# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/161 "2012-02-16T22:32:18Z")
Duplicate post. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/162 "2012-02-17T02:07:57Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What are talking aboot? I met a very drunk Canadian last night and managed to make him say “out and about, eh” for my amusement. I was surprised to hear that to my ears he said “oat and aboot”. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/163 "2012-02-17T04:38:20Z")
Wet and get both rhyme for me as do thing and sing. I grew up in Alaska (we really don’t have accents). ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/164 "2012-02-17T04:44:54Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > And ring rhymes with thing… > > I mean…I know some people have accents/pronounciations that aren’t the same, but you must _know_ that pronouncing “thing” as “thang” is very regional, and that most people don’t pronounce it that way? I mean…surely you’ve heard people in movies/TV pronounce it as “thing.” Or is it one of those things (thangs?) where you sort of hear what you want to hear? > > Reminds me of my sister complaining about her students. Many of them will say, > "You, can I axe (aks?) you something? > And she’ll say > “No, but you can **ask** me something.” > They’ll go, > “That’s what I said…axe!” > > She’ll go around and around with them, saying they need to pronounce it as “ask,” but they don’t get it, because they are so conditioned to “axe,” that to them, “ask” IS “axe.” > > Either that, or they are being BLINDINGLY obtuse, even for 12 year olds (and many of them are good students, very intelligent, etc…so it’s not like they’re doing it on purpose to be a smart-ass.) Tell them it’s asskicking, without the icking. 😃 (axe drives me bonkers too, it’s not max for mask, or tax for task is it?). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/165 "2012-02-17T04:48:50Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Wet and get both rhyme for me as do thing and sing. I grew up in Alaska (we really don’t have accents). So do you speak simultaneously with an Australian, British, Irish, South African, Indian, etc. accent, or do you speak with an accent that Australians, British, Irish, South Africans, Indians, etc., would be unable to place at all? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/166 "2012-02-18T04:04:39Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Wow. Another ‘theng’ person. I have never heard anyone pronounce ‘thing’ as ‘theng’. I’m now wondering how common this is. I do remember from dialectology that there’s a dialectal area in southern Ontario and the northern Midwest where “bed” is moving toward [bæd] (like “bad”), in which case “bid” might well be moving towards [b3d] (like “bed”). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/167 "2012-02-18T04:17:45Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Wet and get both rhyme for me as do thing and sing. I grew up in Alaska (we really don’t have accents). So you’re mute? ---
**Author:** ![4everkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/76d3ee/32.png) [@4everkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4everkid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/168 "2012-02-18T18:32:38Z")
> [@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. I’m with you BetsQ! But not quite “thang”, that rhymes with “bang.” The i in “thing” sounds more like the the ai sound in “rain” or the ey sound in “they”… “theyng.” Although.. if I say “nothing” or “something” it rhymes with “sing.” And ditto on “get” sounding like “git.” I know “thing” is _supposed_ to rhyme with “sing”, and that “get” is _supposed_ to rhyme with “wet.” They just don’t come out of my mouth that way. I’m in Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/169 "2012-02-18T19:39:45Z")
> [@4everkid](#): > > But not quite “thang”, that rhymes with “bang.” The i in “thing” sounds more like the the ai sound in “rain” or the ey sound in “they”… “theyng.” Although.. if I say “nothing” or “something” it rhymes with “sing.” I hinted at this in post 128. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/170 "2012-02-18T20:38:46Z")
British here. Both pairs rhyme. However, Mary, merry and marry are all quite different. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/171 "2012-02-19T01:36:35Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > However, Mary, merry and marry are all quite different. They are for me as well. ---
**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 19, 2012, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/172 "2012-02-19T08:04:31Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > I grew up in Alaska (we really don’t have accents). Ok, but you do have _dialects_ . . . right? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/173 "2012-02-21T04:01:51Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > British here. Both pairs rhyme. > > However, Mary, merry and marry are all quite different. Even though I listen to a lot of accents, I have never heard or understood this one. Any distinctions in the way I say Mary, merry and marry are so small and subtle as to be non-existent. Where can I hear a recording of these three words pronounced so vastly different from one another as to leave no uncertainty to the hearer as to which is being spoken? ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/174 "2012-02-21T04:15:46Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > … Bwah? Surely, those words don’t actually rhyme in anyone’s accent, do they? If you do think they rhyme, where are you from? this thread is really interesting to a non-native speaker. wet get thing sing i understand accents will change a word’s pronunciation, but to not be able to see that it can rhyme.. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/175 "2012-02-21T04:39:12Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > My accent is primarily Midwestern (St. Louis) with a dash of rural Kentucky, but perhaps this is my own idiosyncrasy. My upbringing was initially St. Louis, too, and the OP’s both examples rhyme jes’ fine wit me. > [@4everkid](#): > > I’m in Missouri. Is that Missour-uh or Missour-ee? ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/176 "2012-02-21T04:50:37Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Where do you live? I don’t know of a native English accent where those vowel sounds are the same’ I’mcurious as to where this is. The above quote refers to the post saying that “We three kings sing,” and “eating green peas,” all have the same vowel sound. They do for me as well. Long e. I grew up in Chicago and now live in southern Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/177 "2012-02-21T05:03:52Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > this thread is really interesting to a non-native speaker. > > wet > get > > thing > sing > > i understand accents will change a word’s pronunciation, but to not be able to see that it can rhyme.. Exactly! I remember being taught in a poetry class in college that rhyme in poetry is often not a matter so much of identical sounds but of similar sounds and visual matches as well. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/178 "2012-02-21T05:11:44Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Even though I listen to a lot of accents, I have never heard or understood this one. Any distinctions in the way I say Mary, merry and marry are so small and subtle as to be non-existent. Where can I hear a recording of these three words pronounced so vastly different from one another as to leave no uncertainty to the hearer as to which is being spoken? I’ll look for an audio source, but in the meanwhile I can ask you if you can conceive that the words pate, pet, and pat can be pronounced unambiguously distinctly? The distinctions are essentially the same. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/179 "2012-02-21T10:18:10Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Even though I listen to a lot of accents, I have never heard or understood this one. Any distinctions in the way I say Mary, merry and marry are so small and subtle as to be non-existent. Where can I hear a recording of these three words pronounced so vastly different from one another as to leave no uncertainty to the hearer as to which is being spoken? You might not hear the differences if you’ve grown up hearing those vowel sounds as the same - as others said above, if you don’t hear certain sounds in babyhood it’s different to learn to hear them later. Trust me, for me the vowel sounds in Mary, merry and marry are very different - I’m not pretending they are just to confuse people. Mary = mɜ:rɪ Marry = mærɪ Merry = merɪ Even without knowing the IPA or being able to hear the differences between the sounds, you can see that they really are different vowel sounds in my accent. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718/180 "2012-02-21T19:19:47Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > The above quote refers to the post saying that “We three kings sing,” and “eating green peas,” all have the same vowel sound. > > They do for me as well. Long e. I grew up in Chicago and now live in southern Illinois. Actually, I could see how they could sound quite similar in a Chicago accent; they’re a very distinctive trait of Chicago speech. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-thing-and-sing-rhyme-to-you/612718.md?page=10)