Oh, wait, I guess a scale could be a newton meter, as in a meter that measures newtons. But in that mode of usage, a torque wrench would be a newton-meter meter.
Look at the word “micrometer”. (I use the US spelling here.)
Pronounced ‘mi-KROM-i-tur’, it’s the measuring instrument.
Pronounced ‘MIKE-ro-mee-tur’, it’s the unit of length.
Same for ‘KILL-oh-mee-tur’. I remember being specifically taught that pronunciation when I was a kid–we had a tendency to say ‘kill-OM-i-tur’ as well.
Using the international spelling of ‘metre’ for the unit of length gives a further distiction between the two.
Um, I guess shillabus said it first.
Sorry, just because you were taught something doesn’t mean it’s correct. We’ve already had exception to this supposed rule, and it seems pretty clear that there’s regional differences at play as well. Sure, it would be nice if it were as logical as the way you were taught - but it seems less confusing to use odometer instead.
I have heard people say cenTImeter. Also milLImeter.
I always pronounce it “graduated C-clamp” (to the horror of my brother the engineer).
(He says “mi KROM-i-tur”.)
Scientists I know who learned to drive in the US where motorists think in terms of miles usually say KILometer.
Most other people say kilOMeter.
European engineers will sometimes start saying KILometer in especially nerdy conversations.
Small sample set, though…