# New York accent pronunciation of "whore" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370 "2003-06-17T02:44:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/1 "2003-06-17T02:44:26Z")
I’ve heard it on The Sopranos, I’ve heard it from Borscht Belt comedians, and I’ve heard it from New Yorkers and Long Islanders that I’ve known. **Hoo-wah**. It’s how many folks in the Tri-State region apparently pronounce the word _whore_. I know that many Noo Yawkers have a distinctive accent, but hoo-wah? I’ve never heard anyone say “stoo-wah” for _store_, “foo-wah” for _four_, “moo-wah” for _more_ or “coo-wah” for _core_. Why “hoo-wah,” though? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/2 "2003-06-17T02:47:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > \*\*I know that many Noo Yawkers have a distinctive accent, but hoo-wah? I’ve never heard anyone say “stoo-wah” for _store_, “foo-wah” for _four_, “moo-wah” for _more_ or “coo-wah” for _core_. Why “hoo-wah,” though? \*\* You haven’t heard many New Yorkers, have you? That’s precisely how they would pronounce those words. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/3 "2003-06-17T02:49:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > I know that many Noo Yawkers have a distinctive accent, but hoo-wah? I’ve never heard anyone say “stoo-wah” for _store_, “foo-wah” for _four_, “moo-wah” for _more_ or “coo-wah” for _core_. Why “hoo-wah,” though? Well, you haven’t been around many New Yorkers if you haven’t heard any of those other pronunciations. The who-ah is a bit of an exageration, but how do you imagine New Yorkers pronounce: store (staw-ah) more (maw-ah) four (faw-ah) it’s kind of a cross between the aw/oo sounds. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/4 "2003-06-17T02:52:34Z")
I’ve heard a little bit of the Noo Yawk accent with a word like “store” from my downstate friends – it’s sometimes broken up into two syllables – but it certainly isn’t as pronounced as when they say the word “whore.” ---
**Author:** ![doctordoowop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@doctordoowop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordoowop)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/5 "2003-06-17T02:55:29Z")
Having spent time in NYC, IMO whore is pronounced as above. This is not precisely only because of the NYC accent. For example, bore & core should rhyme w/ whore, but are pronounced baw-uh, caw-uh, not quite like hoo-wah. So I think there is a difference- whore has some “extra” NY accent. Difficult to spell out the distinctions. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/6 "2003-06-17T03:27:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by doctordoowop \* > \*\*Having spent time in NYC, IMO whore is pronounced as above. This is not precisely only because of the NYC accent. For example, bore & core should rhyme w/ whore, but are pronounced baw-uh, caw-uh, not quite like hoo-wah. So I think there is a difference- whore has some “extra” NY accent. Difficult to spell out the distinctions. \*\* Even outside New York, some speakers give the vowel in “whore” an “oo” sound. Example: in Leonard Cohen’s song “Is This What You Wanted,” he clearly pronounces the word “hoor.” ---
**Author:** ![ragerdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@ragerdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ragerdude)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/7 "2003-06-17T03:32:53Z")
By “oo” do you mean the “oo” as in look or as in coop? ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/8 "2003-06-17T04:11:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ragerdude \* > \*\*By “oo” do you mean the “oo” as in look or as in coop? \*\* More the latter, I think. Does it derive from the Irish immigrants way back? I ask this b/c Eire/N.I./(G.B.) are the only other place I’ve heard both this pronunciation and the Brooklyn/N.J./Queens “What will yez/youse be having?” ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/9 "2003-06-17T04:23:09Z")
People, I suspect you are overthinking this. When I first encountered the word, growing up on the rough and tumble streets of Brooklyn, NY, USA, it was in fact pronounced hoo-uh. I heard if from little kids who no doubt heard it from their big brothers who heard it from their blue collar dads who heard it from _their_ blue collar dads. Nobody in the chain was exactly an Oxford linguist, if you get my drift. Now, with that context in mind, imagine you are a recently-arrived immigrant (or child of one) at the turn of the century encountering this strange English word for the first time. What do you see? Okay, you recognize the first three letters: w-h-o. According to what Sister Rosalie taught you, they are pronounced “hoo.” That part is solved. Then there’s this: r-e. Hmmm… must be “ruh.” So the word is “hoo-ruh.” Doesn’t trip off the tongue, but that must be the word. (And remember, you’re on your own here – this is not exactly one of Sister Rosalie’s assigned vocabulary words, so no one who knows better is going to set you straight the first time, nor can you ask them.) Now, take your mispronounced word and pass it down through about four generations of lazy-tongued speakers in various (mostly Italian) accents and you’ll end up smoothing off all the rough edges, resulting in: “Hoo-uh.