# Porcupine- how do you say it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 10, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070 "2004-11-10T19:49:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MamaHen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@MamaHen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MamaHen)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/1 "2004-11-10T19:49:59Z")
Last night **Whammo** mentioned he was shocked to find out there was a U in porcupine. He said that he had always pronounced it _por-key-pine_ . I said that I pronounced it _por-cue-pine_ . This started an argument because he says that everyone pronounces it his way and I said I had never heard it used his way. So Dopers, how do YOU pronounce it? ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/2 "2004-11-10T19:52:12Z")
Por-cue-pine. Never heard it the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/3 "2004-11-10T19:53:40Z")
Pork You Pine. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/4 "2004-11-10T19:54:41Z")
p.s. por-key-pine sounds like the joke way of saying it, like Homer simpson would say it. Tubamaba, saxamaphone, porkeypine. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/5 "2004-11-10T19:56:50Z")
I say pork-you-pine, with a bit of a Texas drawl. Pork-yew-pahn. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/6 "2004-11-10T19:57:57Z")
The way I say it is more like a cross between the two – pork-uh-pine. Not a “yew,” but not an “ee” either. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/7 "2004-11-10T20:01:53Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Pork You Pine. Same here. I’ve never heard it said pork-key-pine. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/8 "2004-11-10T20:02:47Z")
Pork-yah-paihn. Sort of Texas by way of Southern California. ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/9 "2004-11-10T20:07:53Z")
BAHHH… y’all dont know how to speak good! btw… “cue” wins by a majority here at work too… BUT… from [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) por·cu·pine ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pôrky-pn) n. \Por"cu\*pine, n. [OE. porkepyn, porpentine, OF. porc-espi, F. porc-['e]pic (cf. It. porco spino, porco spinoso, Sp. puerco espino, puerco espin, fr. L. porcus swine + spina thorn, spine). The last part of the French word is perhaps a corruption from the It. or Sp.; cf. F. ['e]pi ear, a spike of grain, L. spica. See Pork, Spike a large nail, Spine.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) Any Old Word rodent of the genus Hystrix, having the back covered with long, sharp, erectile spines or quills, sometimes a foot long. The common species of Europe and Asia (Hystrix cristata) is the best known. …so… um… there… or something… ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/10 "2004-11-10T20:11:10Z")
“Throatwarbler Mangrove”. No, wait…por-cue-pine. Yes, that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/11 "2004-11-10T20:14:44Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > p.s. por-key-pine sounds like the joke way of saying it, like Homer simpson would say it. Tubamaba, saxamaphone, porkeypine. You forgot platamapus. I’m in the “pork-you-pine” club. And I say it with a Minnesota accent, thank you very much. Yah, sure, you betcha. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/12 "2004-11-10T20:16:45Z")
> [@Dolores Reborn](#): > > I say pork-you-pine, with a bit of a Texas drawl. Pork-yew-pahn. 😃 That’s how I say, though my accent’s more Southern than Texan. I just listened to the [Merriam Webster definition](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=porcupine) twenty times and it sounds like “pork-yew-pine” there too. They have the pronunciation as "‘por-ky&-“pIn”. I’m not sure what sound the “ky&” is supposed to be tho’… ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/13 "2004-11-10T20:23:17Z")
Around here we say **por-cue-pine**. I’ve never heard it pronounced any other way. Then again people here think Starbucks is good coffee. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/14 "2004-11-10T20:24:43Z")
There are a couple folks here at my workplace that say porky-pine. What’s the nice way to say this…? Not the sharpest knives in the drawer. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/15 "2004-11-10T20:28:25Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > There are a couple folks here at my workplace that say porky-pine. > > What’s the nice way to say this…? > > Not the sharpest knives in the drawer. When I say both in my head, they actually sound the same. ---
**Author:** ![Xan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@Xan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/16 "2004-11-10T20:31:52Z")
> [@MamaHen](#): > > Last night **Whammo** mentioned he was shocked to find out there was a U in porcupine. He said that he had always pronounced it _por-key-pine_ . I said that I pronounced it _por-cue-pine_ . This started an argument because he says that everyone pronounces it his way and I said I had never heard it used his way. So Dopers, how do YOU pronounce it? I say it por-cue-pine. His way is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![myrnajean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@myrnajean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myrnajean)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/17 "2004-11-10T20:39:27Z")
Pork Ya Pine ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/18 "2004-11-10T20:43:13Z")
Pork You Pine. Proky-pine sounds like the way someone goofs around and pronounces the “c” in “scissors” for “skizzers”. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/19 "2004-11-10T20:46:43Z")
When I hear someone pronounce it “pork-eee-pine” I think of the South, in a bad, less-than-intelligent kind of way. “Pork-you-pine” is correct. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070/20 "2004-11-10T20:53:48Z")
I grew up saying “porkypine” but now I tend to go with “pork you pine.” Whenever I encounter an anamoly between what I learned and what is right, I just shrug and say “it must be a Utah thing.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/porcupine-how-do-you-say-it/274070.md?page=2)