Quirky words in English

-
Quirky (adjective: characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits)

Happy new year everyone!

The last two years have been quite busy as I graduated from the MBA program at Schulich School of Business, found my first job in Canada at Ceridian, and finally a new home in York Mills, Toronto. It has been a wonderful learning experience during the 1.5 years that I've spent as a Specialist in Competitive and Market Intelligence. I'm interested to see what this year has in store for me, and hope you are as excited as I am about what I believe will be a wonderful decade ahead.

I'm now bringing my blog out of a long, but self-imposed, hiatus. I will try and stick to my plan of writing one blog article every month in 2020. As always, these articles will focus on anything that comes to my mind, and could be inspired by current events, technology trends, daily observations, etc. For February 2020, I've chosen a topic that will surely make you sit up and think.

Below is a list of quirky words that I'm sure everyone reading this must have come across at some point in their lives. I call them "quirky" because by replacing just one letter, you can completely change the meaning of the word. Talk about chance, eh?

  1. Change - Chance
  2. Does - Dies
  3. Dwell - Swell
  4. Wine - Pine - Dine - Fine - Line - Mine - Nine
  5. Well - Tell - Yell - Bell - Fell - Sell
  6. Wing - Ring - Sing - Ding - King - Bing - Zing
  7. Gut - Get - Got
  8. Gun - Gin
  9. Birth - Mirth
  10. Sail - Wail - Pail - Fail - Bail - Mail
  11. Crop - Drop
  12. Type - Hype
  13. Cry - Dry - Fry
  14. Learn - Earn
  15. Suck - Duck - Buck - Muck - Luck
  16. Crow - Grow - Brow
  17. Flow - Glow - Blow
  18. Drown - Frown - Crown - Brown
  19. Load - Loaf - Loan
  20. Burrow - Furrow
  21. Follow - Fallow
  22. Barrow - Narrow - Marrow - Harrow
  23. Toll - Roll
  24. Roil - Toil - Soil - Foil - Boil
  25. Million - Billion
  26. Fang - Gang - Hang - Bang - Pang
  27. Drag - Brag
  28. Submit - Summit
  29. Roll - Toll - Poll
  30. Rent - Rant
  31. Rank - Tank - Dank - Bank
  32. Lobster - Mobster
  33. Hand - Land - Band - Sand - Wand - Rand
  34. Sold - Fold - Gold - Hold - Bold - Mold - Told
  35. Sear - Dear - Fear - Gear - Hear - Bear - Near - Wear - Rear - Tear - Year - Pear
  36. Core - Fore - Gore - Lore - Tore - Yore - Wore - Pore - Bore - More
  37. Slow - Flow - Glow - Plow - Blow
  38. Process - Profess
  39. Present - Prevent
  40. Link - Pink - Mink - Sink - Wink
  41. Wind - Find - Hind - Bind - Mind
  42. Clack - Cleck - Click - Clock - Cluck
  43. Piston - Pistol
  44. Sump - Hump - Bump - Dump - Lump - Pump - Gump
  45. Beast - Feast - Least
  46. Seat - Feat - Heat - Beat - Neat - Meat - Peat
  47. West - Rest - Test - Pest - Fest - Lest - Best - Nest
  48. Wall - Tall - Pall - Fall - Gall - Hall - Ball - Mall
  49. Wood - Food - Good - Hood - Mood
  50. Pond - Fond - Bond
  51. Sickle - Fickle - Pickle
  52. Tie - Pie - Lie - Die - Vie
  53. Rip - Tip - Lip - Hip - Dip - Sip
  54. Top - Pop - Hop - Mop
  55. Barn - Born - Burn
  56. Whistle - Thistle
  57. Hoarse - Coarse
  58. Coarse - Course
  59. Toast - Coast - Boast
  60. Post - Host - Most
  61. Ware - Rare - Tare - Pare - Dare - Fare - Hare - Mare - Bare - Care
  62. Wick - Tick - Pick - Sick - Lick - Nick
  63. Mouse - House - Douse - Rouse
  64. Ran - Tan - Pan - Fan - Ban - Man
  65. Win - Tin - Pin - Sin - Din - Fin - Gin - Kin - Bin
  66. Toss - Loss - Moss - Boss
  67. Wool - Tool - Pool - Fool - Cool
  68. War - Tar - Par - Far - Jar - Car - Bar
  69. Tug - Pug - Dug - Hug - Jug - Lug - Bug - Mug
  70. Rock - Tock - Pock - Sock - Dock - Lock - Mock
