Полная версия
Collins Rhyming Dictionary
On the coast of Coromandel
Dance they to the tunes of Handel.
OSBERT SITWELL
2.29 dappled, trampled, rankled, mangled, spangled, tangled, addled, handled, baffled, travelled, Harold, Jarrold, panelled, dazzled, * bedraggled, entangled, embattled, dismantled, newfangled, unravelled, untravelled, well-travelled, untrammelled, etc.
2.30 brambles, shambles, apples, hackles, shackles, ankles, paddles, sandals, vandals, baffles, Raffles, barrels, carols, Darrell’s, Daniels, spaniels, mammals, trammels, annals, panels, * at right angles, * Feast of Tabernacles, etc.
2.31 Antrim, passim, maxim, Maxim, * smacks him, catch him, etc.
2.32 Brabham, album, Clapham, Rackham, Malcolm, talcum, Adam, madam, random, tandem, atom, Chatham, sanctum, bantam, phantom, anthem, Grantham, fathom, alum, Balham, Calum, Malham, carom, marram, antrum, tantrum, angstrom, ashram, stannum, magnum, sphagnum, gladsome, handsome, hansom, ransom, Ransome, transom, chasm, spasm, Masham, * amalgam, macadam, McCallum, alarum, panjandrum, per annum, phantasm, * sarcasm, orgasm, * memorandum, cataplasm, ectoplasm, neoplasm, pleonasm, cytoplasm, protoplasm, * nil desperandum, iconoclasm, enthusiasm, * grab ’em, had ’em, etc.
2.33 albums, Adams, Addams, atoms, fathoms, Calum’s, tantrums, spasms, etc.
2.34 cabin, hatpin, backspin, napkin, Atkin, catkin, Slatkin, lambkin, Rankin, lambskin, stand-in, Latin, satin, captain, plantain, Baffin, Gavin, Alvin, Calvin, chaplain, Chaplin, Jacklin, Franklin, Shanklin, javelin, Hamelin, Hamlyn, aspirin, chagrin, Kathryn, Brangwyn, sanguine, Chatwin, famine, gamin, admin, jasmine, Yasmin, tannin, * grimalkin, Aladdin, Prestatyn, prolactin, examine, assassin, imagine, * Portakabin®, alexandrine, re-examine, cross-examine, * grabbin’, slackin’, etc.
2.35 cap’n, happen, crampon, dampen, aspen, blacken, bracken, clachan, slacken, Strachan, Gascon, dragon, flagon, wagon, bad ’un, gladden, madden, sadden, Camden, Hampden, Brandon, Landon, Ramsden, baton, batten, fatten, flatten, Grattan, Hatton, patten, pattern, Patton, platen, Saturn, slattern, Staten, Tatton, Clapton, Hampton, Acton, Clacton, plankton, Lambton, canton, lantern, Langton, Aston, pastern, capstan, Caxton, Paxton, Gladstone, Branston, Ashton, Cavan, cavern, raven, tavern, Alan, Allen, Callan, Fallon, gallon, talon, raglan, Raglan, Scanlon, Aran, Arran, Arun, baron, barren, Darren, Karen, marron, Sharon, saffron, scallion, stallion, banyan, canyon, Ammon, gammon, mammon, salmon, shaman, cabman, chapman, Chapman, Hackman, bagman, flagman, ragman, swagman, adman, Bradman, Caedmon, madman, batman, hangman, axeman, cracksman, Flaxman, Paxman, Manxman, batsman, Tasman, bandsman, clansman, Flashman, cannon, canon, Shannon, Casson, Masson, flaxen, Jackson, klaxon, Saxon, waxen, Datsun, Samson, Branson, Jansen, Manson, Nansen, damson, Kansan, ashen, fashion, passion, ration, caption, action, faction, fraction, traction, sanction, mansion, scansion, stanchion, * Sri Lankan, Alaskan, Nebraskan, Pendragon, Abaddon, McFadden, abandon, Rwandan, Ugandan, Manhattan, harmattan, Mountbatten, Rockhampton, Northampton, Southampton, Okehampton, Hunstanton, Craigavon, Van Allen, decathlon, heptathlon, pentathlon, biathlon, triathlon, McLaren, Biafran, battalion, rapscallion, medallion, Italian, companion, d’Artagnan, Cro-Magnon, colcannon, Dungannon, Clackmannan, Guianan, Guyanan, Rhiannon, Montanan, Buchanan, compassion, refashion, impassion, dispassion, contraption, compaction, attraction, protraction, subtraction, contraction, abstraction, transaction, reaction, impaction, detraction, retraction, distraction, extraction, diffraction, refraction, infraction, inaction, exaction, olfaction, proaction, expansion, * snapdragon, bandwagon, backgammon, * Madagascan, Littlehampton, Wolverhampton, jack-o’-lantern, parrot-fashion, abreaction, satisfaction, rarefaction, petrifaction, benefaction, retroaction, interaction, liquefaction, counteraction, stupefaction, putrefaction, * self-satisfaction, dissatisfaction, counterattraction, overreaction, overexpansion
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no girl reaction.
