You’ve already met the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, and N. Now, it’s time to introduce you to the rounded vowels represented by the letter O.
Hello, O. You’re the second-to-last vowel.
Oh, yes, I am. Wait, unless you’re including…
We’ll get to that. Being the fourth most common letter in the language, you must be quite busy.
Well, I don’t like to brag, but…
May I say something? You’ve started every sentence so far with “Oh”, and I suspect the readers are already dreading the rest of the interview. Could you please stop doing that?
Ohhhhhh-K. I’ll give it up.
For the first time in ages, I am interviewing a letter who is also a word. [Sings] “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee…”
“… O for the wings of a dove!” You know, it upsets me when people use “Oh” instead of “O” when referring to me. “O” just looks so much better. Imagine if Shakespeare wrote “… may we cram within this wooden Oh, the very casques that did affright the air at Agincourt”? Nothing against the letter h…
I’m afraid that’s the Guardian style.
Eh?
Nothing against h. Or rather, O against h. Look here: “Oh not O”. So I’ll be editing your instances of “O” above. Now, here’s an interesting point for solvers: “NOTHING” in a clue might mean an O in the answer.
Are you saying I’m good for nothing? Don’t worry, I have thick skin. Besides, it means I can be LOVE, DUCK, and sometimes even EGG.
That’s something that sets you apart.
In addition to the expected “O-” words like OXYGEN, OVER, ORDINARY, OSCAR, and OLD, the mention of your shape alone can indicate your presence in an answer.
Yep. The shape our mouth makes to produce the “ohhhhh” sound is pretty much universal, even in languages with unrelated alphabets. I’ve been HOOP, CIRCLE, BALL, and simply ROUND.
You’re not as straightforward as C, for instance. When solvers see C in a word, they know how to pronounce it in their head. It’s not that simple with O. For example, “otter”, “oven”, and “once”. “To” doesn’t rhyme with “no”…
… as they say, “you say ‘potato’, I say ‘potato'”.
As for where you appear in words, you’re more likely to be towards the beginning. In Chambers’ “common words”, there are only 391 words ending with you. And what a diverse range of words they are! From akimbo to zoo, via blotto and cappuccino. Just like E and L, I quite enjoy my own company.
That brings us to an interesting device that might surprise solvers.
Are you referring to using SPECTACLES for an OO? Personally, I prefer it to the way Private Eye’s puzzle repeatedly indicates OO.
Seriously?
It’s absolutely true. Cheery-O!
More guidance
Cryptic devices: hidden answers; double definitions; defining by example; cryptic definitions; soundalikes; spoonerisms; stammering; containers; reversals; initial letters; alternate letters; cycling; taking most of a word; percentages of a word; naked words; first and last letters; middle letters; removing middle letters.
Bits and bobs: Roman numerals; NATO alphabet; Greek letters; chemistry; abbreviations for countries; points of the compass; more points of the compass; playing cards; capital letters; boys and girls; apostrophes; cricket; alcohol; the church; politics; Latin; royals; newspapers; doctors; drugs; music; animals; cars; cities; rivers; clothing; boats; when the setter’s name appears; when the solver appears; “cheating”.
Individual letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N.
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