words without vowels

[R Buckley]

what are the longest words possible without using a vowel

[jane mark 2]

RHYTHM is one

[BourneStupid]

The only other one I've found is CRWTHS - plural of crwth, an ancient Celtic instrument. Can't find any longer.

[jane mark 2]

Crypts and Rhythm could be plural Rhythms 7 letters

[mike b]

(A pedant writes...) This is an old chestnut, and a silly and inaccurate one, based on the facile misconception that the only vowels in English are AEIO and U. Y in English is a vowel more often than not, and the W in words taken from Welsh is a standard vowel in that language. Even R can be a vowel in Srbian! Without a vowel, a word would be pretty well unpronounceable, apart from interjections such as Psst!, Grrr! and Hrrmph!

[jane mark 2]

Hhmmmmmmmm mike

[bricro]

Mike b reminds me of the question:

Five letter word with four continuous vowels in the middle!

[wideboy]

And the old 'chestnut' SYZYGY'

[mike b]

Couldn't remember the thingie for tongue-in-cheek :-) perhaps. Anyway, hope bricro isn't being too rude...

[grenaby]

rhythms is one word longer

[BriWrite]

The longest common word without a vowel is RHYTHMS. The OED2 has TWYNDYLLYNG(S).

[wideboy]

Come on, Brico, be brave - tell us.

[geo0939]

I was taught in the 1940s that a vowel was any letter that could be pronounced without any part of the mouth; i.e. lips, teeth or tongue , touching. Given this criterion, Y is a vowel.

[mike b]

Cheers, geo! Us pedants gotta stick together!