# 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:** 2
**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, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/21 "2015-04-14T13:31:20Z")
This is a really interesting thread. Like **LSLGuy** , I’m having a hard time thinking of any words with “cc” in the middle that are pronounced “ss”. But, flaccid is still “flassid” to me for some reason. My wife is a physician, and so I imagine she’s heard and used the word flaccid quite a bit more often in her professional life than I have. She says she’s never heard it any way other than “flassid”. ---
**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, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/22 "2015-04-14T14:21:19Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > This is a really interesting thread. Like **LSLGuy** , I’m having a hard time thinking of any words with “cc” in the middle that are pronounced “ss”. I have [searched](http://www.wordfind.com/contains/cc/) without success. 🆒 ---
**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, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/23 "2015-04-14T14:32:28Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I have [searched](http://www.wordfind.com/contains/cc/) without success. 🆒 That’s a cool site. Thanks! I also found a [word list](http://www.mieliestronk.com/corncob_lowercase.txt) someone put up, and just searched with my browser’s search function. Looking there reminded me of all the “cc” words we pronounce with a “k”, like _occur_ and _accord_, and the loan words we (or at least I) pronounce with a “ch”, like _cappuccino_. But I didn’t find any other “cc” words I pronounce as “ss”… Except maybe _succinct_. I don’t quite say “suck sinct”, but not quite “sussinct” either. I sort of go “suh \ sinct”. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/24 "2015-04-14T14:57:36Z")
Yes, I learned in high school that it was supposed to be “flaksid.” But it is one of those words like “forte”. Once you know the allegedly correct pronunciation you don’t want to say it “wrong.” But depending on your audience you don’t want to be mistaken for someone either ignorant or pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/25 "2015-04-14T16:09:45Z")
In other news, it was only a couple of weeks ago that I found out that “mannequin” is not pronounced “man-eh-kwin”. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/26 "2015-04-14T17:11:46Z")
Sorry, Olive, I’ve gone flaksid. How embarraskin!. ---
**Author:** ![Teach-me-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Teach-me-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach-me-not)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/27 "2015-04-15T02:45:24Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > The correct pronunciation of Bombay is “Moom-bye”. 😉 😃 [What is that, like 5 O’s or 2 U’s?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGfYX7NmYnU&t=55) 🙂 ---
**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 15, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/28 "2015-04-15T02:53:49Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > That’s a cool site. Thanks! I also found a [word list](http://www.mieliestronk.com/corncob_lowercase.txt) someone put up, and just searched with my browser’s search function. Looking there reminded me of all the “cc” words we pronounce with a “k”, like _occur_ and _accord_, and the loan words we (or at least I) pronounce with a “ch”, like _cappuccino_. But I didn’t find any other “cc” words I pronounce as “ss”… Except maybe _succinct_. I don’t quite say “suck sinct”, but not quite “sussinct” either. I sort of go “suh \ sinct”. To me, that’s the same as “sussinct” with the accent on the second syllable. But I’ll be damned. I’ve always pronounced “accede” as “aseed,” but apparently it’s “uhk-seed.” ---
**Author:** ![Teach-me-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Teach-me-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach-me-not)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/29 "2015-04-15T03:00:56Z")
I used to pronounce it “flakkid”, not “flassid” or “flaksid”. In other words, not only was I mispronouncing the word, but I was also mispronouncing it _badly_. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Anomie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4491bb/32.png) [@Anomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anomie)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/30 "2015-04-15T04:09:33Z")
During the fallout from Jeremy Clarkson’s recent fracas, I heard the word fracas pronounce frah-ca, frak-as and frey-cus (American?) …during the one news report. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/31 "2015-04-15T19:03:24Z")
Nope. Always “flassid” when I’ve heard it (which, admittedly, is not often). ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/32 "2015-04-16T18:45:40Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Nope. Always “flassid” when I’ve heard it (which, admittedly, is not often). Don’t brag. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/33 "2015-04-16T19:12:28Z")
Well, then how the hell do I pronounce _“Flaxseed”_? ---
**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 16, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/34 "2015-04-16T20:17:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Well, then how the hell do I pronounce _“Flaxseed”_? _Carefully_. Very carefully. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/35 "2015-04-16T22:28:06Z")
Yes: me. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/36 "2015-04-17T01:23:50Z")
I can think of only once that I heard it pronounced flassid and I knew immediately that was wrong. It seems to be an invariable rule in English that CC is pronounced CS or X. And it is a technical term in one part of mathematics (sheaf cohomology). I used to say fort-ay, but then I realized it is a French, not Italian, word and pronounced fort. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/37 "2015-04-17T03:17:32Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > The correct pronunciation of Bombay is “Moom-bye”. 😉 😃 And the “correct” pronunciation of Germany is “Deutschland”. But I’m not a Marathi separatist intend on driving the Turks out of Berlin, so I’ll stick with “Germany”. ---
**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 17, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/38 "2015-04-17T03:29:22Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I used to say fort-ay, but then I realized it is a French, not Italian, word and pronounced fort. So do you also pronounce Paris as “Pa-ree”? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/39 "2015-04-17T03:48:33Z")
I’ve heard fassid on TV, and that’s the point where I assume it’s valid. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606/40 "2015-04-17T08:23:37Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > So do you also pronounce Paris as “Pa-ree”? Without the word “gay” before it, anyway? I’ve never ever heard the “correct” pronunciation, myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-heard-someone-pronounce-flaccid-as-flaksid/717606.md?page=3)