# I never would have guessed that's how you spell it **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754 "2015-02-15T22:30:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/21 "2015-02-16T09:25:19Z")
A question (not mocking – I’m honestly curious) for the Irish-language scholars. Niamh, we learn, is pronounced approximately “Neev”. Per my understanding – possibly wrong – the name of the great queen in ancient legend, is pronounced “Meev”, but spelt “Maedhbh”. Please could someone explain this seeming oddity? (I get the impression that Irish spelling conventions may seem strange and complicated, but are basically regular and consistent.) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/22 "2015-02-16T10:36:08Z")
Quinoa Ennui ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/23 "2015-02-16T10:53:20Z")
For the longest time, I thought that the garbage disposal brand “In-sink-erator” was pronounced “In Sink Erator” and I always wondered what an “erator” was. I got that it was in the sink, but what the hell was an erator??? Finally one day it hit me that it was a pun on incinerator, and I’d been putting the wrong stress on the wrong syllables. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/24 "2015-02-16T11:51:52Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > A question (not mocking – I’m honestly curious) for the Irish-language scholars. Niamh, we learn, is pronounced approximately “Neev”. Per my understanding – possibly wrong – the name of the great queen in ancient legend, is pronounced “Meev”, but spelt “Maedhbh”. Please could someone explain this seeming oddity? (I get the impression that Irish spelling conventions may seem strange and complicated, but are basically regular and consistent.) /ˈmeɪv/, “mayv,” rhymes with “wave.” Sometimes it’s spelled “Medb,” which I just don’t get, but obviously that’s a medieval spelling. I think these are “slender” pronunciation, because of the “e.” So “dh” = /j/ (y sound), “bh” = /v/ or it looks like /vʲ/. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/25 "2015-02-16T13:32:22Z")
Schuyler Pasta e fagioli Ratatouille ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/26 "2015-02-16T13:46:47Z")
Apparently there is no whore in hors d’oeuvres. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/27 "2015-02-16T13:52:16Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > . . . That’s because it’s spelled “façade”. . . . In French. In English the ‘c’ carries no cedilla. My contribution: “Catercorner.” ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/28 "2015-02-16T13:54:04Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > facade seems to defy all logic. let’s not get started on colonel. My daughter wanted a colonel burger from the place with the red flag outsite :smack: ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/29 "2015-02-16T14:09:56Z")
Brings to mind the guy interviewed on NPR some eons back who talked about defining a new puh-RID-i-gum. Obviously he’d never heard anyone pronounce paradigm. Or me the first time I saw the word _victuals_. I knew what it meant, but I assumed the word I heard on Beverly Hillbillies was a slang version. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/30 "2015-02-16T14:14:53Z")
When I was growing up, my parents often sold ordervs when they entertained. Years later, I discovered it was spelled “hors d’oeuvres.” ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/31 "2015-02-16T14:40:30Z")
When I was growing up in Baltimore, I would hear people talking about a place called Holland Town. I knew about China Town, Greek Town, and Little Italy, so I figured Holland Town was a section of Baltimore where people from Holland predominated. Then one day when I was about 10 years old I was waiting for a 22 bus to take me to an Orioles game, and a bus going the other way went by. The route sign said: 22 - Highlandtown. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/32 "2015-02-16T14:55:19Z")
I used to work with a guy whose last name was Czumaj. It was pronounced Shooma. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/33 "2015-02-16T15:19:45Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > When I was growing up in Baltimore, I would hear people talking about a place called Holland Town. I knew about China Town, Greek Town, and Little Italy, so I figured Holland Town was a section of Baltimore where people from Holland predominated. > > Then one day when I was about 10 years old I was waiting for a 22 bus to take me to an Orioles game, and a bus going the other way went by. The route sign said: 22 - Highlandtown. :smack: Yeah, that would be the Balmer accent at work. :rolleyes: :smack: Sincerely, OneCentStamp, who grew up in the rest of Maryland. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/34 "2015-02-16T15:22:41Z")
Phlegm (Sorry) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/35 "2015-02-16T15:22:42Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > When I was growing up in Baltimore, I would hear people talking about a place called Holland Town. I knew about China Town, Greek Town, and Little Italy, so I figured Holland Town was a section of Baltimore where people from Holland predominated. > > Then one day when I was about 10 years old I was waiting for a 22 bus to take me to an Orioles game, and a bus going the other way went by. The route sign said: 22 - Highlandtown. :smack: I saw some folks with MD tags on their car at the rest stop. I asked which part of MD they were from and it took me a second to remember where “Aston Shaw” was. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/36 "2015-02-16T15:25:23Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Yeah, that would be the Balmer accent at work. :rolleyes: :smack: > > Sincerely, > OneCentStamp, who grew up in the rest of Maryland. 😃 Balmerese was generally prohibited in my house, but I’m pretty sure my parents said “Hollandtown”. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/37 "2015-02-16T15:26:47Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I saw some folks with MD tags on their car at the rest stop. I asked which part of MD they were from and it took me a second to remember where “Aston Shaw” was. At’s on da udder side a the bay, hon. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/38 "2015-02-16T15:30:28Z")
Hey, at least they weren’t tangerines. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/39 "2015-02-16T15:34:39Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > At’s on da udder side a the bay, hon. Downy oshun ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754/40 "2015-02-16T15:37:42Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > capicola Ah, but that’s only difficult if you use the American mobster pronunciation. > [@eschereal](#): > > Without the accent, the “a” would sound like the a in “sad”, right? The accent indicates length. It’s literally pronounced longer, not different. > [@drewtwo99](#): > > facade seems to defy all logic. let’s not get started on colonel. That’s easy. Italian spelling, French pronunciation. > [@](#): > > Neither the British nor American pronunciation of lieutenant makes me very happy either. What’s wrong with the Anerican pronunciation? > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I was on Bill Nighy’s Wikipedia page yesterday and notice that at the top it said “this is the page for the British actor. For the scientist Bill Nye, click here.” > > I was like “WTF?” until I saw the pronunciation guide next to Nighy’s name. Apparently his is also pronounced “Nye.” > > Er…dammit, sorry - I would have never guessed that’s how you PRONOUNCE it. What did you think it was? Niggy? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-never-would-have-guessed-thats-how-you-spell-it/712754.md?page=3)