  71. Luck - Lick - Lock
  72. Suck - Sick - Sock
  73. Child - Chill
  74. Drip - Drop
  75. Wean - Pean - Dean - Lean - Mean - Bean
  76. Rust - Dust - Bust - Lust - Must
  77. Week - Reek - Peek - Seek - Geek - Meek
  78. Weak - Teak - Peak - Leak - Beak
  79. Great - Greet - Greek
  80. Wail - Rail - Tail - Pail - Sail - Fail - Hail - Mail - Bail
  81. Present - Precent - Prevent
  82. Peat - Seat - Heat - Meat - Beat
  83. Meat - Meet
  84. Will - Till - Pill - Sill - Fill - Hill - Kill - Mill - Bill
  85. Rut - Out - Put - Hut - Jut - Nut - But
  86. Weave - Heave - Leave
  87. Run - Pun - Sun - Fun - Gun - Nun - Bun
  88. Wart - Tart - Part - Dart - Fart - Cart
  89. Reduce - Seduce - Deduce
  90. Deserve - Reserve
  91. Reserve - Preserve
  92. Respite - Despite
  93. Defuse - Refuse
  94. Trip - Trap
  95. Flap - Flip - Flop
  96. Slip - Clip - Blip
  97. Slap - Flap - Clap
  98. Turn - Burn
  99. Crash - Brash
  100. Wave - Pave - Save - Gave - Have - Cave
  101. Wake - Rake - Take - Sake - Fake - Lake - Make - Bake - Cake
  102. Wizard - Lizard
  103. College - Collage
  104. Rope - Pope - Dope - Hope - Mope - Cope
  105. Wipe - Ripe - Pipe
  106. Weep - Peep - Seep - Keep - Beep
  107. Center - Canter
  108. Rush - Push - Hush - Lush - Mush - Bush
  109. Rust - Dust - Gust - Just - Lust - Must - Bust
  110. Wain - Rain - Pain - Main
  111. Wing - Ring - Ping - Sing - Ding - King
  112. Wind - Rind - Find - Hind - Kind - Mind - Bind
  113. Toon - Soon - Moon - Noon - Boon
  114. Pair - Fair - Hair - Lair
  115. Toss - Loss - Moss - Boss
  116. Tong - Pong - Song - Gong - Long - Bong
  117. Rocket - Locket - Pocket - Socket - Docket
  118. Wiggle - Jiggle
  119. Read - Dead - Head - Lead - Mead - Bead
  120. Joker - Poker - Toker
  121. Slack- Flack - Black
  122. Rare - Rate - Rape - Rage - Rake - Rave - Race - Raze
  123. Loser - Lover - Loner
  124. Wire - Tire - Sire - Dire - Fire - Hire - Mire
  125. Hurry - Curry
  126. Worry - Lorry
  127. Detect - Detest
  128. Detect - Defect
  129. Went - Rent - Pent - Sent - Dent - Gent - Lent - Bent
  130. Where - There
  131. Wow - Row - Tow - Pow - Sow - How - Low - Mow - Now - Bow - Cow
  132. Worse - Horse - Morse
  133. Weather - Feather - Heather - Leather
  134. Wight - Right - Tight - Sight - Fight - Light - Might
  135. Paint - Point
  136. Taint - Paint - Saint - Faint
  137. Whistle - Thistle
  138. Worth - Forth - North
  139. South - Mouth
  140. Play - Slay - Flay
  141. Slash - Flash - Clash
  142. They - Them - Then
  143. This - Thin
  144. Worn - Torn - Horn - Born - Corn
  145. Woe - Toe - Doe
  146. Wonder - Wander
  147. Road - Toad - Load
  148. Quill - Quilt
  149. Wilt - Tilt - Silt - Hilt - Jilt - Kilt
  150. Queer - Queen
  151. Wed - Red - Fed - Led - Bed
  152. Wit - Tit - Pit - Sit - Fit - Git - Hit - Kit - Lit - Nit - Bit
  153. Silver - Sliver
  154. Ward - Tard - Yard - Pard - Sard - Dard - Fard - Hard - Lard - Card
  155. Waffle - Raffle
  156. Attack - Attach
  157. Wet - Yet - Pet - Set - Get - Jet - Let - Met - Net - Bet - Vet
  158. Bloom - Broom
  159. Track - Trick - Truck
  160. Volt - Bolt
  161. Play - Slay - Flay - Clay
  162. Weal - Teal - Peal - Seal - Deal - Heal - Meal - Veal
  163. Contest - Context
  164. Test - Text
  165. Nest - Next
  166. Rail - Rain
  167. Water-Wafer
  168. Complimentary - Complementary (this set created quite an interesting conversation at work, which I, unfortunately, cannot share due to GDPR! 😆)
This is a growing list and I will continue to add more words to it as they come to my mind. Most of these words spontaneously come up when I'm at work, commuting, or just sitting and having random thoughts.

