-ow-

The rhymes in this section have the ‘ow’ sound of cow and louder as their main or final vowel sound.

29.1 bough, bow, brow, chow, ciao, cow, Dão, dhow, Dow, Frau, how, Howe, Lao, Mao, now, ow, plough, Plough, prow, row, scow, slough, Slough, sough, sow, Tao, tau, thou, vow, wow, * cacao, Macao, avow, allow, meow, Bilbao, endow, enow, kowtow, * Cracow, Spandau, Nassau, pilau, eyebrow, highbrow, Moldau, hausfrau, bow-wow, powwow, Mau Mau, know-how, nohow, snowplough, lowbrow, somehow, Lucknow, Jungfrau, moo-cow, * anyhow, disavow, disallow, middlebrow, Mindanao, Löwenbräu, Curaçao, * Concertgebouw, Guinea-Bissau, * Oberammergau

Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough

It isn’t fit for humans now,

There isn’t grass to graze a cow.

Swarm over, Death!

JOHN BETJEMAN

29.2 couch, crouch, grouch, ouch, pouch, slouch, vouch

29.3 bowed, cloud, cowed, crowd, loud, Oudh, ploughed, proud, rowed, Saud, shroud, Stroud, vowed, * unbowed, avowed, aloud, Macleod, unploughed, endowed, becloud, enshroud, O’Dowd, kowtowed, * in-crowd, * beetlebrowed, ibn-Saud, overcloud, overcrowd, thundercloud

29.4 [see also] cowl, foul, fowl, growl, howl, jowl, owl, prowl, Raoul, scowl, yowl, * afoul, befoul, * peafowl, wildfowl, moorfowl, * waterfowl, cheek by jowl

29.5 Braun, brown, Brown, Browne, clown, crown, Crown, down, Down, drown, frown, gown, noun, town, * run-down, uptown, sit-down, renown, lie-down, von Braun, downtown, * clampdown, crackdown, Sandown, Lansdowne, Ashdown, splashdown, markdown, breakdown, shakedown, Cape Town, Jamestown, letdown, meltdown, Freetown, Queenstown, Piltdown, Kingstown, Bridgetown, climb-down, nightgown, swan’s-down, Yorktown, Georgetown, countdown, Southdown, toytown, hoedown, lowdown, showdown, slowdown, close-down, Motown, pronoun, rubdown, shutdown, comedown, rundown, sundown, thumbs-down, touchdown, nutbrown, put-down, Cookstown, Newtown, boom town, * Campbeltown, Camden Town, hand-me-down, shantytown, dressing-down, dressing gown, thistledown, Tinseltown, eiderdown, Chinatown, Portadown, broken-down, tumbledown, dumbing down, upside down, one-horse town

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,

Upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown.

NURSERY RHYME

29.6 bound, found, ground, hound, mound, pound, Pound, round, sound, Sound, wound, * abound, unbound, propound, compound, astound, profound, dumbfound, confound, around, surround, uncrowned, aground, unwound, unsound, rewound, re-sound, rebound, impound, expound, redound, renowned, resound, * wrapround, background, hardbound, brassbound, chairbound, fairground, casebound, greyhound, playground, changeround, westbound, spellbound, elkhound, hellhound, earthbound, turnround, deerhound, rebound, eastbound, windbound, inbound, whip-round, milk round, strikebound, hidebound, ice-bound, fogbound, pot-bound, softbound, frostbound, clothbound, compound, foxhound, northbound, stormbound, horehound, foreground, all-round, outbound, southbound, housebound, showground, snowbound, homebound, stoneground, bloodhound, wolfhound, sleuthhound, newshound, * wraparound, battleground, Afghan hound, stamping ground, Sensurround®, turnaround, infrasound, ironbound, Outward Bound®, overground, overwound, run-around, underground, ultrasound, * superabound, merry-go-round, * theatre-in-the-round, happy hunting ground

Come, knit hands, and beat the ground,

In a light fantastic round.

JOHN MILTON

29.7 bounds, grounds, hounds, pounds, sounds, zounds, * abounds, surrounds, resounds, etc.

