Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

hokum

UK /ˈhəʊkəm/ · US /ˈhoʊkəm/ noun

Forms hokums hocum

  1. noun (countable, uncountable, informal) (An instance of) meaningless nonsense with an outward appearance of being impressive and legitimate.
  2. noun (countable, uncountable, informal) (An instance of) excessively contrived, hackneyed, or sentimental material in a film, television programme, theater production, etc.
  3. noun (countable, informal) A film, television programme, theater production, etc., containing excessively contrived, hackneyed, or sentimental material.
  4. noun (uncountable, music) A genre of blues song or music, often characterized by sexual innuendos or satire.

Synonyms

bunkum absurdity all my eye all my eye and Betty Martin apple grease applesauce bafflegab balderdash balls baloney banana oil Bandini baragouin batcrap batshit bilgewater blah blah-blah blah-blah-blah blather nonsense bunk nonsensicality meaninglessness

Etymology

Uncertain; first attested as US theater slang, possibly a blend of hocus-pocus + bunkum.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “hokum”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details