MICK JAGGER & KEITH RICHARDS
2.36 happened, blackened, maddened, saddened, flattened, patterned, Langland, gangland, Hammond, dachshund, rationed, sanctioned, * impassioned, old-fashioned, unsanctioned, etc.
2.37 calends, badlands, dachshunds
2.38 cabins, hatpins, Atkins, catkins, matins, satins, captains, aspirins, Kathryn’s, * examines, assassins, etc.
2.39 dragons, flagons, wagons, battens, patterns, lanterns, caverns, taverns, Athens, gallons, talons, barons, Saxons, damsons, fashions, passions, rations, actions, factions, fractions, sanctions, mansions, etc.
2.40 lambent, rampant, bacchant, hadn’t, patent, Havant, haven’t, savant, advent, Advent, gallant, talent, arrant, Lamont, fragment, catchment, hatchment, stagnant, nascent, passant, absent, accent, hasn’t, pageant, plangent, tangent, * attractant, surfactant, reactant, apparent, transparent, entrapment, encampment, embankment, enactment, abashment, encashment, attachment, detachment, renascent, relaxant, cotangent, * re-enactment
2.41 savants, balance, valance, talents, Clarence, fragments, nascence, absence, accents, pageants, * reactance, unbalance, imbalance, off-balance, outbalance, transparence, embankments, renascence, * counterbalance, overbalance, etc.
2.42 grabbing, stabbing, capping, clapping, flapping, mapping, napping, rapping, slapping, strapping, tapping, trapping, wrapping, yapping, scalping, camping, cramping, stamping, tramping, backing, blacking, cracking, hacking, lacking, packing, racking, sacking, slacking, smacking, stacking, tacking, tracking, whacking, banking, clanking, flanking, planking, ranking, spanking, thanking, bragging, dragging, flagging, gagging, lagging, nagging, sagging, wagging, adding, cladding, madding, padding, banding, landing, sanding, standing, batting, chatting, Gatting, matting, plaiting, ratting, tatting, acting, Banting, panting, ranting, chaffing, faffing, having, babbling, dabbling, brambling, gambling, rambling, grappling, sapling, crackling, tackling, angling, gangling, strangling, wrangling, handling, Gatling, rattling, baffling, handspring, hamstring, lapwing, waxwing, batwing, cramming, damming, jamming, lambing, shamming, banning, canning, Canning, Channing, manning, Manning, planning, tanning, banging, clanging, hanging, slanging, gassing, massing, lapsing, taxing, waxing, bashing, crashing, dashing, flashing, gnashing, lashing, mashing, slashing, smashing, thrashing, catching, matching, snatching, scratching, thatching, cadging, * unwrapping, decamping, revamping, unpacking, attacking, outranking, unflagging, debagging, upstanding, freestanding, outstanding, adapting, attracting, contracting, distracting, exacting, decanting, haranguing, relaxing, financing, * handclapping, backslapping, catnapping, kneecapping, kidnapping, phone-tapping, backpacking, nerve-racking, hijacking, formatting, play-acting, programming, cliffhanging, square-bashing, gate-crashing, tongue-lashing, backscratching, * understanding, notwithstanding, subcontracting, photographing, undermanning, overhanging, * misunderstanding, etc.
