A New Phonetic Alphabet

For those who don't like
Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, …

a mischievously misleading, ambiguous, phonetic alphabet using English homophones, heteronyms and given names

(In a hurry? Use the brief version instead)

Letters (A–Z)
A as in Alpha
A
pref: aural or aubergine
letter: aitch(H), are(R), aye(I)
homophone: air(ere, err, heir and Eyre), aisle(I'll and isle), ait/ate(eight,8-ball), aught(ought), auld(old), aural(oral) [source], auks/aux/awks(ox)[aux is an abbreviation of auxillary] (Source: this might be from Martha Wells in Network Effect), awed(odd)
variants: aeon/eon, aerie/aery/airy/eyrie, aesthetic/esthetic, afreet/afrit/efreet/ifrit
silent initial letter*: aeon or aesthete
analogue: chemical symbol for Silver (Ag) or Gold (Au)
name: Aaron(Erin), Aeofie, Aesop [source (Christina Pila)], Ava(Ewa)
[misc.]: aegis, any(N.E.), au courant, au lait(Olé), aubergine, aura, auto(Otto)
B as in Bravo
B
pref: bdellium
silent initial letter: bdellium
description: the insect that makes honey (apian)
analogue: 300 in medieval Roman numerals [source (Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)]
[misc.]: baryon number [source (Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)], are/esse/exist/is (as in be) [via an anonymous friend]
C as in Charlie
C
pref: cue or canine
letter: cay(K) or cue(Q)
homophone: catarrh(Qatar), cay(key/quay), cede(seed), ceiling(sealing), cell(sell), cellar(seller), censor(sensor), cent(sent/scent), cereal(serial), chaos(KAOS), Chi.(shy), chic(sheik), choir(quire), chute(shoot), cite(sight/site), city(sitee), cling on(Klingon), coal(kohl), coy(koi), crew(krewe), cue(Kew/queue), curd(Kurd), curt(Kurt), cygnet(signet), cymbal(symbol), or cynophobia(sinophobia) [credit BBC's Brain of Britain (radio quiz programme) Semi-Final 1, ]
variants: caffetan/cafetan/coftan/kaftan, carat/karat, catsup/ketchup, ceratin/keratin, cissy/sissy, cistvaen/kistvaen, curb/kerb, cashmere/Kashmir?, csar/czar/tsar/tzar [source: Lynne Murphy (Linguist at Univ. Sussex)]
silent initial letter: ctenophora, chthonic or cnidaria
double letter phoneme: Chablis, chabazite, chai, charisma, chasm, Chianti, chorus
analogue: big, blue wobbly thing that mermaids live in [source: Ink and Incapability episode of Black Adder the Third (by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton) [record at imdb.com] [clip on YouTube] via an anonymous friend], ¢/d/penny [see note below], (One) hundred in Roman numerals
name: Caleigh, Carol(Karol), Catherine(Katherine), C. D.[as in C. D. Howe](seedy), Chagas disease, Cher(share), Cheryl(Sheryl), Chris(Kris), Cisco® [computer networks company](Sysco® [food services corporation]), Cuba, Cy[as in the late Cy Young](Greek letter psi[ψ and Ψ]/sigh) or Cyd [as in the late Cyd Charisse](Sid)
[misc.]: canine, ceilidh, celery, Celtic, chaeta, chimera, chi (χ and Χ, see also X and note that Chi. is an abbreviation for Chicago often pronounced identically to shy), cigar or cucumber
D as in Delta
D
pref: djin or double-U
letter: double-U
homophone: djin(gin)
analogue: Five hundred in Roman numerals, penny/pence [source (Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)][See also note about ¢ under C]
name: Django
[misc.]: dollar sign($, see S)
E as in Echo
E
pref: ewe or eye
letter: eh(A), eks(X), el/ell(L), em(M), en(N), ewe(U), eye(I)
homophone: eye(aye), earn(urn), eight(ait/ate), em (unit), ewe(you/yew), ere/err(air, heir, Eyre), err(Ur)[see note under U], eave/eve(Yves), ewer(your/you're), ex (unit) or eyelet(islet)
variants: efreet/afreet/afrit/ifrit, empty (if pronounced with a silent p to sound like the abbreviation M.T.), eon/aeon, eyrie/aery/aerie(airy), esthetic/aesthetic, either(with an initial long-E or long-I)
analogue: 250 in medieval Roman numerals [source (Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)], former spouse (ex-)
name: Eileen (when pronounced with an initial long-I), Ellen, Erin(Aaron), Euler (as in Leonhard Euler), Eugene, Eunice, Eve(Yves), Ewa(Ava) [link to pronunciation note (at www.pronouncenames.com)], Eyre (literary character and novel by Charlotte Brontë)
homograph: see note about Err, under U
[misc.]: eau-de-Cologne, effluent, eider, elbow, elegiac, elevator, embrace, emcee(M.C.), emend, Emmy(M.E.)[as in Emmy Award], English, envy(N.V.), escalator, eucalyptus (and eukaryote, eunuchs(Unix™) and Eureka etc.), excel(X.L.), excess(X.S.), explain, extra-large(XL), exquisite, euthanasia(youth in Asia), (or earl?)
