"Just Say it Like it's Spelled..."

In class I often talk about how stupid that statement is when it refers to English. English may have the single least phonetic language on the planet, with numerous examples of the lack of correspondence between symbol and sound. We know it's due to English taking words from other languages and keeping the spelling, but it's really quite remarkable when you think about it. I cannot imagine learning English spelling as a non-native speaker!

• Words that rhyme: ache, break, and stake are all spelled very differently, but their IPA representation shows how close they are in pronunciation [eik] [breik] [steik]
• Another unlikely rhyming pair from The Simpsons: "Sardine Queen" [sardin] [kwin]

I'll keep adding to this list...