Double Double, Toil and Trouble

As part of my preparation for perhaps teaching English to non-native speakers at some point in the future, I've prepared another unit that has rhyme as its foundation and that then goes on to explore the occurrences of a very common and versatile word in the language, namely "double".

Song of the Witches:
“Double, double toil and trouble”
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (from Macbeth)

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

Investigation: Who was William Shakespeare and when did he write this poem?

Other words that rhyme with double, trouble and bubble:

hubble

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope named after renowned astronomer Edwin Hubble. It was launched in 1990 and is one of the great observatories of NASA.

redouble

make or become much greater, more intense, or more numerous e.g."we will redouble our efforts to reform agricultural policy".

rubble

waste or rough fragments of stone, brick, concrete, etc., especially as the debris from the demolition of buildings e.g. "two buildings collapsed, trapping scores of people in the rubble"

stubble

the cut stalks of cereal plants left sticking out of the ground after the grain is harvested e.g. "a field of stubble" or short, stiff hairs growing on a part of the body that has not been shaved for a while, especially on a man’s face e.g. "she ran her fingers over the dark stubble on his cheeks".

Phrases involving the word double:

double trouble as opposed to simply trouble.

What's the difference between regular trouble and double trouble?

double down is an intransitive verb.

If I double down in an effort to get a job done, what am I doing?

double up / double over

If I double up or over in pain, what is happening to me?

double back

If I double back to retrieve something that I left behind, what am I doing?

double take

If I glance at someone and then do a double take, what am I doing?

double-A

I bought some double-A batteries. What type of batteries are these?

double agent as opposed to a regular agent.

What is the difference between a regular agent and a double agent?

double or nothing

I'm gambling and I decide to go for double or nothing. What am I doing?

double-action as opposed to a regular action.

What is the difference between a double-action gun and a regular one?

double-edged

What does it mean to say that the consequences of my actions can be double-edged?

double-dare as opposed to a regular dare.

What is the difference between a double-dare and a regular dare?

double-barrelled

What characterises a double-barrelled question?

double-breasted

What does a double-breasted suit look like?

double-parked

What do it mean if I say I'm double-parked?

double-check

If I double-check to make sure a complicated device is in working order, what am I doing?

double-quick

If I change my clothes in double-quick time what am a doing?

double life as opposed to a regular life.

If I lead of live a double life, how is this different from leading or living a normal life?

double bed as opposed to a single bed

How does a double bed differ from a single bed?

double standard

If I'm accused of having double standards, what might I be guilty of?

double time

If I'm paid double time on public holidays, what characterises this rate of pay?

on the double

If I'm told to clean up my room on the double, what am I meant to do?

time and trouble

If I take a lot of time and trouble to do something, what am doing?

stunt double

If an actor uses a stunt double in an action scene, what is the actor doing?

double entendre

Accidental humour sometimes involves a double entendre. For example, "The children made nutritious snacks" can be interpreted in two different ways. What are they?