# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 93
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1841 "2026-05-30T05:02:02Z")
I had to think to decide if those sounds are even a little bit different, and decided they are. But only barely. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1842 "2026-05-30T05:17:20Z")
They’re quite different to me, and my Midwestern accent: **yoo-TAAAH** versus **you-TAW**. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1843 "2026-05-30T05:26:59Z")
Sorry for the Utah poll confusion, since Ma and raw sound very different to me. I was trying to avoid using IPA, but here goes: Ma = [a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_front_unrounded_vowel "Open front unrounded vowel") and [ä](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_central_unrounded_vowel "Open central unrounded vowel") and [ɐ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-open_central_vowel "Near-open central vowel") Raw: [ɑ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_back_unrounded_vowel "Open back unrounded vowel") and [ɒ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_back_rounded_vowel "Open back rounded vowel") They’re at the bottom of the IPA chart with audio. Click on the speaker icon under each symbol to hear what each one sounds like [IPA vowel chart with audio - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA_vowel_chart_with_audio) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1844 "2026-05-30T07:25:52Z")
Those are very different sounds to me and in every US region I’ve lived in. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1845 "2026-05-30T07:44:10Z")
Time-travel movies? You forgot about _Avengers: Endgame._ ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1846 "2026-05-30T10:32:17Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Sorry for the Utah poll confusion, since Ma and raw sound very different to me. As a native Utahn (although I haven’t lived there for 36 years, I maintain my Wasatch Front accent), I must object to the poll choices. First, we don’t differentiate between ma and raw and both of them are wrong anyway : > [@gkster](#): > > Ma = [a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_front_unrounded_vowel) and [ä](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_central_unrounded_vowel) and [ɐ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-open_central_vowel) > Raw: [ɑ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_back_unrounded_vowel) and [ɒ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_back_rounded_vowel) A Wasatch Front speaker (Ogden, Salt Lake, Provo) says /ˈjuːtɔː/ which rhymes with law, but it looks like the way we say law may be different than the way you do. It’s similar to “taught”. Rural Utahns have their own pronunications and I don’t know how they say “Utah.” I wouldn’t necessarily lump native speakers with people who have “spent time in the area.” A lot of people don’t pick up accents very well. I also wouldn’t necessarily put people from Utah with those in surrounding areas. Utah has its own accents. I don’t know how the surronding areas say Utah and if they are similar to Utahns or not. As your choices don’t match what a native Wasatch Front speaker says, I had to choose “other”. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1847 "2026-05-30T12:22:25Z")
**Time After Time** wasn’t in the poll. H G Welles versus Juxk the Ripper in modern day San Francisco. How could it not be good? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1848 "2026-05-30T13:11:46Z")
I do not consider _Groundhog Day_ to be a time travel movie (which is why I didn’t vote for it). In fact, being stuck in the same day seems like the very opposite of time travel. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1849 "2026-05-30T13:21:16Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > **Time After Time** wasn’t in the poll. H G Welles versus Juxk the Ripper in modern day San Francisco. How could it not be good? This was my Other as well. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1850 "2026-05-30T13:44:06Z")
Two recent polls are missing an “other” option: 1. We store Tupperware with each one’s lid loosely placed on top. 2. For many Americans — an increasing number — “aw” and “ah” are the same sound. (This is basically 1970s California dialect spreading and merging with other dialects with basically the same feature, e.g. Canada). Such folks are likely to choose the “ah” option not because it’s how they pronounce “Utah” in particular, but because the “aw” option doesn’t exist for them. And, “Time After Time” with Malcolm McDowell is also my favorite time travel movie. David Warner is a terrific Jack the Ripper. > **[The cot-caught merger: a dialectal difference and early literacy instruction](https://doyoureadme.ca/2021/02/20/potayto-potawto-dialectal-differences-and-early-literacy-instruction/)** > > Language is always evolving, with new words (bingeable, superspreader), new expressions (I can’t even), and even shifting syntax (Have you any? vs Do you have any?) and grammar (the fading subjunct… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1851 "2026-05-30T13:53:42Z")
I didn’t know who was in the Stanley Cup finals. I do like sports. I’m not someone who thinks using the word “sportsball” is clever. It’s just that with hockey I completely lose interest when my team isn’t involved. I’ll watch the post season in baseball and football no matter who made it but with hockey when the Devils are out so am I. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1852 "2026-05-30T13:59:48Z")
I like hockey, but i kinda lose interest when there are no northern teams playing. If you don’t have little league hockey and recreational adult hockey, why do you have a professional team? When the Blackhawks are playing the Canadiens, i might be following it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1853 "2026-05-30T14:13:55Z")
I took the Utah poll to be asking whether I pronounce a W at the end, and answered accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1854 "2026-05-30T14:44:46Z")
The FIFA World Cup poll is missing a “Who cares?” Option. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1855 "2026-05-30T17:01:31Z")
Safety Not Guaranteed asks the question whether it’s a time travel movie or not, which is enough for me to count it. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1856 "2026-05-30T18:34:30Z")
Whether or not “ma” and “raw” rhyme in one’s dialect, neither of them rhymes with “Utah” because “Utah” is a trochee (a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one) whereas “ma” and “raw” are each single stressed syllables. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1857 "2026-05-30T19:01:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The FIFA World Cup poll is missing a “Who cares?” Option. If you don’t care then don’t answer. Simple. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1858 "2026-05-30T20:19:41Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If you don’t care then don’t answer. Simple. This has long been my stance on polls, and I’ve often been castigated for it. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1859 "2026-05-30T22:38:01Z")
Wait. Do you mean to say that you pronounce it you-TAW? I thought the stress was on the first syllable. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1860 "2026-05-30T22:46:26Z")
Time travel movie - Final Countdown **Ma** sounds more like the sound one makes when the doctor looks down your throat - “Mah” & It rhymes with the sound a sheep makes, “Baa” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=92) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=94)