“Rhymes with orange”
“Nothing rhymes with orange” is a longstanding saying in English literature. Dictionary.com pointed out in 2015 that both “Blorenge” (a mountain in Wales) and “sporange” (a sac where spores are made) rhyme with “orange,” but those two words are obscure.
“Rhymes to ‘month’ and ‘orange’ are still to seek” were cited in print in 1862. English librettist W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911) wrote in 1887:
“Any invention called, for instance a ‘Lorrange’ would surely be referred to whenever a poet wished to rhyme to ‘orange.’”
“What rhymes with orange?”/“No, it doesn’t” is a jocular riddle on the problem.
Google Books
16 August 1862, The Athenaeum, pg. 213, col. 3:
Pope, the elder, would have described “war range” as a very bad rhyme to orange. “Runn’th” is inadmissible. Rhymes to “month” and “orange” are still to seek.
Google Books
5 November 1870, Notes & Queries, “Rhyme to Orange,” pg. 382:
Chronicling America
23 March 1887, Clifton (AZ) Clarion, “Gilbert on Rhymeless Words,” pg. 1, col. 5:
Any invention called, for instance a “Lorrange” would surely be referred to whenever a poet wished to rhyme to “orange.”
Chronicling America
3 January 1907, The Sun (New York, NY), “Rhyme from the Police Bench,” pg. 9, col. 1:
There isn’t any rhyme for “Oranges.”
6 May 1920, Life
He (Ed Wynn—ed.) also wrote the piece, although he admits (in a gigantic announcement on the drop curtain before the play begins) that he had trouble doing the lyrics, pwing to the difficulty of finding a word to rhme with “orange.”
9 September 1927, Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, “Mutt and Jeff” comic strip by Bud Fisher, pg. 11, col. 3:
What Rhymes With Orange
OCLC WorldCat record
Rhymes with orange : a cartoon collection
Author: Hilary B Price
Publisher: Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews McMeel, ©1997.
Edition/Format: Print book : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Nothing rhymes with orange
Author: Mark McElwain
Publisher: Eau Claire, Wis. : Piggyspank Records, 2001.
Edition/Format: Music CD : CD audio : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Nothing rhymes with orange : perfect words for poets, songwriters, and rhymers
Author: Bessie Gordon Redfield; Hope Vestergaard
Publisher: New York, N.Y. : Penguin, 2008.
Edition/Format: Print book : English : 2nd rev. Perigee trade pbk. edView all editions and formats
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
Includes a phonetic spelling guide, a key to rhyming sounds that are spelled differently, fun sidebars, and a list of poetic terms. This book contains rhyming words that end in: act (abstract, attract, bract, cataract, compact, detract); ipsy (gipsy, tipsy); isp (crisp, lisp, will-o’-the-wisp); and, others.
Dictionary.com
Does anything rhyme with “orange”?
October 27, 2015 by: Dictionary.com
The rumor that orange rhymes with no other word is incorrect. Orange rhymes with Blorenge (a mountain in Wales) and sporange (a sac where spores are made).