# English words with silent letters **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 7, 2022, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-with-silent-letters/974486 "2022-11-07T01:28:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-with-silent-letters/974486/41 "2022-11-12T02:29:43Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > M-W has that word with two different pronunciations. One has a /kw/ sound, but I don’t use that pronunciation. This question was the basis for the “NPR Sunday Puzzle” earlier this year. As you can see if you scroll down to [Last week’s challenge](https://www.npr.org/2022/03/13/1085833046/sunday-puzzle-word-sandwiches) here, Will Shortz accepted both the words posted in this thread, as well as a third he hadn’t thought of when he posed the question to the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-with-silent-letters/974486/42 "2022-11-12T02:34:06Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > as well as a third he hadn’t thought of when he posed the question to the audience. You mean “croissant”? Aw, c’mon! Lots of words count if Elmer Fudd says them. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-with-silent-letters/974486/43 "2022-11-12T04:46:02Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > This question was the basis for the “NPR Sunday Puzzle” earlier this year. How’d they manage to steal my question? Seriously, I came up with it on my own quite a few years ago and never posted it before this thread. I did pose it to a friend once, but I doubt he turned around and posted it. He just isn’t the type to post this kind of question. And do people with non-rhotic accents really begin _croissant_ with a /kw/ sound? ---
**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:** [November 12, 2022, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-with-silent-letters/974486/44 "2022-11-12T05:05:07Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > And do people with non-rhotic accents really begin _croissant_ with a /kw/ sound? ⁢ It does seem odd, unless you’d also say “cweate.” But but it seems the reason is that they’re mimicking the French pronunciation, and dropping the back R. That fits with people who say “oh-vwah” for _au revoir_. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-with-silent-letters/974486/45 "2022-11-12T16:19:11Z")
I can’t believe I missed this thread. Once again, in Dmitri A. Borgmann’s _Beyond Language_, he has an alphabet of words with silent letters. “V” is fivepence, which is pronounced “fippence”. (Merriam-Webster agrees.) His whole list is: A is for aisle B is for subtle C is for indict D is for handsome E is for twitched F is for neufchatel G is for gnome H is for myrrh I is for heifer J is for marijuana K is for knight L is for talkathon M is for mnemonic N is for autumn O is for leopard P is for psychoneurotic Q is for cing-cents, a game like bezique R is for atelier S is for viscount T is for hautboy U is for plaque V is for fivepence W is for writhing X is for billet-doux Y is for prayerful Z is for rendezvous ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-with-silent-letters/974486/46 "2022-11-12T16:22:44Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Q is for cing-cents Looks like the Q isn’t just silent, it’s in disguise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-with-silent-letters/974486.md?page=2)