F as in Foxtrot
F
pref: faze
homophone: faro(pharaoh), faze(phase), felt(veld), few(phew), fie(phi), file(phial), fill(Phil), filly[young female horse](Philly [colloquialism for city of Philadelphia]), fish(Phish), flocks(phlox)
variants: fantasm(phantasm) [source (Everett Howe)]
analogue: chemical symbol for Iron (Fe)
G as in Golf
G
pref: gneiss
homophone: gneiss(nice), gibe(jibe), genes(jeans), gest(jest), gym(jim) or gnu(new/nu/knew)[Nu as in the Greek letter, ν, not the interjection]
variants: gaol/jail, geez/jeez, gel/jell[see note under J]
silent initial letter: gnarl, gnat, gnaw(nah/naw), gnocchi or gnu(knew/new/nu)
analogue: (one) thousand [a grand is slang for a thousand dollars] (see also K & M)
name: Gennifer [as in Gennifer Flowers] (Jennifer), Geoffrey(Jeffrey), Geri(Jerry)[as in Geri Halliwell], German(Jermyn)[as in London's Jermyn St], Gerry(Jerry)[as in Gerry Adams], Gilles(Jill/gill) [link to sound file with pronunciation (from the Internet Archive's cache of about.com) & (see note about gill below)], Gzowski [as in the late CBC radio and TV show host Peter Gzowski]
homograph: see note about gill, below
[misc.]: gill(Gilles/Jill), gym(Jim), gyro
H as in Hotel
H
pref: heir
homophone: heir(air/ere/err/Eyre?), hoard/horde(whored), hole(whole) or hour(our & are)
silent first letter: honour, heir or hoard
analogue: aspiration(in phonetics), Eta (capital Greek letter η is the same grapheme as H in the Roman alphabet) or chemical symbol for Mercury [Hg]
name: Heloise, Hugo/Yugo
I as in India
I
pref: isle
homophone: isle/I'll(aisle), islet(eyelet) or won (as an analogue for one)
variants: ifrit/afreet/afrit/efreet
description: The perpendicular pronoun from The Skeleton in the Cupboard [an episode of the TV programme Yes Minister by Anthony Jay and Jonathan Lynn] or me
analogue: Current(currant) from Physics, One (in Roman numerals and on some old typewriters, also a homophone for won)
name: I Ching, Iago, Ida (when pronounced with an initial long-E), Iwo Jima
[misc.]: ieie, iiwi, ilala or imprévu
J as in Juliet
J
pref: jai alai or juan
homophone: jaeger/jäger(Yeager), jeans(genes), jim(gym), jibe(gibe) or jest(gest)
variants: jail/gaol, jeez/geez, jell/gel [see note below], joozh/tjuzs/zhoosh [see note below]
name: Jeffrey(Geoffrey), Jennifer(Gennifer), Jermyn(German)[as in London's Jermyn St], Jerry(Geri/Gerry), Jian[as in musician and former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi], Jill(Gilles/gill [see note about gill]), Jim(gym), Jimenez [link to pronunciation note (at www.pronouncenames.com)], Johannes [as in Johannes Brahms], Juan(wan)
[misc.]: jaeger/jäger, jai alai, jipijapa [source (Everett Howe)], jojoba, junta
K as in Kilo
K
pref: Kew or potassium
homophone: KAOS(chaos)[see Wikipedia's disambiguation page for many meanings of KAOS], kernel(colonel), key(cay/quay), knave(nave), knead(need), knew(gnu/new/nu), knight(night), knit(nit), knob(nob), knock(nock), knot(not, naught, or nought), know(no), knows(nose), kohl(coal), koi(coy) or krewe(crew)
variants: kaftan/caffetan/cafetan/coftan, karat/carat, Kashmir/cashmere?, keratin/ceratin, kerb/curb, ketchup/catsup, kistvaen/cistvaen, Koran/Quran
silent initial letter: knight, knife, knit, know or knot
analogue: chemical symbol for Potassium (K) or (one) thousand [SI prefix] (see also G & M)
name: keto(Quito), Kew(cue/queue/Q)[as in Kew Gardens], Klingon(cling on), kneel(Neal/Neil/Niel), knoll(Nöel), Karol(Carol) [as in the late Karol Castillo], and Kris(Chris), Kurd(curd), Kurt(curt)
L as in Lima
L
pref: 50 or pound
analogue: Fifty in Roman numerals [source], pound (Lb. or £)
[misc.]: Llinás?