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
EDGAR ALLAN POE
2.43 scavenge, challenge
2.44 gallop, Gallup, Salop, scallop
2.45 haggis, caddis, Gladys, brattice, gratis, lattice, practice, practise, mantis, Travis, Alice, chalice, Challis, malice, palace, Sallis, Tallis, Clarice, Harris, Paris, Janice, Daphnis, axis, praxis, taxis, * malpractice, Atlantis, oxalis, Beaumaris, Onassis, * praying mantis, prophylaxis, peristalsis, * anaphylaxis, * mutatis mutandis
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace –
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
A. A. MILNE
2.46 Abbas, tapas, Malpas, campus, grampus, pampas, Bacchus, Gracchus, Angus, cactus, Sanctus, cantus, canvas, canvass, aphthous, Callas, callous, callus, Dallas, Pallas, phallus, thallus, hapless, strapless, backless, trackless, thankless, landless, atlas, Atlas, hatless, tactless, cashless, matchless, arras, Arras, harass, mattress, Patras, actress, Lammas, stannous, drabness, dampness, blackness, slackness, frankness, Agnes, Magnus, badness, gladness, madness, sadness, blandness, grandness, flatness, aptness, rashness, Crassus, Lassus, lapsus, Kansas, captious, factious, fractious, anxious, * Barabbas, Cerne Abbas, Caracas, Damascus, acanthus, dianthus, embarrass, St Pancras, Las Palmas, marasmus, Erasmus, chiasmus, McManus, Manassas, Parnassus, * hippocampus, Diophantus, agapanthus, Rhadamanthus, Erymanthus, helianthus, polyanthus, disembarrass, benefactress, overanxious, * Grammaticus, * Halicarnassus, * track us, splash us, etc.
2.47 Trappist, Baptist, practised, backlist, blacklist, fascist, * unpractised, * Anabaptist
2.48 drabbest, dampest, blackest, slackest, dankest, rankest, maddest, saddest, damnedest, blandest, grandest, fattest, canvassed, ballast, harassed, * embarrassed, * unembarrassed, etc.
2.49 Lappish, snappish, blackish, brackish, Frankish, waggish, caddish, laddish, radish, Standish, blandish, brandish, flattish, catfish, flatfish, lavish, ravish, parish, vanquish, anguish, languish, Amish, famish, Spanish, banish, clannish, mannish, vanish, hashish, * outlandish, establish, McTavish, * horseradish, * disestablish
2.50 abbot, Abbott, Cabot, Albert, Lambert, Ascot, mascot, agate, braggart, faggot, maggot, Taggart, Calvert, ballot, palate, Barrett, carat, caret, carrot, claret, garret, Garrett, Jarrett, parrot, gamut, cannot, magnate, * Newton Abbott
2.51 Babbitt, habit, rabbet, rabbit, ambit, gambit, lappet, tappet, sandpit, bracket, jacket, packet, placket, racket, blanket, gasket, bandit, pandit, pamphlet, davit, mallet, palette, pallet, valet, tablet, applet, caplet, chaplet, lamplit, backlit, anklet, flatlet, hamlet, Hamlet, Hazlitt, Sanskrit, banquet, dammit, Hammett, gannet, granite, Janet, planet, Thanet, magnet, asset, basset, facet, tacit, transit, Cratchit, Datchet, hatchet, Pratchett, ratchet, gadget, Paget, * inhabit, cohabit, Hugh Capet, in transit, * pay packet, straitjacket, * leatherjacket, lumberjacket, underblanket, Shepton Mallet, pomegranate, Narragansett, * electromagnet, * had it, catch it, etc.
2.52 sabbath, Lambeth, Gareth, Brandreth, Dankworth, Tamworth, mammoth, Falmouth
2.53 captive, active, massive, passive, * adaptive, attractive, subtractive, reactive, refractive, inactive, proactive, substantive, impassive, * maladaptive, interactive, hyperactive, overactive, underactive, unattractive, unreactive, * radioactive
2.54 abbeys, cabbies, nappies, lackeys, hankies, Yankees, baddies, caddies, Andes, candies, patties, panties, pasties, cafés, navvies, alleys, galleys, rallies, valleys, families, taxis, pansies, Ganges, * Cervantes, * vigilantes, Happy Families, * Ecclesiastes, etc.
