Who said cellar door is the most beautiful phrase

A word as sensuous as a single malt. I never did get to kiss the boy in the corduroys but, if I had, I'm sure it would have been as lovely as "balalaika". This article is more than 9 years old. Here are some suggestions. Now we'd like to hear yours. And finally those Bs and Ls again … balalaika A word as sensuous as a single malt. In my wildest imagination, that phrase would have never come to mind. Apparently the people who study phonaesthetics , which is the study of the euphony and cacophony of words without regard for semantics.

Euphony is used most commonly to describe the pleasing, agreeable sound effect of poetry. In general, vowel sounds are more euphonious.

Cacophony, meaning harsh and discordant, is the opposite of euphony. In terms of phonaesthetics, cellar door is often held up as an example of the most euphonic sound combination. None other than J. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings , is credited as one of the first to make this claim. The first house my wife and I lived in had a cellar door , similar to the one pictured above, but not nearly as nice.

Like this work of art below by Robert Ryman, known as Untitled. By the way, if someone were to ask me for the most beautiful sounding word or phrase in the English language, while ignoring the meaning of the word or phrase,I would pick the word legerdemain. Word of the Day. Meanings Meanings. Previous What Does Contrail Mean? Word of the day.

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That's why there's a literary tradition of describing "cellar door" as the most beautiful phrase in the English language: The claim that cellar door is beautiful to the ear — in opposition to its prosaic meaning — has been made by and attributed to a wide variety of writers over the years.

What do you think is the most beautiful phrase in English?