M as in Mike
M
pref: mnemonic
silent initial letter: mbaqanga or mnemonic
analogue: (One) thousand in Roman numerals (see also G & K)]
[misc.]: M.C.(emcee) or M.E.(Emmy)[as abbrev. for medical examiner e.g.]
N as in November
N
pref: nave or new
homophone: nah/naw(gnaw), nave(knave), new/nu (gnu/knew), night(knight), nit(knit), no(know), nob(knob), nock(knock), nose(knows), or not/naught/nought (knot)
silent initial letter: ngultrum [source (Ben Teitelbaum's The Devil's Alphabet website)]
analogue: Chemical symbol for Sodium (Na)
name: Neil/Niel(kneel) [see Dilbert cartoon for ], Noël[as in Noël Coward](knoll)
[misc.]: N.E.(any), Mozilla[Remember, it's spelled N-E-T-S-C-A-P-E but it's pronounced: Mozilla], sorry I couldn't find a definitive source to confirm, N.V./NV(envy) [NV is the USPS abbreviation for Nevada]
O as in Oscar
O
pref: ours or zero
letter: our & are(R)
homophone: old(auld), one(won), odd(awed), oral(aural) [source], ought(aught), ours?(hours) or ox(auks/aux/awks)
variants: ousel/ouzel(woosel) [Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 2 III.ii (see David & Ben Crystal's Shakespeare's Words)]
analogue: hug (abbreviation), zero
name: Oedipus, Ouija, Otto(auto)
[misc.]: oenophile? oesophagus [source (Malcolm Appleby) see also Wikipedia's list of Latin alphabet digraphs], Olé(au lait), onion?
P as in Papa
P
pref: pneumonia or urine [if you must]
homophone: phase(faze), pharaoh(faro), phew(few), phial(file), phlox(flocks), Phish(fish)[the musical troupe], psalter(salter), Greek letter Ψ(Cy/sigh), or Psis [plural of Greek letter Ψ] (sighs,size) [credit Fraser Simpson (The Globe and Mail, , clue 25D)]
variants: phantasm(fantasm) [source (Everett Howe)]
silent initial letter: pneumonia [source (the great Lily Tomlin, of course)], pneumatic, psalm, psalter, psyche, pseudo-, ptarmigan or pterodactyl etc.
double letter phoneme: phone or pharoah
analogue: pair/pare/pear(two/to/too), chemical symbol for Lead (Pb), Rho (capital Greek letter ρ is the same grapheme as P in the Roman alphabet), urine(a puerile pun, sorry)
name: Phil(fill), Phish(fish)[the musical troupe], Philly [colloquialism for city of Philadelphia](filly [young female horse]), Psmith [literary character from P. G. Wodehouse], Ptolemy
[misc.]: penny/¢/d [see note under C], peso sign($, see S), p.h.a.t. [abbreviation for pretty hot and tempting](fat), physics, physique
Q as in Quebec
Q
pref: quay
letter: queue/cue/Kew(Q)
homophone: quay(cay/key), queue(cue/Kew), quire(choir) or qat(cat)
variants: Koran/Quran
analogue: character played by John de Lancie on Star Trek: The Next Generation, etc. or character played by Desmond Llewelyn in many James Bond movies
name: Qaf[transliteration of Arabic letter ق  (source: The OCEL, p. 505)] , Qatar(catarrh), Quito(keto) (source: Fraser Simpson in the Globe & Mail during October or November 2024), Quph(Kof)[transliteration of Hebrew letter ק  (source: The OCEL, p. 505)]
R as in Romeo
R
pref: rye
letter: R(our & are)
homophone: rap(wrap), reck(wreck)?, rest(wrest), right/rite(wright/write), ring(wring), Ritz(writs), rot(wrought), rung(wrung), rye(wry)
analogue: ℞ (prescription) [source (Tristan Miller)], Thursday[abbreviation (incredible but true)]
name: Rennes(wren), Rex(wrecks)
[misc.]: like a pirate [stereotypical but funny (to my mind) none the less in much the same way that P can be as in urine] or 'rithmetic [one of the three Rs]
S as in Sierra
S
pref: see or serial
letter: sea/see(C) or seize(plural of C)
homophone: salter(psalter), scent/sent(cent,¢), sealing(ceiling), seed(cede), seedy(C. D.[as in C. D. Howe]), sell(cell), seller(cellar), sensor(censor), serial(cereal), sheik(chic), shy(Chi. [abbreviation for Chicago]), sigh(Cy/Greek letter psi[ψ and Ψ]), sighs/size (psis [plural of Greek letterΨ]) sight/site(cite), signet(cygnet), sinophobia(cynophobia), sitee(city) or symbol(cymbal)
