I have always referred to a cluttered house or something scattered about as being “strown” (rhymes with stone). Most Northerners I have no refer to it as being “strewn” (rhymes with rune). Per wiki, ‘strown’ is an archaic English form of ‘strewn’.
I’m curious as to which is the most prevalent in today’s use. Which one did you grow up using more hearing?
I grew up in Europe, mostly, although I am in the US now.
Also it seems to me that “strewn” (or “strown” if you prefer) is an active adjective, indicating things being purposefully scattered about. I would not describe a cluttered house as strewn. I might say the house was cluttered because things had been strewn about inside, perhaps.
Weird. On my Facebook page, Alabamans and Georgians, even upper-middle class/well educated ones, are unanimously saying “strown” and anyone from Mid Atlantic north or the Midwest is saying strewn.
I was grown before I heard strewn. Or maybe I was grewn.
I have heard “strown,” but I always assumed it was a variant pronunciation of strewn. You know, like the archaic shewn as used in the KJV Bible. I personally use “strewn” pronounced “stroon”, though.
I am British (but lived over 20 years in California), and I have never before heard of “strown”.
Where is it that you think that people say “strown”? Is it the southern USA?
I grew up hearing ‘strown about’ mostly when I was getting in trouble for a messy room. My parents grew up in Mississippi. I still hear it said ‘strown’ but I live very close to the MS state line and there are a lot of MS transplants here. I’ve lived across the south from TX to Georgia, and I think it’s fairly common in northern LA, MS, AL, and GA but not heard commonly in TX and southern LA. It’s hard to say because it’s not a usual occurrence for non-family members to comment on things being strewn/strown about.