Ever get a call from s scammer or annoying telemarketer? Don’t hang up, give them fake information. When you need to spell something, make it harder. Instead of “A as in Alpha, X as in X-Ray” say “A as in are, X as in xenon”.
Here’s a list of possibilities. There are more than one option for each letter. Hopefully they get confused and you need to elaborate. “No, No, not ‘r’, A as in Aisle, A as in Aural.”
There are several tricks here. One is to use homophones like Hour, Our, Are; best used together in the same word. Some are a reference to a different thing that is non-obvious until explained like saying sleep when you mean “ZZZ”. Another is silent letter like “Gnat”. The most common is non-phonetic consonant combinations like “Chasm”.
- A
- Aisle
- Aural
- Aye
- Are
- B
- Bee
- C
- Cue
- Czar — Zar
- Cede
- Charisma
- Chasm
- Champagne
- Chablis
- Celery
- Chorus
- Chimera
- D
- Djibouti — Ji booty
- Djakarta
- Django
- Djinn
- Djembe — Jim Bay — a traditional drum like a large bongo
- E
- Eye
- Ewe
- Earn
- Earl
- Euro
- Eight
- Eileen
- Eunuch
- Euphrates
- Eucalyptus
- Euthanasia
- F
- For
- Fizz — make a “fizzing” sound
- G
- Gnat
- Gnarl
- Gnome
- Genre
- H
- Hour
- Herb
- Heir
- Honor
- Honest
- Hors d’oeuvre
- I
- Isle
- Ian
- Illegal — Ee-Legal
- J
- Juan
- Javier
- Jalapeño
- K
- Know
- Knee
- Kneel
- Knife
- Knead
- Knight
- Potassium — chemical symbol is “K”
- L
- British pounds
- Like public transport trains in Chicago
- Listen
- M
- Mnemonic
- Me
- N
- No
- Nit
- Neil
- O
- One
- Our
- Owe
- Ouija
- Oedipus
- Oestrogen
- P
- Phlegm
- Phonetic
- Pneumonia
- Pneumatic
- Pterodactyl
- Phlegm
- Psalms
- Urine — gotta go Pee
- Q
- Qatar — Kutar
- Quiche — Keesh
- Quay — Kway
- R
- Like a Pirate — Arrrrrrrrr!
- Rwanda
- Roar — make a “Roar” sound
- S
- Sea
- Scent
- Sealing
- Sheik — Shake
- T
- Tsunami
- Tsar — Zar
- Teepee
- U
- Umlaut
- Urn
- Uvula
- V
- Vroom — make a “Vroom” sound
- 5 in roman numerals
- W
- Why
- Won
- Whole
- Write
- Wrap
- Wring
- Wrinkle
- Wrong
- Wrestle
- Wagner — Vagner, the German composer
- X
- Xenon
- Xerxes
- Xenophobe
- Xylophone
- Xiphoid process
- Xena Warrior Princess
- Y
- You
- Ypsilanti
- Yvonne
- Yttrium
- Z
- ZZZ — Pronounced “Sleep”
- Zwieback
- Zsa Zsa Gabor
- Zero
MCToon 