# POLL: How do you pronounce the word "mushy"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716 "2022-02-18T01:20:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/1 "2022-02-18T01:20:33Z")
As in this sentence: “If you boil macaroni too long, it will get _mushy_.” _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/1))_ This word turns up a lot in the many cooking shows and YouTube cooking videos that I watch. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/2 "2022-02-18T01:35:19Z")
It rhymes with _slushie_ (or _slushy_, if you prefer. They’re both pronounced the same, whether you’re discussing the adjective or the frozen beverage at Kwik-E-Mart). Where do I file a protest about this question being a matter of opinion? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/3 "2022-02-18T01:39:16Z")
Usually option 2, but occasionally option 1 and I can’t tell you when or why because I don’t know. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/4 "2022-02-18T01:40:53Z")
I use both. For UK Mushy Peas it’s option 2. For things like a muddy river bank you sink into, that’s mushy option 1. ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/5 "2022-02-18T01:56:12Z")
Option 1 sounded the most natural to me. I’m surprised to see that’s not the most common pronunciation. I guess I associate it with _smoosh_. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/6 "2022-02-18T01:57:05Z")
Mushy so the first syllable rhymes with slush. It’s the only word that I say like that, though - in the London that mushy peas come from. Pushy, cushy, bushy have a different vowel. I guess gushy would rhyme with mushy, and so would rushy if that became a word, but for words that are already in common usage, mushy is an outlier. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/7 "2022-02-18T01:57:13Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Where do I file a protest about this question being a matter of opinion? No need to file a protest. I happen to think it’s a matter of opinion, too. This forum is called “In My Humble Opinion.” What’s eating _you_? ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/8 "2022-02-18T02:04:03Z")
If you say mushy as in pushy, do you say mushrooms as in push-brooms? ---
**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:** [February 18, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/9 "2022-02-18T02:09:54Z")
To me, “pushy” pronunciation perhaps hyperbolically accentuates the texture; ewwww, it’s mushy. The other pronunciation is more like; meh, it’s mushy, that’s just the way it is. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/10 "2022-02-18T02:12:35Z")
I think I know what you’re saying. There is an onomatopoeic quality to “mushy” rhyming with “pushy.” Besides the slight ick factor, I don’t get it – does anybody refer to, say, cornmeal mush to rhyme with push? ---
**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:** [February 18, 2022, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/11 "2022-02-18T02:24:17Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > does anybody refer to, say, cornmeal mush to rhyme with push? Cornmeal mush isn’t mushy but if it were made incorrectly, I’d say, “ewww, this mush is mushy” with “mush” option 2 and “mushy” option 1. > [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > There is an onomatopoeic quality to “mushy” rhyming with “pushy.” Yep! ---
**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 18, 2022, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/12 "2022-02-18T04:33:47Z")
The Kwik-E-Mart sells Squishies. Now get the hell out and COME AGAIN! ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/13 "2022-02-18T04:54:31Z")
Either way, or something in between. I don’t have a firm policy. The mushier something is, though, the more I lean to “rhymes with pushy”. To the related question of how I handle my sled dog commands, I’ll need more time to answer. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2022, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/14 "2022-02-18T04:57:39Z")
This is exactly me. Most of the time #2, but sometimes #1. ETA: Ack, I did the poll wrong. It’s actually the opposite for me. I’m mostly #1, sometimes #2. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2022, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/15 "2022-02-18T05:04:09Z")
I use both, but I don’t think they sound the same. It actually took me a bit to realize they are the same word. I use the vowel in hush when talking about “mush” or things that are physically like mush. I use mooshy (vowel in push) when talking about things like a love poem. I also might use mooshy to refer to something that I can easily smoosh (but isn’t necessarily a mush). But I think that’s just me leaving off the s. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/16 "2022-02-18T05:10:03Z")
Right. Mush. Mushy. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/17 "2022-02-18T05:21:46Z")
Option 1 usually. But sometimes 2. Depends on how I feel at the time. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2022, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/18 "2022-02-18T05:32:13Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > If you say mushy as in pushy, do you say mushrooms as in push-brooms? No. Is there a reason I should? The same sequence of letters can be pronounced differently in different contexts – especially in English. And, besides, the “mush” in “mushy” is etymologically unrelated to the “mush” in “mushroom.” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/19 "2022-02-18T05:59:45Z")
Option 1 sounds like a Chinese pork dish. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2022, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716/20 "2022-02-18T08:30:08Z")
It’s context-dependent. Mostly it’s /ˈmʌʃi/ , but mushy peas, specifically, are /ˈmʊʃi/ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-how-do-you-pronounce-the-word-mushy/959716.md?page=2)