Date:         Fri, 15 Aug 1997 13:20:44 EDT
From: "wild tink..." <mbarker@MIT.EDU>
Subject:      EXERCISE: Just phor phun

A while ago, (on Tue, 5 Aug 1997 15:01:15 -0500 (CDT) to be exacter)
Phanny <corbett@sluaxa.slu.edu> forwarded me a little list...among
other fabulous factoids, it maintained:

:) The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different
:) ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A
:) rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode
:) through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a
:) slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

Your problem, if you take it on, is to use all nine "ough"s in a
RHYMING poem of your very own.  Couplets would be bad enough, I think,
but if you want to do tercets or quintuplets or other puppies, go
write ahead.  Just make sure the rhyming words help the reader to see
that rough (uff) is not the same as dough (oh!) and so on...

rough (tough?)
dough (though?)
thought (ought?  bought?)
plough
through
Scarborough
slough
cough
hiccough

feel free to use variations or substitutions (and of course, order is
up to you).  but stretch those rimes, make them climb...up the lime!

tink