “Thing” and “Sing” absolutely rhyme. I’m from the Pacific Northwest. > [@choie](#): > > So which vowel sound do all these words generally share, would you say? > > _eh_ (that’s “merry” and “ferry” to me) > _ay_ (for me, that’s… sorta… “Mary” and “fairy,” although those words really have a dipthong sound combining ay+schwa) > _a_ as in “hat” (for me, that’s “marry” and “carry”) The first and third, which kind of converge for me. BTW, while I can sort of, kind of hear the difference. If I heard a tape of someone from somewhere where they don’t merge saying “Mary” and “Merry” the words do not sound the same. However, I don’t assign any importance to the difference I hear. To me, your M"eh"ry, M"ay"ry and M"a"ry are all alternate ways of saying Mary/Merry/Marry and none of those ways is more standard than the other for any of those words. It’s the context of the sentence that lets me know which word you’re saying, not the vowel sound. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/84 "2012-02-14T07:04:39Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > You think that non-rhyme is hard? > > Try “how now brown cow” in Northern Ireland. The first two rhyme but not the others. > > To me it sounds like “high nigh broyn cuay”. I’m gonna be in NI on Friday and will check this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/85 "2012-02-14T07:41:06Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > New York, Long Island. Both sets of words rhyme perfectly. Even with a New York accent. Yup, this. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/86 "2012-02-14T07:51:05Z")
California Thing and sing rhyme. Wet and get rhyme. Mary, merry, and marry are homonyms. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/87 "2012-02-14T08:00:07Z")
Both pairs rhyme. Arizona. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/88 "2012-02-14T08:19:40Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I’m gonna be in NI on Friday and will check this. 🙂 [Here are various audio samples](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA9LeY1OaB8) - warning close-up Irish teeth and acne. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/89 "2012-02-14T08:22:26Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > [Here are various audio samples](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA9LeY1OaB8) - warning close-up Irish teeth and acne. Well now I’m confused. In the audio you linked some people do indeed say how now, and cow as rhyming, but some of them (specifically the Belfast accents I think) pronounce now differently to how or cow. Brown doesn’t rhyme with the other three in any dialect I know. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/90 "2012-02-14T09:58:12Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > And if someone pronounces “sing” as “Sang,” how would they pronounce “sang”? Sung? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/91 "2012-02-14T10:15:35Z")
They rhyme perfectly in South African English. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/92 "2012-02-14T12:00:57Z")
You don’t want to hear those words in my New Zealand accent. Your skin will crawl. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/93 "2012-02-14T12:32:09Z")
Even amongst people that say thang, I also hear them say sang. It’s because ing is always pronounced that way. I had no idea some people said thang but would still say seeng (or possibly sihng). . ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/94 "2012-02-14T12:43:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > And if someone pronounces “sing” as “Sang,” how would they pronounce “sang”? Sorange. ---
**Author:** ![ASanders](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asanders/32/3367_2.png) [@ASanders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASanders)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/95 "2012-02-14T13:42:01Z")
Both pairs rhyme, definitely. I’m from NYC. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/96 "2012-02-14T13:59:58Z")
Both pairs rhyme. Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/97 "2012-02-14T14:08:00Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Mary = rhymes with “airy” or “dairy” > Merry = rhymes with “ferry” or “very” > Marry = rhymes with “carry” or “Larry” Around here, all nine words rhyme perfectly (they all rhyme with “merry”). When I moved to NYC I had to learn how to pronounce these words differently, so natives could understand me. Then, when I moved back here 25 years later, I had to re-learn to pronounce them all the same. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/98 "2012-02-14T15:11:35Z")
Do people really say “John Carpentar’s The Thang”? That’s just all kinds of wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/99 "2012-02-14T15:24:55Z")
I grew up in New Jersey, with parents from Michigan. Both pairs of words rhyme to me, and would to them. I used to teach in Pennsylvania, and one day I spoke to the kids about different pronunciations. They pronounced “creek” to rhyme with “thick”, while I pronounce it to rhyme with “seek”. There were other examples. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/100 "2012-02-14T15:37:53Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I’ve read Hop on Pop many, many times in the last seven years. I’ve never had a problem with any of the words not rhyming. I can’t imagine “sing” and “thing” not rhyming, and I hope the OP comes back to explain how she says them differently. Same here, only it’s just been the past 3 years for me. That’s still more than enough to have learned it by heart. Especially after my son’s hopped on Pop 10,000 or so times. (“STOP! You must not hop on Pop” deflects him only briefly, needless to say.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718.md?page=6)