# Tiny errors that drive you insane **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 29, 2016, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557 "2016-02-29T19:58:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/301 "2016-03-16T01:40:48Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Standards differ, or else we would all be speaking The Queen’s English. Dialects differ on pronunciation and usage. Cold comfort to those who are not promoted - or hired - because their pronunciation or usage is not standard. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/302 "2016-03-16T01:48:44Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > I just finished reading a rather scholarly book, full of difficult science. Repeatedly throughout, the word “fair” was used when it should have been “fare.” “This species did not \*fair \*well during the ecological crisis.” Worse, the author (or his editor) used “loose” for “lose.” Come on! Why should I trust your words on the difficult things when you can’t (or can’t be bothered to) get the easy things right? Something similar happens at my work a lot. Some of our procedures are near gibberish, but the authors just say, “Eh, people know what it means.” No, they don’t. I’ve seen the CAPAs. ---
**Author:** ![heckofva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7ab992/32.png) [@heckofva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heckofva)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/303 "2016-03-16T01:51:50Z")
> [@Haldurson](#): > > Actually, both pronunciations are correct, according to Merriam Webster’s online dictionary – [Caramel Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caramel) Depends on where you are from. Different areas have different pronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/304 "2016-03-16T02:58:19Z")
> [@heckofva](#): > > Most recently on the Walking Dead… > But in just about every movie/TV show with semi auto hand gun has the character rack the slide back before doing something with the gun. Even policeman and military personnel in uniform will take the weapon from their holster and rack the slide before going into a situation. So in other words they are walking around all day with a empty barrel . . . I know it’s not quite the same thing, but I was taught to keep the hammer down on an empty cylinder on a revolver (even though there are built-in protections against discharging from dropping the gun.) If I were a gun-carrying security guard with an auto at my hip, I’d carry it on an empty chamber, just because it’s how I was brought up. (Doubly so if I’d been on the job for a couple years and never once had to draw my weapon…) Don’t be too derisive of the force of tradition! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/305 "2016-03-17T11:31:42Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Mispronunciations of any word. In this Internet Age, it is totally inexcusable. > > Criminal Mind’s resident genius Spencer Reid pronounced Samhain “Sam-han.” Google it, you idiot, and find out it’s correctly pronounced Sow-een. I live just outside of Louisville, KY. Named after the French King Louis, pronounced Loo-eee. Locals don’t pronounce it that way. To a local, it’s loo-uh-vul. A local comedian, Bob Batch, actually has a joke where he teaches you the proper way to say it: the city/state is pronounced “Loo-uh-Vulcan-Ducky.” There’s a city just outside of Lexington named Versailles. Pronounced “Ver-sails.” This state will drive a non-native like me into an aneurysm with their regional pronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/306 "2016-03-17T17:39:10Z")
Is it really two full syllables? I always got the impression it was closer to “Loovle”, with the middle syllable barely audible. I know “Kootenai” is exactly two syllables (it sounds like “Cootnee”). ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/307 "2016-03-17T19:27:20Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Heh. Ivygirl was just saying after graduation that she’d have to wet her beret again. She said they hold their shape for about three days. An old Finnish army trick is take your beret and wear it in the sauna. Get it damp and mold it to your liking. Wear it till it’s reasonably dry. You get a nice shape that lasts a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/308 "2016-03-17T19:29:40Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Is it really two full syllables? I always got the impression it was closer to “Loovle”, with the middle syllable barely audible. I know “Kootenai” is exactly two syllables (it sounds like “Cootnee”). Good observation. You’re supposed to condense it to a single syllable. I neglected to include that ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/309 "2016-03-17T21:53:36Z")
People who talk about the Boston “Brew- ins” make me nuts. It’s “Bruns.” One syllable. And don’t get me started about 60 Minutes’ report on quin-cee Massachusetts. You think that all the natives say KWIN-zee might have given them a clue. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/310 "2016-03-17T22:25:13Z")
Nuh-vah-duh. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/311 "2016-03-17T22:32:09Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Nuh-vah-duh. Oreegone ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/312 "2016-03-17T23:28:22Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > People who talk about the Boston “Brew- ins” make me nuts. It’s “Bruns.” One syllable. > > And don’t get me started about 60 Minutes’ report on quin-cee Massachusetts. You think that all the natives say KWIN-zee might have given them a clue. I grew up fifty miles from Boston and have always pronounced it “brew-ins”. Frankly, I find the expectation that people should always pronounce things exactly as the locals do to be bizarre. I guarantee that everybody pronounces many if not most place names differently from the locals. If we’re talking about a TV show or movie where a local mispronounces things, that’s one thing. But if someone from Minnesota says “LOOeeville”, t’ain’t nothing wrong with it. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/313 "2016-03-17T23:48:03Z")
Well, there’s a difference between people pronouncing things in their own voice–making it sound a bit different than the typical local’s–and actually misunderstanding the name. I’d argue that pronouncing the towns in Kentucky or Ohio like the Palace in France, is just wrong. On the other hand, it would be weird for non-New Englanders to feign the accent to refer to any place or thing there. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/314 "2016-03-18T00:11:55Z")
I think that’s a fair distinction (although where we draw that line is an interesting question too: is the standard English pronunciation of “Paris” a mispronunciation?). It’s really the latter issue (insisting that things be pronounced in the local accent) that I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/315 "2016-03-18T00:46:49Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Oreegone More like “Awwrgawn” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/316 "2016-03-18T01:09:02Z")
One I was just reminded of today: Four-leaf shamrocks. The whole point of a shamrock, the reason why it’s associated with St. Patrick, is tied up inescapably with the fact that it has three leaflets. A four-leaf shamrock is thus completely pointless. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/317 "2016-03-18T02:01:12Z")
Massachusetts has Worcester and Gloucester, not to mention Leominster and Haverhill. We don’t get to complaint about people mis-pronouncing towns. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/318 "2016-03-18T02:29:09Z")
To be fair though (why am I being fair to Massachusetts?), while I don’t know the source of Haverhill or Leominster, Worcester and Gloucester are straight from England–with more or less the same pronunciations–so it’s their fault anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/319 "2016-03-18T03:02:27Z")
Ohio, meanwhile, is sane. We’ve got a town named Wooster, that’s spelled just like that, and is pronounced just like it’s spelled. ---
**Author:** ![johnwie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ea924/32.png) [@johnwie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnwie)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557/320 "2016-03-18T03:04:05Z")
Irritates the crap out of me - anytime there’s a “auto” pistol (i.e. an autoloader, vs a revolver), and someone is about to be shot, and the gun goes “click, click, click” when attempted to be fired. Not only normally would the slide be locked back after the last “loaded” round fired, but definitely only one click - the hammer/bolt/firing pin/trigger is only cocked ONCE, while loading the next round/closing the slide. At best, one click, unlike the double action revolver, where the trigger pull itself cocks/releases the hammer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tiny-errors-that-drive-you-insane/747557.md?page=17)