# Hey fuckface, it's pronounced NOO-klee-ar, NOO-klee-ar **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 17, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659 "2005-06-17T05:26:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/21 "2005-06-17T06:51:56Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > No it isn’t, it’s pronounced N’YOU-klee-ar, and it’s about damn time you goddam merkins started sounding the letter U properly, as YOU not OO. That’s pretty stupid. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/22 "2005-06-17T06:53:17Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** I’m shocked, _shocked_, at all these insults and profanities in General Questions. This is going to go on **all** of your permanent records! People, we have a simple, factual question about the pronunciation of the word “nuclear” and… Oh, wait. Fuck. To the Pit, then. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/23 "2005-06-17T06:58:49Z")
Thanks **MEB**. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/24 "2005-06-17T07:08:13Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) is American. BTW the OED website offers no phonetic guide, just: nuclear • adjective 1 relating to a nucleus. 2 using energy released in the fission or fusion of atomic nuclei. 3 possessing or involving nuclear weapons. Your pronunciation actually adds a syllable. NOO-klee-ar is 3, NEE-oo-klee-ar is 4. Granted, here in the US we speak bastardized English, but I’d like to see what makes your assertion more correct than mine (cite?). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/25 "2005-06-17T07:21:14Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > New rule: if you are caught saying “NOO-kyu-lar”, **“LY-barry”** , or “chi-POL-tay burritos”, your healthcare benefits are revoked for life. Thankfully, round these parts we’ve got that one down to two syllables, “Ly-bree”. And “Feb-ree”. And “Cut-l’ree”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/26 "2005-06-17T07:22:44Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > Your pronunciation actually adds a syllable. NOO-klee-ar is 3, NEE-oo-klee-ar is 4. You’ve misunderstood it - it’s still three syllables, “NEW-kell-ar”. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/27 "2005-06-17T07:24:50Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > **Moderator’s Note:** I’m shocked, _shocked_, at all these insults and profanities in General Questions. This is going to go on **all** of your permanent records! People, we have a simple, factual question about the pronunciation of the word “nuclear” and… > > Oh, wait. > > Fuck. To the Pit, then. Best mod thread bounce announcement ever! ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/28 "2005-06-17T07:27:07Z")
I say we take off and nuke this site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/29 "2005-06-17T07:30:20Z")
\*New-klee-ar :doh: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/30 "2005-06-17T07:30:27Z")
My big fat Unabridged give no less than 3 pronounciations. The 2nd of which is the “nyoo…”, so sorry, you’re wrong. Even though I feel your pain. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/31 "2005-06-17T09:14:15Z")
There’s another thread around here about written English (well, semi-, kind of, sort of written English, in poker website chat) when people write “should of” instead of “should’ve.” That issue is problematic, because they’re actually changing grammar based on nothing more than phonology, and their doing it in writing. When it comes to pronunciation, change is hard to avoid, not that I think “nuclear” should be pronounced the way which annoys OP. (BTW, derivation of words, _e.g._, _nucleus_, does not necessarily determine pronunciation. Look and _photograph_, and _photography_. The stress is different.) If pronunciation change were never accepted, you’d be complaining about people who don’t pronounce the K in “know,” or the GH in “thought.” The word “nuclear,” as Bush pronounces it, in particular seems to enrage a lot of people, but there are many other words that are pronounced in “non-standard” (meaning not like the majority) ways, and people don’t seem to complain, or even notice. I don’t think people are _deliberately_ trying to “mispronounce” the word. When Southern congresspeople “hyperdipthong” on the floors of the House and Senate, people don’t really seem to care. I know that’s a regionalism, but why not complain about that? So dictionaries give several pronuncations; they’re descriptive, rather than prescriptive, (though they don’t bother to inlcude regionalisms with each entry, because they’re fairly systematic, and can be explained in the beginning of the dictionary). I’m not sure why people say “nuclear” as Bush does; I don’t think it’s simply a regionalism. My WAG is that it’s a phenomenon which I can’t remember the name of: because the first syllable has the glide, speakers tend to throw a similar glide in the second syllable. Just a guess. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/32 "2005-06-17T09:38:43Z")
Meh. I can’t help but remember when a friend told me that the US Navy would be commissioning a new Sea Wolf class submarine, to me named the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter - “Yep, it’s going to be America’s first nucular submarine.” I about busted a gut. And I **admire** ol’ Jimmy. Maybe it is a regional mispronunciation. Maybe it’s another Dubya attempt to sound folksy. Maybe it’s a clever attempt to distract people into picking on his speech problems instead of noticing what he’s really up to. Or maybe it truly is a sign that he’s dumber than a tree and I just can’t work up the energy to care anymore because I’m so tired of hearing the same joke come up every six weeks like clockwork. I don’t care. Let him say nucular. I’m more concerned with what he’s up to than with his elocution skills (or lack thereof). ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/33 "2005-06-17T10:03:42Z")
It’s often pronounced new-kew-lar around here by old people. I would say it is a regional thing, but one that is dying off. Other mispronounced words I’ve heard from old people are Loo-zee-an-uh (Louisiana) and ma-der-suhn (medicine). It’s kind of humorous if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/34 "2005-06-17T10:04:11Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > …but I’d like to see what makes your assertion more correct than mine (cite?). My assertion _isn’t_ more correct than yours, hence my lighthearted original comment, complete with smiley :D. I was merely trying, in my own boneheaded way, to outline the same point regarding accepted pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/35 "2005-06-17T10:05:59Z")
FTR though, my (admittedly old) Shorter Oxford Dictionary offers a phonetic spelling I don’t know how to duplicate here, but the first bit is _niu-_. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/36 "2005-06-17T10:14:10Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > I’m fucking sick of this shit. “Nuclear” is derived from the word nucleus, if you call it a nuculus, I fucking hate you, and I’d like to hurt you very much. So, circular should be circlear? This has been covered. Recently. > **[It's nucular, Lisa: NUCULAR](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=301996)** > > Anyone else notice that once Bush secured re-election, his conformance to Standard American English suddenly improved? All of a sudden it seems it’s okay to refer to technology relating to the center of an atom by the term he no doubt grew up with:... ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/37 "2005-06-17T10:24:24Z")
> [@Strinka](#): > > That’s pretty stupid. 😛 You mean styupid, don’t you? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/38 "2005-06-17T10:24:38Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > So, circular should be circlear? Doesn’t circular come from circulate? > [@](#): > > Circulation: 1440, from L. circulationem, from circulare “to form a circle” ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/39 "2005-06-17T10:50:07Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Doesn’t circular come from circulate? From _American Heritage_: “[Middle English circuler, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin circulris, from circulus, circle. See circle.]” Besides, pronunciation isn’t necessarily tied to spelling, otherwise we’d pronounce “iron” as EYE-ron. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2005, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659/40 "2005-06-17T11:19:42Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Thankfully, round these parts we’ve got that one down to two syllables, “Ly-bree”. And “Feb-ree”. And “Cut-l’ree”. 😛 You forgot “Joo-re” . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-fuckface-its-pronounced-noo-klee-ar-noo-klee-ar/308659.md?page=3)