# Have you ever heard someone pronounce "flaccid" as "flaksid"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 14, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606 "2015-04-14T00:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/1 "2015-04-14T00:50:15Z")
A minor point in last night’s Silicon Valley was that the “correct” pronunciation of flaccid is actually “flaksid” which I thought was just a weird joke for the show. But indeed, if you go to [Google Definitions](https://www.google.com/search?q=define+flaccid) and hit the little speaker button, the disembodied Google voice indeed pronounces it flaksid. I have never, ever, in my life, ever heard anyone ever use that pronounciation of the word and I feel like I’ve entered into some kind of alternate dimension here. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/2 "2015-04-14T01:09:57Z")
I’ve never heard it pronounced any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/3 "2015-04-14T01:13:17Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/4 "2015-04-14T01:15:16Z")
I’ve only heard “flassid.” I had a similar experience with another word: “Schism.” I’ve only ever heard it as “skism,” but if you go to Merriam-Webster, the audio pronunciation is “sism.” ETA: And the same with Google definitions. ---
**Author:** ![Graymalkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@Graymalkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graymalkin)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/5 "2015-04-14T01:36:17Z")
Flassid (NEVER heard flaksid in my life) and sizm here–the latter because my mother, a great believer in the dictionary, told me long ago the word was pronounced sizm, and I get irritated whenever I hear someone say skizm, but I have learned to suppress my scorn. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/6 "2015-04-14T01:38:26Z")
I’ve never heard anyone pronounce “forte” as “fort”, always “for-tay”. This is something I don’t understand. If spelling can evolve and we all have to just live with it (e.g., “alot”) and definitions can change and we all just have to live with it (e.g., “comprise” = “compose”) why do the dictionaries never change pronunciations to match what people actually say? Seems like a weird place to draw the line. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/7 "2015-04-14T01:42:49Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > A minor point in last night’s Silicon Valley was that the “correct” pronunciation of flaccid is actually “flaksid” which I thought was just a weird joke for the show. But indeed, if you go to [Google Definitions](https://www.google.com/search?q=define+flaccid) and hit the little speaker button, the disembodied Google voice indeed pronounces it flaksid. > > I have never, ever, in my life, ever heard anyone ever use that pronounciation of the word and I feel like I’ve entered into some kind of alternate dimension here. I saw the episode too, and assumed it was a joke for the show because I’ve \*never \*heard that before either – and I’m usually pretty good at correct pronunciations. So I wandered over to the Cambridge online dictionary. The [British English page shows and “speaks” the pronunciation for both the US and UK as “flaccid”.](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/british/flaccid) Just with different accents (and wow, the American accent sounds flat and nasal!) Weirdly, the [American](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/american-english/flaccid)entry shows both “flaccid” and “flaksid”, but only “flaccid” is spoken. Now I have to go see if my Boston Public Library access gets me into the Oxford English Dictionary. THANKS for sending me on another pointless search of something I gotta know! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/8 "2015-04-14T01:45:50Z")
Ok, now the OED has this: [US pronunciation](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/flaccid) “flaksid” [UK/world pronunciation](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/flaccid) – both “flaccid” and “flaksid” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/9 "2015-04-14T01:47:20Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > I’ve never heard anyone pronounce “forte” as “fort”, always “for-tay”. > > This is something I don’t understand. If spelling can evolve and we all have to just live with it (e.g., “alot”) and definitions can change and we all just have to live with it (e.g., “comprise” = “compose”) why do the dictionaries never change pronunciations to match what people actually say? Seems like a weird place to draw the line. From what I see, they generally do. “For-tay” is listed at [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) and Merriam-Webster, and the other pronunciations in this thread are noted, too. I have heard “forte” as “fort” before, but only from very nitpicky speakers. I say it as “for-tay,” even though I am fully aware of the “fort” pronunciation because that’s least likely to cause confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/10 "2015-04-14T01:54:11Z")
Thankfully, flaccid does not come up in conversation all that often. The few times I’ve heard it spoken, I’ve heard"flassid". That’s how it sounds in my head when I read it. I’ve never heard “flaksid”. (Grew up in the US Midwest, FWIW) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/11 "2015-04-14T02:08:10Z")
I’ve occasionally heard “flaksid,” but it always struck me as either wrong or exceedingly pedantic. Then I start thinking of flax seeds. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/12 "2015-04-14T02:26:52Z")
No. Never. Not once. > [@Bayard](#): > > Thankfully, flaccid does not come up in conversation all that often. “…flaccid does not come up.” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/13 "2015-04-14T06:27:41Z")
The “correct” pronunciation of Caeser and Cicero is of course Kaeser and Kikero. And I have no more intention of changing my pronunciation of Seezer and Siseroh than I do of changing my pronunciation of Paris, Peking, Germany or Bombay. I don’t own the English language: my idea of English pronunciation is no more important than that of a French, Han, or Marathi English speaker. But by the same token, my friends, family, school and workplace say “flasid”, and I have no intention of changing. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/14 "2015-04-14T07:15:47Z")
Issed. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/15 "2015-04-14T07:48:00Z")
I’ve only ever heard “flaksid.” (And “for-tay.”) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/16 "2015-04-14T11:05:34Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > And I have no more intention of changing my pronunciation of Seezer and Siseroh than I do of changing my pronunciation of Paris, Peking, Germany or Bombay. The correct pronunciation of Bombay is “Moom-bye”. 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/17 "2015-04-14T11:29:26Z")
I’d never heard it pronounced the way the character on the show does, but I realized that that way is consistent with other words with a doubled “c,” such as access and vaccine. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2015, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/18 "2015-04-14T11:30:21Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > The correct pronunciation of Bombay is “Moom-bye”. 😉 😃 And Peking is Beijing! Did you know that? I didn’t until recently, I never made the connection. The change happened at a time when I wasn’t paying any attention to how the world worked. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/19 "2015-04-14T11:45:47Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > And Peking is Beijing! Did you know that? I didn’t until recently, I never made the connection. The change happened at a time when I wasn’t paying any attention to how the world worked. And the spelling “Beijing” is meant to indicate a pronunciation closer to “pay-ching” than “bay-jing” or “bay-zhing.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/20 "2015-04-14T12:47:40Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever heard “flaccid” pronounced except in the context of somebody talking about how it’s pronounced as flak-sid. So that’s how I say it. As noted upthread, that’s how all (most?) English words containing “cc” are pronounced. At least in the US. At first thought, I can’t come up with any other word containing “cc” where anyone tries to pronounce the “cc” as “ss”. Anyone? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606.md?page=2)