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A after qu sounds like a short o?

That's a great observation!

While "qu" usually makes the /kw/ sound, like in "queen" or "quick", there are some words where it does indeed sound like a short "o".

The most common example is the word "quotient".

Here are a few others, though they are less common:

* "quoin" (a corner of a building)

* "quondam" (former)

These are all words of Latin origin where the "qu" represents the Latin "qu", which was pronounced like a short "o".

So, while "qu" typically makes the /kw/ sound, there are exceptions!

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