variants: sissy/cissy
analogue: $ (dollar sign or peso sign), Roman numeral fraction for Half [source (Wikipedia ())], chemical symbol for Antinomy [Sb] or Tin [Sn]
name: Sheryl[as in Sheryl Crow](Cheryl), Sid [as in the late Sid Caesar or the late Sid Vicious] (Cyd), Sysco® [food services corporation] (Cisco® [computer networks company])
T as in Tango
T
pref: tsunami or tsar
variants: tsar/tzar/csar/czar, tjuzs/joozh/zhoosh [see note under J]
silent initial letter: tsunami or tsar
double letter phoneme: tsar
analogue: junction (see also fork as an analogue for Y) or tea [as in Green, Oolong, brewed beverage, 4 (o'clock) etc.] [source (Vicki Rosenzweig and collaborators)], two/to/too(pair/pare/pear) [two as in a pair, and vice versa]
name: Taoism [see Derek Lin's pronunciation note at taoism.net]
U as in Uniform
U
pref: urn or Uighur
name: Unix™(eunuchs), Ur(Err)
homophone: urn(earn), urine(you're in), use(yews/youse)
[misc.]: UConn [abbreviation for University of Connecticut](Yukon), Uighur, uke?
V as in Victor
V
pref: 5
homophone: veld(felt)
variants: vakoof/vakuf(wakf/waqf)
analogue: Five in Roman numerals [source], see(C) as in vide [source (Alan Connor in the Gaurdian)]
W as in Whiskey
W
pref: why or Tungsten
letter: why(Y) and wise(plural of Y)[source: NYT's Connections puzzle #350 by Wyna Liu]
homophone: wan(Juan), whole(hole), whored(hoard/horde), won(one), wrap(rap), wrest(rest), wring(ring), wright/write(right/rite), writs(Ritz), wrought(rot), wrung(rung), or wry(rye)
variants: wakf/waqf(vakoof/vakuf), woosel(ousel/ouzel) [see ousel under O]
silent initial letter: whole, whored, wrangle, wrap, wreak, wreck, wrest, wright, wring, write, writs, wrought, wrung or wry?
analogue: chemical symbol for Tungsten [W] [aka Wolfram]
name: Weber[as in Max Weber], wren(Rennes), Wyoming
[misc.]: Whānau
X as in X-ray
X
pref: twitter or xenophobia
homophone: X.L.(excel), X.S.(excess)
analogue: XL (extra-large[abbreviation]), Ten in Roman numerals, kiss [abbreviation] also 50 proof, strike etc. [see The Free Dictionary's What does X stand for ? for many meanings of the abbreviation X], Greek letter Chi (see also C)
name: Xenon
[misc.]: twitter, xenophobia or xylophone
Y as in Yankee
Y
pref: Ypsilanti or you
letter: you/yew(U)
homophone:yew/you(ewe), yews/youse(use) or your/you're(ewer)
analogue: fork[as in fork in the road or divining-rod etc. See also junction as an analogue for T] or Upsilon [capital Greek letter υ is the same grapheme as Y in the Roman alphabet]
name: Yugo/Hugo, Yeager [as in Chuck Yeager](jaeger/jäger) Yukon(UConn [abbreviation for University of Connecticut]), Yves(eave/Eve), Yvette or Yvonne
[misc.]: Ypsilanti, Yttrium or Ytterbium
Z as in Zulu
Z
pref: zhoosh or 2000
variants: zhoosh/joozh/tjuzs [see note under J]
analogue: atomic number [in Chemistry], impedance [in Physics], 2000 in medieval Roman numerals [source: Chamber's Dictionary, 12th ed.]
name: Zhivago [source (Tristan Miller)]
[misc.]: zee?, zhoosh [source (Wikipedia ())], zhuyin zimu? (or zhuyin), Zoque, zwieback? [source (Everett Howe)], zwitterion?
Digits (0–9)
0
nun
Oh
the operator
1
past of to win
perhaps something to do with BOGO
2
half a ballet dress
as in a two-four (a case of beer or a beer belly = multiple six-packs)
pair
bi- sounds like buy etc.
di- sounds like dye etc.
3
as in three for a dollar?
III (Roman numeral sounds somewhat like the exclamation Aye Yai Yai)
4
what people yell on a golf course
IV (Roman numeral sounds like abbreviation for intervenous)
5
as in the number of pins in five-pin bowling???
V (Roman numeral)
6
Latinate sex???
A Greek hex???
7
as in lucky number …
as in Seven ate nine
8
eaten
9
not in German