2.55 clappers, sappers, champers, Pampers®, crackers, daggers, staggers, tatters, Danvers, ramblers, stragglers, anglers, Stranglers, antlers, Hannah’s, manners, planners, lasses, masses, ashes, Ashes, flashes, sashes, patches, scratches, * maracas, molasses, * eyelashes, * carpetbaggers, etc.
Billy, in one of his nice new sashes,
Fell in the fire and was burnt to ashes.
HARRY GRAHAM
2.56 Jacobi, Appleby, canopy, Malachy, anarchy, Saturday, malady, parody, rhapsody, maggoty, Rafferty, carroty, faculty, atrophy, anchovy, apathy, Chatterley, latterly, Natalie, thankfully, tactfully, bashfully, gravelly, mannerly, palpably, affably, damnably, panoply, dastardly, gallantly, valiantly, randomly, handsomely, callously, tactlessly, anxiously, Hattersley, blackberry, Bradbury, Cadbury, Banbury, cranberry, Lansbury, hackery, quackery, Thackeray, Zachary, Calgary, battery, cattery, flattery, Slattery, factory, Calvary, calorie, gallery, Malory, salary, Valerie, saddlery, mammary, cannery, granary, stannary, tannery, brasserie, lingerie, Canterbury, Glastonbury, mandatory, lavatory, amatory, Daventry, gallantry, pageantry, cavalry, cannonry, canonry, alchemy, blasphemy, Laramie, balcony, Gascony, agony, Anthony, Antony, barony, Chamonix, scammony, Tammany, Saxony, calumny, abbacy, Battersea, fallacy, fantasy, bankruptcy, galaxy, Anglesey, allergy, * philanthropy, misanthropy, lycanthropy, O’Flaherty, catastrophe, philately, diastole, unmannerly, substantially, financially, infallibly, haphazardly, apparently, phylactery, refractory, olfactory, menagerie, preparatory, declaratory, retaliatory, defamatory, declamatory, exclamatory, inflammatory, explanatory, reactionary, academy, anatomy, transparency, analogy, metallurgy, tetralogy, * unilaterally, understandably, satisfactory, intercalary, haberdashery, self-explanatory, genealogy, mineralogy, * unsatisfactory, etc.
Oh, dear, what can the matter be?
Three old ladies locked in the lavatory,
They were there from Monday to Saturday,
Nobody knew they were there.
CHILDREN’S RHYME
2.57 plasticky, panicky, raggedy, Cassidy, tragedy, sanctity, chastity, cavity, gravity, suavity, charity, clarity, parity, amity, sanity, vanity, laxity, travesty, sacristy, amnesty, majesty, salsify, * rheumaticky, smart-alecky, Macavity, depravity, concavity, fatality, morality, banality, mentality, centrality, reality, legality, vitality, finality, formality, normality, mortality, causality, plurality, locality, modality, sodality, totality, tonality, duality, frugality, brutality, neutrality, vulgarity, polarity, barbarity, disparity, hilarity, alacrity, calamity, profanity, urbanity, inanity, insanity, humanity, capacity, rapacity, sagacity, voracity, pugnacity, mendacity, veracity, edacity, vivacity, tenacity, loquacity, audacity, opacity, fugacity, * nationality, rationality, practicality, abnormality, actuality, partiality, temporality, generality, bestiality, speciality, technicality, sensuality, sexuality, personality, verticality, geniality, liberality, literality, immorality, triviality, principality, physicality, whimsicality, illegality, criminality, immortality, informality, topicality, logicality, hospitality, cordiality, joviality, functionality, punctuality, mutuality, capillarity, regularity, circularity, similarity, singularity, insularity, solidarity, Solidarity, popularity, jocularity, Christianity, inhumanity, perspicacity, pertinacity, incapacity, * irrationality, impracticality, impartiality, conventionality, potentiality, eventuality, materiality, ethereality, congeniality, conviviality, municipality, originality, illogicality, irregularity, subsidiarity, familiarity, dissimilarity, particularity, unpopularity, peculiarity, overcapacity, undercapacity, * sentimentality, instrumentality, universality, horizontality, spirituality, * confidentiality, homosexuality, artificiality, superficiality, individuality, territoriality, unfamiliarity, perpendicularity, * heterosexuality
O wearisome condition of humanity!
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity;
Created sick, commanded to be sound.
