# How did 'Fridge' pick up the "D" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461 "2021-08-24T21:56:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/1 "2021-08-24T21:56:59Z")
I’ve Googled around and as far as I can tell, fridge is just a shortened version of refrigerator. They both mean (essentially) the same thing. So why the D? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/2 "2021-08-24T22:03:00Z")
You mean the Frigi **d** aire? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/3 "2021-08-24T22:07:34Z")
Except that D isn’t before the G. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/4 "2021-08-24T22:11:04Z")
I always just assumed it was phonetic. There’s a D in there to my ears. “Fige” reads like: Fry’g or Fri-shay to me. ---
**Author:** ![Somethingwitty1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/somethingwitty1/32/8899_2.png) [@Somethingwitty1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Somethingwitty1)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/5 "2021-08-24T22:20:14Z")
Say Frigidaire 10x fast. Then say it 10x fast without the “aire”. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/6 "2021-08-24T22:20:33Z")
Spelling it with a “D” makes it clear that the “G” is palatal, not gutteral. “Fridge” is a household appliance. “Frig” is a slang term for a sex act. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/7 "2021-08-24T22:24:34Z")
Euphony. Some words change their spelling and pronunciation in order to be better pronounced or understood. The “d” comes the same place as the “tion” in “congressional” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/8 "2021-08-24T22:41:56Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The “d” comes the same place as the “tion” in “congressional” What? Fridge is /[frɪdʒ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English)/ in IPA. Notice it includes a [d] sound. Likewise in _badge, edge, nudge_, etc. ---
**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:** [August 24, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/9 "2021-08-24T22:51:50Z")
-dge is just the standard spelling for the J sound (IPA: /ʤ/) at the end of words. Consider also words like “judge,” “bridge,” “badge,” etc. So when the word got shortened to one syllable, the spelling changed to fit the standard orthography. Words with J at the end are more common now, but even they often get pronounced more like the s in “mea **s** ure” (IPA: /ʒ/). You may notice the similarities in the IPA symbols. That’s because those two sounds are similar. To change from that sound in mea **s** ure to a J sound, you, well, add a /d/, same as the difference between SH and CH is an added /t/ sound: /ʧ/ for CH vs. /ʃ/ for SH. This is called an affricate, as you release the pressure from the first sound into the second, which is why the IPA tends to merge them into one symbol–though it’s not incorrect to use separate symbols. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/10 "2021-08-24T23:14:36Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Fri-shay to me. Now I’m going to start calling it Fri-shay! ha ha > [@BigT](#): > > -dge is just the standard spelling for the J sound (IPA: /ʤ/) at the end of words. Consider also words like “judge,” “bridge,” “badge,” etc. So when the word got shortened to one syllable, the spelling changed to fit the standard orthography. Seems legit. Now, about picnic **k** ing… 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/11 "2021-08-24T23:31:31Z")
I didn’t notice the forum, and actually thought the OP would be about William “The Refrigerator” Perry (a.k.a., “The Fridge”) and to what extent he improved the legendary defense (a.k.a., “D”) of the 1985 Chicago Bears. Never mind … ---
**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:** [August 24, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/12 "2021-08-24T23:34:12Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > I didn’t notice the forum, and actually thought the OP would be about William “The Refrigerator” Perry (a.k.a., “The Fridge”) and to what extent he improved the legendary defense (a.k.a., “D”) of the 1985 Chicago Bears. I had a very similar reaction to the thread title – I thought it was about Perry, and how well (if at all) he learned the Bears’ defensive playbook. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/13 "2021-08-24T23:37:15Z")
Good lord, are we doomed to obsess about this team forever? 😬 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/14 "2021-08-24T23:54:03Z")
Yes we are. It is the reason I opened the thread and I’m a Giants fan first. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/15 "2021-08-25T00:14:42Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Now, about picnic **k** ing Yeah, and why isn’t it “nitpic”? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/16 "2021-08-25T00:41:31Z")
> [@Somethingwitty1](#): > > Say Frigidaire 10x fast. Then say it 10x fast without the “aire”. Yes: > Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first self-contained refrigerator, invented by Nathanniel B. Wales and Alfred Mellowes in 1916. In 1918, William C. Durant, a founder of General Motors, personally invested in the company and in 1919, it adopted the name Frigidaire. > > The brand was so well known in the refrigeration field in the early-to-mid-1900s, that many Americans called any refrigerator a _Frigidaire_ regardless of brand. > **[Frigidaire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigidaire)** > > Frigidaire Appliance Company is the American consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of multinational company Electrolux. > Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first self-contained refrigerator, invented by Nathaniel B. Wales and Alfred Mellowes in 1916. In 1918, William C. Durant, a founder of General Motors, personally invested in the company and in 1919, it adopted the name Frigidaire. > The brand was so well known... ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/17 "2021-08-25T01:01:39Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > The “d” comes the same place as the “tion” in “congressional” > > What? > > Fridge is /[frɪdʒ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English)/ in IPA. > Notice it includes a [d] sound. > Likewise in _badge, edge, nudge_, etc. Same principle. The sound was added for euphony. And the IPA describes the end result, not the cause. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/18 "2021-08-25T02:22:39Z")
No sounds were added. Sounds were removed from refrigerator to get fridge, but no sounds were added at all. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/19 "2021-08-25T03:03:56Z")
“Fridge” makes perfect sense, but now explain why the shortened form of vegetable is veggie. The double ‘g’ would usually indicate a hard /g/ sound. Perhaps we’ve been spelling it wrong and it should be vedgie. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2021, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461/20 "2021-08-25T03:06:00Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > but now explain why the shortened form of vegetable is veggie My Irish friend calls it “veg”, which maybe should be “vedge.” 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-fridge-pick-up-the-d/949461.md?page=2)