# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/61 "2012-10-11T15:19:57Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > On the other hand the labels don’t say Lee & Perrins any more, but Heinz. Not in its true homeland they blimmin’ well [don’t](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6f/Worcestershire_sauce.jpg/170px-Worcestershire_sauce.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/62 "2012-10-11T15:29:33Z")
How old is that photo? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/63 "2012-10-11T15:34:38Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > How old is that photo? That’s the same packaging as the bottle I bought from Tesco a couple of days ago. It doesn’t mention Heinz anywhere on the bottle as far as I can see. ---
**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 11, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/64 "2012-10-11T15:34:58Z")
I checked yesterday, my British bottle of Worcestershire sauce, bought recently in an English Waitrose definitely does not say Heinz on the label anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/65 "2012-10-11T15:48:59Z")
We non-Brits are obviously victims of a vicious scam. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/66 "2012-10-11T16:25:37Z")
[This is what my L&P looks like on the outside.](http://www.foodandfunfromhome.com/images/P/119-261-B.gif) I’m trying to remember whether it is orange or white on the inside. This will be the first thing I look at when I get home tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/67 "2012-10-11T16:31:47Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > [This is what my L&P looks like on the outside.](http://www.foodandfunfromhome.com/images/P/119-261-B.gif) I’m trying to remember whether it is orange or white on the inside. Oooh, the paper wrapping is a nice touch! 🆒 Gives it a rather “up-market” feel. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/68 "2012-10-11T16:55:44Z")
I always pronounced it Worst-er-sheer. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/69 "2012-10-11T17:05:57Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > We non-Brits are obviously victims of a vicious scam. I actually have both Heinz and Lea & Perrins Worcestershire at home. They have different ingredients. My Heinz Worcestershire sauce contains soy sauce as an ingredient, for instance. The L&P does not. I also don’t see tamarind in the Heinz-branded product, but that might fall under “natural flavorings.” They don’t taste the same, either. They both have the distinct clove flavor Worcestershire has, but the L&P is somehow “cleaner” tasting and a little more acidic and fruity, and the Heinz has that distinct soy-character to it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/70 "2012-10-11T18:44:15Z")
Shire sauce. Garum, garum! [sub]my precious…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/71 "2012-10-11T18:56:56Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Shire sauce. Garum, garum! > > [sub]my precious…[/sub] Gah! Spoil nice fish, saucing it! Meanwhile, I liked the story of the Australian tourist who was searching high and low for “Loogabarooga”. He started getting somewhere when a kindly Midlander informed him that “Loughborough” is pronounced _Luff_-burra. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/72 "2012-10-11T23:16:18Z")
Actually, it’s more like “whust-ter”. Counter-intuitive prononciations like this began as a way to separate those in the know from the lower orders, but it seems to work of foreigners too. Pip pip! ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/73 "2012-10-12T00:29:59Z")
Phonetically…as I have heard it. Short as: Wores-ter-sheer…3 syllables. Long as: Wore-chester-sheer…4 syllables. ---
**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 12, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/74 "2012-10-12T09:37:30Z")
It just dawned on me that there is not missing syllable. It’s Worce-ster-shire. I guess, if I want to be posh and leave out a syllable, I’ve got to start saying Wors-chur sauce. (makes a lot more sense that wors-tur) ---
**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 12, 2012, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/75 "2012-10-12T10:35:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It’s Worce-ster-shire. I guess, if I want to be posh and leave out a syllable, I’ve got to start saying Wors-chur sauce. (makes a lot more sense that wors-tur) Not remotely, considering the word is a construct of [Worcester](http://www.visitworcester.com/extra.asp?id=17) (the county town) and shire (county). The sauce is made in Worcester, so dropping ‘shire’ is a no brainer-abbreviation. ---
**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 12, 2012, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/76 "2012-10-12T10:39:14Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > Phonetically…as I have heard it. > > Short as: Wores-ter-sheer…3 syllables. > > Long as: Wore-chester-sheer…4 syllables. Eeeek, that’s like fingers down a blackboard. ---
**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 12, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/77 "2012-10-12T10:42:56Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > I checked yesterday, my British bottle of Worcestershire sauce, bought recently in an English Waitrose definitely does not say Heinz on the label anywhere. No, it doesn’t. It probably says Heinz in really really small print on the back somewhere, so as not to upset the locals. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/78 "2012-10-12T11:44:52Z")
Now I want a Bloody Mary. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/79 "2012-10-12T14:09:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I actually have both Heinz and Lea & Perrins Worcestershire at home. They have different ingredients. My Heinz Worcestershire sauce contains soy sauce as an ingredient, for instance. The L&P does not. I also don’t see tamarind in the Heinz-branded product, but that might fall under “natural flavorings.” They don’t taste the same, either. They both have the distinct clove flavor Worcestershire has, but the L&P is somehow “cleaner” tasting and a little more acidic and fruity, and the Heinz has that distinct soy-character to it. An even bigger scam. I took a look at a bottle at my eatery yesterday and noticed that it is not the same kind of bottle as in **Colophon’s** photo and the label is totally different with a more “heinzy” look although when they first started printing Heinz instead of Lea & Perrins they didn’t change the general look to begin with (and those labels didn’t look like **Colophon’s** bottle either). ---
**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:** [October 12, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904/80 "2012-10-12T14:34:06Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > An even bigger scam. > > I took a look at a bottle at my eatery yesterday and noticed that it is not the same kind of bottle as in **Colophon’s** photo and the label is totally different with a more “heinzy” look although when they first started printing Heinz instead of Lea & Perrins they didn’t change the general look to begin with (and those labels didn’t look like **Colophon’s** bottle either). Does yours also have ingredients like soy sauce? It’s possible US Heinz-branded Worcestershire is different. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-worcestershire-sauce/636904.md?page=5)