“An” just sounds wrong, but is it an exception to the rule?
My vote: “A euphemism”; sure, it has an initial vowel and a consonant sound, but it’s got two vowels and a vowel sound.
It’s how it sounds, not the initial letter that counts.
I stayed an hour in a hotel.
A euphemisim sounds right to me.
It’s “a euphemism.” “euphemism” starts with a vowel but phoenetically it’s a dipthong that sounds like a consonant y. That makes the phonetic purpose of adding an n to the indefinite article unnecessary. The proper use of a/an is determined by the phonetics, not necessarily the spelling.
A much more concise way of putting than I did.
Linguistics nitpick: the “y” sound isn’t a dipthong, it’s a semivowel/glide. These are usually classified as consonants. Hence, “a euphemism.”
Phonetically, the yod is a semivowel, not a diphthong.
Ok, it’s a semi-vowel, not a dipthong. Thanks for the correction. My point was that it’s phonetically a consonant, not a vowel.
Yeah! Watch out or Sattua and I might simulpost again! :smack:
Either is OK, since both are understandable and both are in common usage. Other than those two “rules” there are no “official” rules for American English Grammar.
Is “an euphemism” a regional thing? I’ve never heard it. Do people who say it say “an union” and “an youth,” too?
Google sez:
*Results 1 - 10 of about 43,400 for “an euphemism”.
Results 1 - 10 of about 956,000 for “a euphemism”*
40,000+ is common enough, although clearly “a euphemism” is the more common. It’s what I’d say, but I wouldn’t blue pencil anyone for writing “an euphemism”, either.
What kind of hotel was this, exactly?
I would. 
Thank you all for your answers. I had no idea that was the rule.
Learn something new everyday…
But for “an” to be correct, the word would have to be pronounced OO-femism (rather than YOO-femism). I’ve literally never heard such a pronunciation. Not saying that it never happens, only that i’ve never come across it while living in four prominent English-speaking countries, including England and the US.
Widdle oo nevew heard of an oophemism? Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…
You should. The rule is not ‘a’ before consonant, ‘an’ before any word beginning with a, e, i, o, or u. There’s a linguistic concept of the words vowel and consonant that supercedes the oversimplified nonsense you were taught in second grade, and this rule references it.
Just the same as you’re never going to say ‘an year’ or ‘an yule log,’ you’re never going to say ‘an euphemism’ because it features the same consonant sound /j/. Look past the letters and read the damn thing. The reason why it sounds wrong is because we’re running two consonant sounds into each other, which the rule is meant to strictly prevent.
PS I’ve got 318,000 results for ‘an year’ on google. Does that make it right?
So…
I stayed at a hotel once, where, in support of a union’s protest, Tiny Tim went on an hour-long jam about a unicorn. It was an honor to hear what that man could do with a ukulele, all in support of a worker’s rights to an honest day’s pay. I wonder if he needed a uvula replacement after that?
Well done, sir.