# How to pronounce Worcestershire sauce? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904 "2012-10-06T15:20:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/41 "2012-10-08T06:18:52Z")
South Africa, and it’s “Wooster Sauce” to me. Or “Holbrooks”, which is the default brand here, not L&P. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/42 "2012-10-08T06:27:16Z")
Wurr-shterr-sherr. ---
**Author:** ![prettydorky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@prettydorky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettydorky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/43 "2012-10-08T08:10:40Z")
In my childhood household with my Brit mom and grandmother, wooster. As an adult, it’s pretty much what **Maggie** said. And in fact, if you were to _ask_ mum all those years ago, she’d have said what **Maggie** said too. Talking to each other, though, wooster. (slight ‘sh’ on the s) ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/44 "2012-10-08T10:22:50Z")
English bloke here. It’s wooster - wuss-ter. > [@elfkin477](#): > > You leave off the entire end of the word? Yup. Gotta keep you on your toes. Now, have a go at _Towcester_. I once had verbal directions with Towcester as a waypoint, and couldn’t find it on the map. If it helps a search there’s a famous racecourse there. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/45 "2012-10-08T10:53:23Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > Now, have a go at _Towcester_. I once had verbal directions with Towcester as a waypoint, and couldn’t find it on the map. if you’re coming from the Cirencester direction, go through Bicester and then head North. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/46 "2012-10-08T11:31:24Z")
I pronounce it “zombie embalming fluid.” ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/47 "2012-10-08T11:40:52Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Strictly speaking it’s “Wooster-shuh sauce”, but the vast majority of people in Britain call it “Wooster sauce”. Or “Lea & Perrins”. I’ve never heard it called “Wister”, so that may be a weird fush-and-chups style New Zealand mangling. 🙂 I’m a Brit, and I endorse this post. Full name : Wuss-ter-shuh Sauce What people actually say: Wuss-ter Sauce. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/48 "2012-10-08T12:19:43Z")
whats-this-here sauce. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/49 "2012-10-08T20:40:16Z")
whoorsh-ter-sher ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/50 "2012-10-08T20:52:52Z")
War-chester-shire sauce. I refuse to succumb to the British tendency to ignore every third letter in any word over 6 letters, so as a Proud American I get my money’s worth by pronouncing every syllable. 😉 ---
**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:** [October 8, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/51 "2012-10-08T21:49:19Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I’m a Brit, and I endorse this post. > > Full name : Wuss-ter-shuh Sauce > What people actually say: Wuss-ter Sauce. Yeah, but you guys can’t even pronounce Leicester right. My first visit I spent an hour looking for “Lester Square” on a map of London. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/52 "2012-10-09T02:26:25Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > War-chester-shire sauce. I refuse to succumb to the British tendency to ignore every third letter in any word over 6 letters, so as a Proud American I get my money’s worth by pronouncing every syllable. 😉 That’s the way I want to pronounce it, too. Isn’t it weird that you want to pronounce that C as if it were Italian? I guess if you want to be American about it, you’d have to try Wor-SESS-tuhr-SHIRE. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/53 "2012-10-09T08:25:01Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Oddy, pronounced as “leeanperins.”😉 On the other hand the labels don’t say Lee & Perrins any more, but Heinz. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/54 "2012-10-09T08:34:30Z")
American: WUSS-ter-sher Sauch. That’s how I saw it nowadays anyhow. When I was growing up, it was probably something like wursh-ter-sher-shire ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/55 "2012-10-09T17:10:28Z")
As a Worcester (MA) native who never developed the accent, I pronounce it Wuss-ter-shur People with the accent pronounce it Wuss-tah-sha I always assumed that we used the same pronunciation as the Brits since we stole the name from them in the first place. **Chefguy** - My fiance is from western MA so he’s not familiar with the proper pronunciation of the city/town names in central MA. Last weekend we were trying to find a wedding and it required driving through Leicester MA. He kept fumbling the name of the town/street and I had no clue what he was talking about until I saw the sign for Leicester Street. He got really annoyed when I told him it was pronounced Lester. Worcester annoys him too. He’s never been to Gloucester and that’s probably for the best. ---
**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:** [October 9, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/56 "2012-10-09T19:30:13Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > **Chefguy** - My fiance is from western MA so he’s not familiar with the proper pronunciation of the city/town names in central MA. Last weekend we were trying to find a wedding and it required driving through Leicester MA. He kept fumbling the name of the town/street and I had no clue what he was talking about until I saw the sign for Leicester Street. He got really annoyed when I told him it was pronounced Lester. Worcester annoys him too. He’s never been to Gloucester and that’s probably for the best. Have you taken him to Leominster yet? ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/57 "2012-10-09T19:40:53Z")
He’s good with Leominster. He went to Fitchburg for college so he learned that one before he met me. He’s befuddled by some of the other eastern MA names though (like Tyngsboro). Apparently towns are pronounced like they’re spelled in Western MA (except Holyoke - I always get that one wrong, I can never remember if it’s Holy-Oak or Hole-yoke). ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/58 "2012-10-09T19:59:11Z")
Think of it as more than one word squished together like this: Worce ster shire. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/59 "2012-10-11T03:08:40Z")
I pronounce it “WUUR-shesh-terr”; that’s the best transliteration I can come up with. Or I just make it easy on myself and call it L&P. _laughs_ Incidentally, I like a little L&P on a well-cooked steak, and it’s an absolutely essential ingredient in my meatloaf and my mother’s barbeque sauce. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/60 "2012-10-11T03:27:08Z")
It’s spelled “Worcestershire,” but it’s pronounced “Throatwarbler Mangrove.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904.md?page=4)