Words to Rhyme With: For Poets and Song Writers [Hardcover]

Willard R. Espy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1986 | ISBN-10: 0816012377 | ISBN-13: 978-0816012374

Words to Rhyme With lists more than 80,000 rhyming words divided into single, double, and triple rhymes. A 100-page primer gives readers the essentials of poetic technique, and a glossary defines 9,000 of the most eccentric words to rhyme with. Entertaining, clever, and easy-to-use, this is the authoritative reference on rhyme.

Features include:
A "Primer of Prosody" that clearly illuminates such essentials of poetic technique as rhyme scheme, meter, and the various poetic forms
A glossary of abstruse words, so that when readers see a word in the rhyming list, they can flip to the back of the book to determine its meaning.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This rhyming dictionary includes the author's primer of prosody, illustrated with examples from Espy's own comic verse. His explanation of forms ranges from the essentials of iambic pentameter to the obscurities of acronymic and grammar verse. The heart of the book is a rhyming dictionary organized phonetically by syllables into three sections: words rhyming on the last, the penultimate, and the antepenultimate syllable. Over 80,000 words are included, and though it will take a little practice to use, writers of rhyming lyrics and verse should be quite satisfied with this. The glossary conveniently defines the obscure words cited, and appendixes list further words with common endings; the index is to the first lines of Espy's illustrative verses. This is truly an impressive compilation. Stephen H. Cape, Indiana Univ. Lib., Bloomington
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 656 pages
• Publisher: Facts on File (June 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816012377
• ISBN-13: 978-0816012374
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,910,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight for anyone who loves rhyme and poetry, April 27, 2006

By 

Orin K. Hargraves (Westminster, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Words to Rhyme with: A Rhyming Dictionary (Facts on File Writer's Library) (Paperback)

I spent about six months updating Words to Rhyme With for the most recent (2006) edition; this gave me an opportunity to get acquainted with Mr. Espy's brilliant command of rhyme, and his unfailing ability to inject humor into his poems. Anyone who delights in the sounds of English will find this rhyming dictionary a joy to have around. The organizational scheme is slightly more challenging than you will find in some other products, but learning how to use it will reward you with new insights into sound patterns in English. The real bonus of this book are Mr. Espy's poems, which are scattered randomly throughout the book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch, July 2, 1999

By 

Thmazing - See all my reviews

This review is from: Words to Rhyme With: For Poets and Song Writers (Hardcover)

This book is engaging--not merely words in a list. And the accompanying poetry is fantastic and witty. Espy loves the language and this shows plainly in this great volume.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Oddly Organized, January 27, 2010

By 

Douglas J. Mason "douglas" (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Words to Rhyme with: A Rhyming Dictionary (Facts on File Writer's Library) (Paperback)

This book is definitely heftier and supplemented with additional material you won't find in other rhyming dictionaries. However, it uses an idiosyncratic notation for vowels. Clement Wood's rhyming dictionary, on the other hand, uses the standard notation you find in dictionaries, and then reminds you of their meaning and order at the bottom of each page, to help you quickly find the right spot for a particular sound.

This may sound like nitpicking, but I definitely switched over to Wood's dictionary since, from my experience, the fewer hurdles to getting to the rhyme, the more enjoyable and effective rhyming becomes. It's never bad to have two dictionaries around, however...