In loving memory of Shirl Crowe (1934–2024)
who brought Op-Talk into our lives.
Family history: Shirl Crowe first learned Op‑Talk as a girl growing up in Detroit, Michigan. Years later, she and her husband, Bob Ryan, used it as a playful code whenever they needed a moment of privacy around their ten children. The kids eventually cracked it, passed it down to their own children, and today a fourth generation of Ryans is keeping the tradition alive.
clear → clopear).-es) do not get "op".y counts as a consonant when it’s the first letter (you → yopou) and as a vowel everywhere else (sky → skopy).qu is treated as a single consonant cluster; the u itself does not take "op" (quiet → quopiopet).ai, ay, ee, oa, oo, ou, oy, ea, etc.) count as one vowel sound and get exactly one "op". Exception: ui not a diphthong in quiet.the → thope, requires → ropequopiopres.