You haven’t met him, but my father’s name is Jack. Born in 1940, in the US.
I still refer to Horse Doovers when I’m planning for a party (somehow, I picked a long o sound.) It’s just so funny now.
It was right here on the Dope that I learned the “forte” isn’t pronounced “for-tay” but is instead, “fort.” People just think I’m the ignorant one, though, when I use it properly. I also learned the proper way to say “victuals” is “vittles.” No, really, Jed Clampett had it right.
Great joke. I’m so stealing this.
Get this. When I was young growing up in a small, rural town, there was a father and son, Richard and Richard Jr. Or… “Big Dick” and “Little Dick”. This was about ten years ago.
Ditto on the hors d’oevres confusion, and I’ll add that I was about 15 when I realized that the food item quiche, which I had read about, and the food item *keish * that my mom sometimes made were one and the same.
Well, I think I did! 
At least, in the US I always thought it was. But I am Catholic, and the community I grew up in is mostly Catholic, and “John,” being a saint’s name is very common. Like you, I don’t think I know anyone who is really a “Jonathan.” (And I am talking about people who I know well enough to know what their full name is, such as cousins and close friends).
And, as others pointed out, “John” and “Jonathan” are unrelated names, and the nickname for “Jonathan” is usually spelled “Jon.”
Re Jon/Jonathan/John/Jack: as far as I’ve ever seen, John and Jonathan are two different names.
I’ve never heard of anyone named “Jonathan” who goes by “John” as a nickname. Maybe it happens, but I wouldn’t say it’s common at all. “Jon” as a nickname, yes. Not “John.”
I’m a “John” by birth and it’s always amazed me how many people assume it’s short for “Jonathan.” Even after they see it spelled out! I’ve only ever met one Jonathan in my life (in college about six years ago) and he went by “Jon” anyway. But I’ve met dozens of Johns that were given that name at birth.
So I definitely think “Jonathan” as a given name is something that exists only in people’s heads anymore. It’s “supposed to be that way,” even though reality has made Jonathan a rare name. People just don’t believe it.
Yes, it is irrelevant. However, I was addressing a different point. I’ve known a few Jonathans* throughout the years, and have never considered the name uncommon. I was rebutting your assertion that “John” is a nickname for Jonathan.
(And two of them used the nickname “Jona” (pronounced like the name Jonah) instead of “Jon”)
Should you believe a poster is breaking a rule, the proper response is to report the post or otherwise alert a mod. What you shouldn’t do is insult the poster (outside the Pit); this is not a new or complicated rule, nor is it one with which you are unfamiliar, having received a similar warning in the past.
Further comment on the subject should be posted in the Pit.
Shamozzle, this thread is clearly about erroneous beliefs you, personally, have held; it is not about your interpretations of other people’s religious beliefs. Should you want a discussion of religion, a thread can be opened in GD.
Accusations of trolling belong solely in the Pit. Please do not do this again. If you feel someone is trolling, report the post.
If we think a mod is being capricious or out-of-line, should we report the Mod Note post delivering the warning? Will y’all understand that usage of the report function or will you look at the content!context of the warning and say “no bad words here!” and move along?
You can find a list of the mods for each forum at the bottom of the front page of that forum. Emailing the one(s) you don’t have the beef with would be my recommendation. If you want to discuss it publicly, of course, it’s off to the Pit.
If you disagree with a mod’s ruling, 1010011010, you’re welcome to e-mail the mod to discuss it, or start a thread in the Pit.
At this point, we’re done with this hijack. Further discussion, if need be, can be had in the Pit.
As a boy, I knew a lot of words from reading before I knew how they were pronounced. I once embarrassed myself by pronouncing “despot” with a silent “t,” likening it to the pronunciation of “depot.”
My sister believed until her late teens that the British Isles are physically connected to Europe (and this was pre-Chunnel, mind you). She spoke about “taking the bus from London to Paris.”
My eldest son’s given name is John, and I, too, have been surprised by how many people assume that it’s short for “Jonathan.” Nope, t’aint.
RE the John/Jonathan subject: My name is Jonathan! I’ve only ever met one other person who goes by Jonathan as well. At 19, I may not have been around the block yet, but I’ve met quite a few people, I think. Honestly, it really pisses me off when people are presumptuous enough to assume that I would go by the shorter, more common “John.” That’s a surefire way for someone to set me off.
Hopefully that contributes some perspective to this topic.
You are not ignorant but they are not wrong either. Forte can be pronounced either way and you would be correct. This was brought up in a previous discussion. At dictionary.com it shows cites from several different dictionaries. Each one shows both ways as correct. From the cite:
Language evolves. This is one example. The two syllable pronunciation has become the usual one. You can still dig your heels in and say it your way and have everyone look at you funny. Some people (particularly around here) don’t seem to like the idea of language chaging. I don’t understand this. After all we don’t speak like Chaucer did. Things change.
So this is how it begins ,Idid too ,right up until reading your post.
According to this Staff Report (heh-heh – he said “staff”), the term in question had been taking hold for about seventy years by the time Van Dyke was starring as Rob Petrie:
There’s a guy in my hometown known by the name “Big Dick.” His first name wasn’t Richard either.
I’ve always wondered (i) how it got out (get your minds outta the gutter – or maybe not) for someone to name him that, and (ii) if he was proud of the name or embarassed.
When I was in the Army in Germany I had a German landlady. She believed that Dick and Doof (Laurel and hardy to us) and Mickey Maus (Mickey Mouse to us) were all German.
I would like to hear more about the African American doctor who was/wasn’t denied a blood transfusion. I always thought it was true.