# Any fairly common word you've never spoken aloud? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988 "2011-09-11T23:30:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/1 "2011-09-11T23:30:44Z")
The Elvis/oyster thread inspired this random thought. There are a lot of words in common usage in written American English that seldom are spoken aloud, for one reason or another. My contribution is **grange** , although I have used it as part of a city name. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/2 "2011-09-11T23:45:02Z")
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/3 "2011-09-12T00:28:20Z")
But that’s simply, quite atrocious. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/4 "2011-09-12T01:27:27Z")
‘askance’. I think its a fairly common word and I am partial to it - but I am fairly certain that I have never had the occasion to speak it aloud. It just seems to be the kind of word that you write, you don’t speak. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/5 "2011-09-12T03:27:57Z")
Dachshund, but only because I worry that I’ll say it completely wrong. I think I’m far from alone, or else we wouldn’t have the label “weiner dog” too. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/6 "2011-09-12T03:35:06Z")
It’s not that common, except among pilots/aviation people, but I don’t know how to pronounce METARs and I worry that one day I’ll be forced to say it and I’ll embarrass myself. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/7 "2011-09-12T09:06:33Z")
When I read the thread title the word ‘fearful’ popped into my head. I’m fairly sure I’ve never said it aloud, as I would probably never say it unless that was how I felt, and I haven’t felt in a way I would describe as fearful. I’m also quite sure I’ve never said ‘pugnacious’, ‘boyishness’, ‘quantitatively’, ‘wainscotting’, or ‘fledgling’ aloud, either. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/8 "2011-09-12T09:17:26Z")
Perspicacious. I don’t even know what it means, so why would I say it? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/9 "2011-09-12T14:17:58Z")
is \*lacuna \*a common word? I just learned what it meant when I read the Kingsolver novel of the same name, and I’ve been waiting for an opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/10 "2011-09-12T14:58:01Z")
Maybe this says something about me, but I can’t think of a word I know, that I haven’t said aloud. I do tend to be overly verbose, or as my grandpa once said: “you’re throwin’ a lot of $10 words around at a nickel poker game, boy.” ---
**Author:** ![WILDJC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cdc98d/32.png) [@WILDJC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILDJC)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/11 "2011-09-12T15:13:25Z")
Redacted. \_\_ Such a strange word. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/12 "2011-09-12T15:17:02Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > It’s not that common, except among pilots/aviation people, but I don’t know how to pronounce METARs and I worry that one day I’ll be forced to say it and I’ll embarrass myself. I don’t think you can go wrong with this. The origin of the first syllable of the acronym is either English “meteorological” or French “météorologique”. Take your pick. Pronunciation by those in the industry is fairly equally split between saying the first syllable as you would say either metro or meet. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/13 "2011-09-12T21:24:16Z")
Thanks, **Critical Mass**. For a while I wasn’t even sure if it was generally _said_ or _spelled_ out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/14 "2011-09-12T22:38:34Z")
> [@bup](#): > > is \*lacuna \*a common word? I just learned what it meant when I read the Kingsolver novel of the same name, and I’ve been waiting for an opportunity. I’ve heard it used (in the plural) in presentations at seminars…“one method of dealing with the lacunae in the data is to…” ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/15 "2011-09-12T22:49:35Z")
By golly, I got to use the word “verisimilitude” in a conversation the other day, legitimately. Impressed the bystanders no end. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/16 "2011-09-12T23:18:40Z")
Cumbrous. I’ve read it a lot but I don’t think I’ve ever spoken it. Until 2 seconds ago, anyway. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/17 "2011-09-12T23:43:11Z")
Generally speaking, if you don’t know how to pronounce it, your listeners don’t know what it means. Don’t say it. [http://www.onelook.com/](http://www.onelook.com/) gives you free access to dozens of dictionaries, and several have “speaker” buttons to show you how a word sounds. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/18 "2011-09-13T02:53:59Z")
There are a number of terms I don’t know how to pronounce. I use a **GUI** all the time, but I still don’t know whether to say gee-you-eye or gooey. If I had to pronounce it, I’d probably give the full name, graphical user interface. Then there’s **virgule**. I suppose the _g_ is probably hard as in _good_, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it pronounced. Then there are some legal terms that I see in print fairly often, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard pronounced: **chattel, amicus curiae, voir dire.** ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/19 "2011-09-13T03:12:24Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Perspicacious. > > I don’t even know what it means, so why would I say it? I say it a lot because it always shows up when I try to think of the word for persistence. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-fairly-common-word-youve-never-spoken-aloud/595988/20 "2011-09-13T03:29:36Z")
> [@bup](#): > > is \*lacuna \*a common word? I just learned what it meant when I read the Kingsolver novel of the same name, and I’ve been waiting for an opportunity. Depends on your taste in music. If you have even a passing familiarity with goth metal, [you know](http://www.lacunacoil.it/index.php) the word…but maybe not what it means.