29.8 lounge, scrounge

29.9 bounce, flounce, jounce, ounce, pounce, trounce, counts, founts, mounts, * accounts, amounts, announce, pronounce, denounce, enounce, renounce, * mispronounce

29.10 bounced, flounced, jounced, pounced, trounced, * announced, pronounced, denounced, enounced, renounced, * unannounced, mispronounced

29.11 Blount, count, fount, mount, * account, amount, surmount, re-count, remount, recount, discount, miscount, dismount, * head count, re-count, discount, viscount, * bank account, catamount, tantamount, paramount

We all know a kitten, but come to a catamount

The beast is a stranger when grown up to that amount.

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES

29.12 douse, gauss, Gauss, grouse, house, Klaus, Laos, louse, mouse, nous, Rowse, scouse, Scouse, souse, spouse, Strauss, * degauss, delouse, in-house, * taphouse, madhouse, sandgrouse, guardhouse, bathhouse, farmhouse, glasshouse, almshouse, warehouse, playhouse, bakehouse, steakhouse, gatehouse, alehouse, jailhouse, deckhouse, penthouse, guesthouse, henhouse, workhouse, birdhouse, teahouse, treehouse, wheelhouse, greenhouse, fieldmouse, Brighouse, titmouse, lighthouse, White House, ice house, lobscouse, chophouse, flophouse, doghouse, hothouse, dosshouse, doll’s house, wash house, Moorhouse, poorhouse, storehouse, whorehouse, courthouse, dormouse, Bauhaus, roundhouse, outhouse, town house, powerhouse, smokehouse, roadhouse, boathouse, oast house, tollhouse, coach house, clubhouse, bunkhouse, Monkhouse, roughhouse, cookhouse, Wodehouse, Woodhouse, woodlouse, woodgrouse, schoolhouse, * chapterhouse, manor house, Ladislaus, Charterhouse, Lévi-Strauss, clearing house, Peterhouse, meeting house, flittermouse, Mickey Mouse, porterhouse, slaughterhouse, Waterhouse, bawdyhouse, boarding house, house-to-house, summerhouse, custom house, * Die Fledermaus, * Holyroodhouse

29.13 doused, Faust, frowst, groused, joust, oust, roust, soused, * degaussed, deloused, etc.

29.14 bout, clout, doubt, drought, flout, gout, grout, lout, nowt, out, owt, pout, Prout, rout, scout, Scout, shout, snout, spout, sprout, stout, tout, trout, * about, mahout, clapped out, way-out, spaced out, self-doubt, redoubt, devout, without, washed out, all-out, throughout, * blackout, hand-out, hang-out, payout, break-out, stakeout, checkout, sellout, workout, turnout, clear-out, eelpout, readout, bean sprout, printout, buyout, hide-out, whiteout, time-out, cop-out, dropout, knockout, lockout, opt-out, walkout, fallout, sauerkraut, blowout, foldout, dugout, cutout, lookout, umlaut, shoot-out, * gadabout, carry-out, lager lout, layabout, turnabout, litter lout, ticket tout, knockabout, walkabout, waterspout, well-thought-out, inside out, long-drawn-out, roundabout, roustabout, out-and-out, down-and-out, runabout, Brussels sprout

Ne’er cast a clout till May be out.

Saying

29.15 doubts, grouts, louts, Scouts, shouts, sprouts, touts, * blackouts, bean sprouts, dropouts, * lager louts, layabouts, thereabouts, whereabouts, hereabouts, Brussels sprouts, etc.

29.16 Louth, mouth, Routh, south, * bad-mouth, Grangemouth, bigmouth, Tynemouth, loudmouth, goalmouth, * blabbermouth, hand-to-mouth, Avonmouth, Lossiemouth, mouth-to-mouth

29.17 blouse, boughs, bows, brows, browse, Cowes, cows, dowse, drowse, house, Mao’s, ploughs, rouse, rows, spouse, vows, * allows, arouse, carouse, meows, rehouse, espouse, endows, * eyebrows, * disavows, disallows, overblouse, etc.