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/10 "2003-06-17T05:22:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stuyguy \* > \*\*People, I suspect you are overthinking this. > \*\* **We’re** overthinking this? Did you read your post…? ---
**Author:** ![Dolas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/278dde/32.png) [@Dolas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dolas)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/11 "2003-06-17T07:07:14Z")
I kaynt buhleev yooz guise kaynt prunowns whores. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/12 "2003-06-17T07:42:54Z")
My WAG is due to the amount of Irish ex-pats. Hoor is how it is pronounced by many people (moreso in the country) in Ireland. e.g. “He was a right cute hoor”. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/13 "2003-06-17T15:39:51Z")
As a kid growing up in the Bronx, I knew that slutty girls were called “HOO-ers.” It was quite a revelation in junior high when one of my friends told me that the word was used in the Bible. I never had realized that “hoo-er” was actually spelled “whore.” I agree that, although the NY pronunciation of “store” etc is similar, “whore” is more extreme and more distinctly two-syllabled. ---
**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, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/14 "2003-06-17T16:07:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Colibri \* > **As a kid growing up in the Bronx, I knew that slutty girls were called "HOO-ers."** That’s the way Augustus McCrae pronounced it in _Lonesome Dove_ and he was supposed to be from Texas. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/15 "2003-06-17T16:38:54Z")
This reminds me of an old knock knock joke way when I was in grammar school. Step one: Tell the person they have to speak with an Italian accent (i.e. add an “a” to the end of words). You: Knock Knock Them: Who’sa therea You: Me Them: mea whoa Laughter ensued. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/16 "2003-06-17T16:39:03Z")
> [@](#): > > We’re overthinking this? Did you read your post…? Point taken, John. [Smilie here.] ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/17 "2003-06-17T16:50:36Z")
If you want to talk like a New Yawk hoo-wah, simply pretend that your upper lip is entirely paralyzed, and you have limited movement with your lower lip. (Key gesture - stick your chin forward often.) Viola! You to can play “types” on TV. If you want to fake a French accent, simply pucker at least your lower lip on every syllable. (Key gesture - keep changing your gaze from the listeners right eye to their left.) If you want to sound like a garden variety Asian, make sure your tongue touches the roof of your mouth with every syllable. (Key gesture - nod often) If you want to sound like whatever euphemism for “ghetto” scriptwriters are using these days, put a small piece of hard candy in your mouth. (Key gesture - have an elderly sound technician teach you the latest gang sign pastiche.) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/18 "2003-06-17T16:53:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Mace \* > \*\*Well, you haven’t been around many New Yorkers if you haven’t heard any of those other pronunciations. The who-ah is a bit of an exageration, but how do you imagine New Yorkers pronounce: > > store (staw-ah) > more (maw-ah) > four (faw-ah) > > it’s kind of a cross between the aw/oo sounds. \*\* Yes, the New York whore is similar to these. It’s more of the ‘haw’…with the more exagerrated examples being ‘haw-ah’, with a ‘hawa’ in the middle somewhere. ‘Haw’ = almost typical abberation of the ‘or’ sound. (typical of region) ‘Hawa’= same as above with a little breath at the end ‘Haw-ah’ = exagerrated breath at the end - most urban sound ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-york-accent-pronunciation-of-whore/182370/19 "2003-06-17T16:55:44Z")
**stuyguy** , your theory depends on people looking at the word in print and trying to pronounce it letter for letter. However, the blue collar immigrants you describe are much less likely to have seen the word “whore” in print than to have heard it. Keep in mind it means the same thing in Ireland and Britain, and has for hundreds of years, as it does here.