FULKE GREVILLE
2.58 shabbily, happily, scrappily, handily, chattily, nattily, scantily, angrily, family, cannily, flashily, radically, practically, tactically, frantically, drastically, classically, magically, tragically, rapidly, candidly, avidly, languidly, placidly, fancifully, actively, massively, passively, dazzlingly, lavishly, savagely, Valkyrie, category, allegory, banditry, planetary, sanitary, transitory, gadgetry, tapestry, baptistry, ancestry, sanguinary, savagery, sashimi, satiny, captaincy, chaplaincy, cabbagy, strategy, * unhappily, uncannily, sporadically, dramatically, grammatically, fanatically, pragmatically, ecstatically, emphatically, erratically, dogmatically, traumatically, romantically, fantastically, sarcastically, theatrically, nostalgically, attractively, substantively, impassively, outstandingly, subcategory, insanitary, imaginary, * sal volatile, satisfactorily, mathematically, democratically, thermostatically, systematically, diplomatically, automatically, unromantically, geographically, biographically, photographically, telepathically, interplanetary, * enthusiastically, * melodramatically, idiomatically, etc.
2.59 thankfully, tactfully, bashfully, annually, manually, casually, actually, factually, gradually, strangury, January, actuary, sanctuary, statutory, salutary, * contractually, etc.
2.60 galloper, massacre, Málaga, Canada, Agutter, amateur, shamateur, baluster, Pavlova, Agatha, Gallagher, mandala, traveller, caroller, Pamela, bachelor, Angela, Flamborough, Canberra, Ankara, agora, swaggerer, batterer, chatterer, flatterer, amphora, gatherer, camera, hammerer, stammerer, wagoner, flattener, Kavanagh, Tavener, Taverner, canvasser, balancer, Lancashire, Staffordshire, aperture, tablature, tanager, calibre, calliper, Attica, trafficker, Africa, Anneka, brassica, Candida, lavender, calendar, calender, Lampeter, traditor, taffeta, catheter, janitor, ammeter, character, Alistair, barrister, banister, Bannister, canister, ancestor, Manchester, aquifer, Tabitha, algebra, Fatima, Latimer, maxima, patina, mariner, lamina, stamina, practiser, ravisher, vanquisher, packager, salvager, manager, scavenger, challenger, Salinger, Massinger, passenger, Slazenger, Papua, vacua, jaguar, Mantua, Padua, valuer, tabular, scapula, Dracula, macula, vascular, angular, glandular, spatula, blastula, valvular, annular, granular, * ambassador, parabola, enameller, Diaspora, mandragora, Niagara, philanderer, cataphora, anaphora, in camera, Te Kanawa, Northamptonshire, entablature, Excalibur, sciatica, cohabiter, per capita, parameter, pentameter, hexameter, diameter, voltameter, capacitor, submariner, examiner, Gargantua, coadjutor, oracular, vernacular, spectacular, rectangular, triangular, tarantula, campanula, * Addis Ababa, manufacturer, incunabula, unspectacular, * deus ex machina, cardiovascular
2.61 Gambia, Zambia, flabbier, shabbier, happier, scrappier, tackier, wackier, Saskia, baggier, shaggier, faddier, handier, randier, chattier, fattier, nattier, rattier, tattier, scantier, Mafia, raffia, clavier, Xavier, Latvia, salvia, Anthea, dallier, rallier, Anglia, ganglia, barrier, carrier, farrier, harrier, Harrier, tarrier, Cambria, angrier, sangria, Andrea, kalmia, cannier, pannier, daphnia, cassia, gassier, glacier, fancier, Lancia, brassiere, snazzier, catchier, * unhappier, Slovakia, souvlakia, Finlandia, agraphia, dysgraphia, espalier, ophthalmia, Britannia, Hispania, eclampsia, ataxia, apraxia, dystaxia, dyspraxia, estancia, financier, * chocolatier, Alitalia, Alexandria, pre-eclampsia, * Czechoslovakia, etc.
