Rail vs. Rale

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Grammarist

A rail is 1.) a horizontal bar with supporting vertical posts that acts as a barrier or fence 2.) a horizontal bar affixed to a wall from which one may hang things 3.) the inside fence boundary of a racecourse 4.) a stile 5.) the tracks upon which a train runs 6.) sending something or traveling by train 7.) to complain about something loud and long or protest something loud and long 8.) a small wading bird. Rail is used as a noun or a verb, related words are rails, railed, railing, railer, railage, railless.

A rale is a crackling, rattling sound someone with fluid in his lungs makes when breathing, usually rales are heard with the aid of a stethoscope.

Examples

FirstGroup has teamed-up with one of the companies behind the London Overground to strengthen its bid to run commuter rail services into Waterloo station. (The Telegraph)

While waiting to get our two suitcases from the conveyor belt, one eager employee was yelling at me for standing in line to use the handicapped bathroom in which they usually have an actual rail to hang on to. (The Canada Free Press)

She planned for picture rails instead of crown molding so she could easily hang her art collections. (The Winston-Salem Journal)

‘Nintendo is disregarding our distinctiveness’: Protesters rail against maker of Pokemon over Chinese name of Pikachu (The South China Morning Post)

Rails aren’t a group of birds well-known by the public, due mainly to their secretive and somewhat nocturnal habits. (The Waterbury Republican American)

“They call it the rales. High-altitude pulmonary edema is a fluid buildup in the lungs, and we could just hear that in his breathing,” said Lardy, a certified alpine guide and owner of Pikes Peak Alpine School. (The Colorado Springs Gazette)

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