# P is for Psycho **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 27, 2012, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851 "2012-01-27T11:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/1 "2012-01-27T11:53:51Z")
P is for psycho T is for tzar C is for chevron G is for gnat H is for honesty J is for jalapeno K is for knave M is for mnemonic O is for opossum V is for verklempt W is for wunderkind Any others? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/2 "2012-01-27T11:59:29Z")
C is also for czar X is for xenophobia L is for Llanelli ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/3 "2012-01-27T12:05:45Z")
A is for aisle, B is for bdellium. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/4 "2012-01-27T12:14:45Z")
H is for hour and heir H is for humble and herb if you’re a Yank H is for hotel if you’re an old-fashioned posh Brit ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/5 "2012-01-27T12:21:42Z")
D is for Djenné, Djibouti, and Djakarta E is for Eammon ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/6 "2012-01-27T12:30:45Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > … > O is for opossum > … The **O** in _opossum_ is pronounced, quite clearly. Sure, lots of people say “'possum,” but that is a different word, a slangy version of the animal’s true name, and _written_ without the **O** (sometimes, though not necessarily, with an apostrophe to indicate its absence). Most of your examples seem to be of initial silent letters, but some are just ones sounded a bit differently from usual, so I am not quite sure what you are getting at here. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/7 "2012-01-27T12:53:05Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Most of your examples seem to be of initial silent letters, but some are just ones sounded a bit differently from usual, so I am not quite sure what you are getting at here. I’m basically seeking examples of what to say when spelling words by letter over the phone, for the sake of utterly confusing the other person. 🆒 Some people actually say the “O” in opossum? Never once have I heard it pronounced that way! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/8 "2012-01-27T13:09:13Z")
A as in Aaay! B as in Bee G as in Gee J as in Jay K as in Kay O as in Oh P as in Pee Q as in Que T as in Tee ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/9 "2012-01-27T13:35:13Z")
Moving from IMHO to Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/10 "2012-01-27T15:06:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > A as in Aaay! > B as in Bee > G as in Gee > J as in Jay > K as in Kay > O as in Oh > P as in Pee > Q as in Que > T as in Tee You mean Q as in Queue? O is for Oeconomics Q is for Quay ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/11 "2012-01-27T15:11:47Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > I’m basically seeking examples of what to say when spelling words by letter over the phone, for the sake of utterly confusing the other person. 🆒 Then Opossum, Verklempt, and Wunderkind make no sense, since the first letter is pronounced exactly as you would imagine. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/12 "2012-01-27T15:45:02Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Then [Verklempt and Wunderkind] make no sense, since the first letter is pronounced exactly as you would imagine. Only if you speak German. 😉 Looks like there’s two separate themes developing. First (which was my OP’s intent) there’s the deceptive: A is for _“Arr, Matey!”_ E is for eye, ell, err S is for sea Y is for you Second, less deceptive but equally confusing: B as in Bea D as in Dee E as in “Eeeee!” P as in pea T as in tea Z as in zed ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/13 "2012-01-27T15:45:02Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > L is for Llanelli Similarly D is for (Carreg-y-) Ddafad, but that’s cheating. Actually, so is “Llanelli” technically, because “ll” is one letter in Welsh, just like “dd”. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/14 "2012-01-27T15:57:51Z")
A for horses B for Mutton? C for yourself D for dumb E for brick F for vescent etc ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/15 "2012-01-27T17:15:23Z")
The Barenaked Ladies on their kid’s album has an awesome song about such words. [Crazy ABCs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvPhtNZCj0) Make sure you pay attention to the order of the alphabet as it wasn’t until it was released as a CD that anyone commented/noticed it was wrong. But a great song. If you like that song, you’ll love their Ninjas song and 7 8 9 too! ---
**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:** [January 27, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/16 "2012-01-27T18:26:54Z")
P as in “pneumatic” (at least, as it is pronounced now). ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/17 "2012-01-27T18:30:51Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > I’m basically seeking examples of what to say when spelling words by letter over the phone, for the sake of utterly confusing the other person. 🆒 I used to work at a call center where we had two servers, P and T. About once a week, the servers would crash, and everyone would have to switch to one server. This meant someone yelling out, “switch to P as in Paul!” or “T as in Tom!” So of course, being the troublemaker I am, I had to start yelling out “P as in Pterodactyl!” ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/18 "2012-01-27T18:33:23Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > A as in Aaay! A as in Fuckin A ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/19 "2012-01-27T18:46:58Z")
I have one of these lists too! I use it to sometimes mess with friendly vendors when naming off serial numbers A - Aegis B - Bdellium C - Czar D - Djinn E - Eye F - Fjord G - Gnaw H - Hour I - Is J - Junta K - Know L - M - Mnemonic N - Nguyen O - Oedipal P - Phonetic Q - R - S - See T - Tsar U - Urn V - W - Wrench X - Xenomorph Y - Yggdrasil Z - ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851/20 "2012-01-27T19:09:59Z")
I can’t believe I didn’t have this one based on the thread title: M is for Murderousness [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/p-is-for-psycho/610851.md?page=2)