30.1 Audi, cloudy, dowdy, howdy, rowdy, Saudi, doughty, gouty, bounty, Bounty, county, Mountie, frowsty, mouthy, Southey, Cowley, foulie, Pauli, loudly, proudly, roundly, soundly, stoutly, cowrie, dowry, floury, Gowrie, Lowry, Maori, Cowdrey, foundry, Rowntree, Bowie, Cowie, Howie, brownie, Brownie, downy, townie, mousy, bouncy, blowsy, drowsy, frowzy, lousy, grouchy, slouchy, * profoundly, devoutly, Blairgowrie, Dalhousie, * housey-housey

30.2 Glauber, Cowper, chowder, Gouda, howdah, powder, Lauda, louder, prouder, bounder, flounder, founder, pounder, rounder, sounder, doubter, grouter, outer, pouter, router, Scouter, shouter, spouter, stouter, touter, counter, mounter, ouster, jouster, Crowther, mouther, fouler, Fowler, growler, howler, prowler, scowler, Bowdler, browner, crowner, downer, frowner, grouser, Hausa, mouser, Scouser, schnauzer, bouncer, browser, dowser, Mauser, rouser, trouser, voucher, gouger, lounger, scrounger, * profounder, encounter, announcer, denouncer, arouser, carouser, * gunpowder, rev counter, wildfowler, sundowner, sun-lounger, * Geiger counter, rabble-rouser, * found her, rouse her, etc.

We two should be like clams in a dish of chowder,

But we just fizz like parts of a Seidlitz powder.

DOROTHY FIELDS

30.3 clouded, crowded, powdered, shrouded, bounded, founded, grounded, pounded, rounded, sounded, doubted, flouted, grouted, outed, routed, shouted, spouted, sprouted, counted, mounted, jousted, ousted, outward, southward, downward, * unclouded, uncrowded, enshrouded, unbounded, compounded, astounded, confounded, unfounded, surrounded, unsounded, impounded, resounded, undoubted, uncounted, unmounted, re-counted, recounted, dismounted, * overcrowded, unaccounted, etc.

30.4 outwards, southwards, downwards

30.5 groundage, poundage, Routledge

30.6 Oundle, poundal, roundel, doubtful, scoundrel, council, counsel, groundsel, Mousehole, spousal, tousle, * arousal, carousal, espousal

30.7 fountain, mountain, * shoutin’, countin’, etc.

30.8 Cowan, Gowan, rowan, louden, Plowden, bounden, Broughton, Houghton, Rowton, Stoughton, cowman, ploughman, Hauptmann, Kaufman, houseman, Housman, groundsman, roundsman, townsman, * McCowan, McGowan, * Stockhausen, Munchausen

30.9 Dowland, thousand, * Newfoundland

30.10 couchant, * accountant, endowment, impoundment, announcement, pronouncement

30.11 accountants, allowance, endowments, announcements, pronouncements

30.12 bowing, ploughing, vowing, clouding, crowding, Dowding, shrouding, bounding, grounding, hounding, pounding, sounding, doubting, flouting, grouting, outing, pouting, Scouting, shouting, spouting, sprouting, touting, counting, mounting, jousting, ousting, cowling, Dowling, fouling, growling, howling, prowling, scowling, foundling, groundling, downswing, browning, Browning, clowning, crowning, Downing, drowning, frowning, bouncing, flouncing, trouncing, browsing, dowsing, housing, rousing, crouching, grouching, slouching, lounging, scrounging, * allowing, endowing, kowtowing, enshrouding, abounding, astounding, surrounding, resounding, accounting, amounting, discounting, announcing, pronouncing, befouling, arousing, carousing, * wildfowling, * disavowing, overcrowding, antifouling, etc.

30.13 Powys, prowess, countess

30.14 cloudless, boundless, groundless, soundless, doubtless, countless, foundress, loudness, roundness, soundness, stoutness, * bound us, count us, etc.

30.15 Maoist, Taoist

30.16 loudest, proudest, stoutest, foulest, brownest, * profoundest, etc.

30.17 roundish, loutish, owlish, brownish, clownish

30.18 Jowett, outfit, Howlett, owlet, * found it, drown it, etc.

30.19 outfits, Auschwitz, owlets, etc.

30.20 counties, Mounties, Maoris, Brownies, townies, etc.

30.21 powders, rounders, prowlers, browsers, trousers, vouchers, scroungers, etc.

30.22 doubtfully, scoundrelly, outwardly, downwardly, Chaudhury, powdery, boundary, drowsily, * undoubtedly, accountancy, avowedly, astoundingly, * unaccountably, etc.

30.23 counsellor, flounderer, Gautama, dowager, councillor, howitzer, * Newfoundlander

30.24 countable, bountiful, * allowable, redoubtable, accountable, uncountable, surmountable, pronounceable, * unaccountable, insurmountable, unputdownable, unpronounceable

30.25 countenance, * discountenance

30.26 trouserless, bounteous, cloudiness, mountainous, drowsiness, etc.