2.62 canopied, parodied, atrophied, galleried, salaried
2.63 balloted, patented, talented, rabbited, jacketed, blanketed, faceted, * untalented, inhabited, cohabited, * uninhabited, multifaceted
2.64 mappable, palpable, placable, sackable, stackable, bankable, tractable, affable, fallible, arable, parable, sparable, flammable, scannable, damnable, taxable, cashable, catchable, matchable, frangible, tangible, manacle, Arundel, palatal, mackerel, admiral, lateral, natural, caramel, bacchanal, national, rational, factional, fractional, prandial, axial, mandible, cannibal, Hannibal, maniple, manciple, radical, practical, tactical, canticle, graphical, clavicle, classical, fascicle, magical, tragical, madrigal, capital, Capitol, marital, sagittal, fanciful, lacrimal, animal, maximal, paginal, Samuel, annual, manual, casual, actual, factual, tactual, gradual, valuable, Hasdrubal, chasuble, * unflappable, impalpable, implacable, compatible, get-at-able, adaptable, contactable, intractable, infallible, inflammable, nonflammable, programmable, irascible, impassible, collapsible, nontaxable, unmatchable, detachable, intangible, collateral, bilateral, trilateral, Canaveral, bicameral, unnatural, diaconal, decagonal, heptagonal, pentagonal, hexagonal, diagonal, octagonal, irrational, transactional, preprandial, postprandial, coaxial, sabbatical, grammatical, fanatical, piratical, unpractical, impractical, fantastical, theatrical, botanical, mechanical, tyrannical, pyramidal, premarital, extramarital, Emmanuel, biannual, contractual, invaluable, * understandable, incompatible, un-get-at-able, equilateral, quadrilateral, multilateral, unilateral, unicameral, preternatural, supernatural, international, multinational, mathematical, ungrammatical, geographical, biographical, typographical, puritanical, neoclassical, * ecclesiastical, * archidiaconal, lexicographical, * autobiographical
Rhyme
The rhymes in this book are based on the standard pronunciation of British English, that is, the way words are spoken in southern England by people who do not have a regional accent. Different rhymes are possible in other parts of the English-speaking world. In northern Britain, for example, words such as class, glass and grass rhyme with gas and lass rather than farce. And in the USA, missile rhymes with whistle, and fertile with turtle, as in the following rhyme:
The turtle lives ’twixt plated decks
Which practically conceal its sex.
I think it clever of the turtle
In such a fix to be so fertile.
OGDEN NASH
2.65 Absalom, Dagenham, Faversham, Amersham, cambium, allium, gallium, thallium, Valium®, capsicum, maximum, platinum, Sandringham, alyssum, stratagem, pabulum, * chrysanthemum, potassium, * mesembryanthemum
2.66 Aragon, paragon, tarragon, Flanagan, mastodon, Clarendon, Sarandon, Chatterton, Atherton, Allerton, Appleton, Shackleton, Athelstan, marathon, Marathon, Callaghan, Hanrahan, Cameron, Lateran, dragoman, abdomen, Andaman, Bannerman, cattleman, Algernon, Andersen, Anderson, Patterson, Saracen, Mackeson, Amundsen, Adamson, Amazon, habergeon, pathogen, allergen, halogen, androgen, Albion, Gambian, Zambian, campion, Campion, champion, Grampian, rampion, tampion, Andean, Scandian, Dantean, Kantian, bastion, Latvian, Pantheon, galleon, scallion, stallion, Anglian, ganglion, carrion, clarion, Darien, Marian, Marion, Cambrian, Bactrian, amnion, halcyon, Vatican, Anglican, African, Rattigan, harridan, Macedon, Chalcedon, Abingdon, Farringdon, Hamilton, badminton, Badminton, Babington, Addington, Paddington, Allington, Barrington, Carrington, Harrington, Accrington, lamington, Galveston, sacristan, antiphon, tallyman, Harriman, talisman, Addison, Madison, Grandison, Salvesen, Mathieson, Alison, malison, garrison, Harrison, Acheson, Atkinson, antigen, Papuan, Paduan, albumen, acumen, * Decameron, Sanatogen®, Slovakian, Atlantean, Sebastian, battalion, rapscallion, medallion, Italian, Heraklion, Calabrian, Cantabrian, Lancastrian, Parnassian, Circassian, South African, Penhaligon, Mohammedan, Samaritan, Saskatchewan, caparison, comparison, gargantuan, * Tetragrammaton, Trinidadian, Alexandrian, Zoroastrian, * Czechoslovakian
2.67 battalions, Italians, shenanigans, Samaritans, comparisons, etc.