Have you come across any other quirky words like these? If yes, please let me know in the comments and I will add them into my list.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Xiaomi SU7: the little rice company did what the big fruit company couldn't!

-
Image
Who is Xiaomi? Most people outside China might have never heard of Xiaomi, a Chinese consumer electronics company that was founded 14 years ago on April 6, 2010. Back then, the company designed and manufactured cheap Android smartphones, which it only sold through online flash sales. Fast forward just four years and by 2014, Xiaomi was already the leader in the fiercely competitive Chinese smartphone market. Less than a decade later, the company became the world's third-largest smartphone manufacturer (behind only Apple and Samsung)! However, you would be incorrect to assume that smartphones are all that Xiaomi currently has to offer. The Xiaomi SU7 electric sedan How did Xiaomi become a carmaker? Over the last few years, Xiaomi has been quietly building its "Human x Car x Home" smart ecosystem that brings together personal devices, smart home appliances, and automobiles through its HyperOS operating system (formerly known as MIUI, or me-you-I). The company offers an inte...
Read more

Does Apple Vision Pro foreshadow a future of loneliness?

-
Image
  Apple Vision Pro At its World Wide Developers' Conference on June 5, 2023, Apple previewed the Vision Pro spatial computing headset, which might be the most "personal" device the tech giant has ever made. While industry analysts and tech YouTubers are divided over whether it is an augmented reality or virtual reality headset, I think the product demo that Apple showed at the event highlights how this headset could escalate the pandemic that nobody likes to talk about - loneliness. Watch the video below and you'll get a sense of what I'm referring to. As you may have seen in the video above, the Apple Vision Pro is a marvel of technology and a pinnacle of miniaturization. However, all the use cases of this device are extremely individualistic to the point that what used to be group activities, like watching movies or sports, can only be enjoyed by a single Vision Pro user at a time. You might think that its $3,499 price tag would prevent this device from reaching...
Read more

"Now and Then": The Beatles resurrect their timeless magic with a splash of AI

-
Image
The Beatles, one of the most iconic and influential bands in the history of music, have once again left their mark on the industry with a groundbreaking new song titled "Now and Then." What makes this song particularly remarkable is that it was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), an innovation that has the potential to reshape the way music is composed and appreciated. This blog is my humble attempt to explore the fascinating journey of about a quarter century that the last surviving Beatles embarked on to bring us "Now and Then." Before we dive into the creation of this song, let's take a moment to appreciate the enduring legacy of The Beatles. From their formation in Liverpool, England in 1960 to their disbandment 10 years later, The Beatles left an indelible mark on music, culture, and the world at large. Their timeless classics like "Yesterday," "Let It Be," and "Here Comes the Sun" continue to resonate ...
Read more