January 21, 1997

rhymes for orange

Can you please provide a word that rhymes with "orange"?

No, of course not. Better men than I have tried for years without success. There aren't any examples of words that rhyme with orange in English; it's a classic question having no good answer.

However, just because I'm a friendly guy, I'll give you a couple of poems discussing this very point:

"Sad, Mad Song"

Love flies out of the window

When I come through the door;

When I come in through the window,

Reverse, and pour--

So, partly serious, but more in jes',

I try to find rhymes for oranges.

--Samuel Hoffenstein

"The Unrhymable Word: Orange"

The four eng-

ineers

Wore orange

brassieres.

--Willard Espy

"Local Note"

In Sparkill buried lies that man of mark

Who brought the Obelisk to Central Park,

Redoubtable Commander H.H. Gorringe,

Whose name supplies the long-sought rhyme for "orange."

--Arthur Guiterman