# What words do you \*intentionally\* mispronounce? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374 "2003-05-20T20:13:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/21 "2003-05-20T21:50:09Z")
BUFF-ett for buffet – don’t know why, we just started doing it. Horse Doovers – I ran across that one somewhere years ago and it stuck. And my favorite NON-mispronunciation: SO-crates Street in New Orleans. That’s right. Just like Bill & Ted say it. Only it’s for REAL. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/22 "2003-05-20T21:51:14Z")
Sammich. Canadia. Wednesday with three syllables. ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/23 "2003-05-20T22:25:42Z")
li-barry. I just love to say it real loud, in front of strangers. I also like to say epitome incorrectly. Any french word (just to show off that I know how it’s really pronounced, so I think) dropping the last sound on numbers like fi…, si…, se…, eigh…, ni…, te…, etc. som-bitch is another one, along with sammich. Oh, and ARse, with lots of emphasis on the R, instead of plain old “ass.” Why, I don’t know. Wabbit. Liddoo doggee. From my little nephews: I wanna watch “Pendence Day”! and, when it’s dark out, “I’m scary outside.” Serially, for seriously. (??) ---
**Author:** ![RawkStah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@RawkStah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RawkStah)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/24 "2003-05-20T22:33:56Z")
Sammich, but only for ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly. Prezactly – a combination of precisely and exactly While it’s never intentional, my pronunciations for “either” (EE-ther and EYE-ther) and “neither” (NEE-ther and NYE-ther) alternate. In high school, one of my friends overheard one of the (pick your term: dirty-dirt-dirts, scum, losers, hoods, ne’er-do-wells) ask where the fire DIStingusiher was. Again, I doubt that it was intentional. Well, perhaps it was, if he actually thought that was what the item in question was called. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/25 "2003-05-20T22:49:10Z")
thee-ta. The rest of my Brothers in my fratnerity pronounce it they-ta, but I pronounce it the way my Greek English teacher pronounced it for me when I asked her what the symbol was. Maybe I’m right, but then again different Greek organizations pronounce different letters differently. For example, is it phi rhyming with pie or phi rhyming with free? It depends. So yeah, thee-ta. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/26 "2003-05-20T23:07:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dinsdale \* > \*\*In-con-THEIVE-a-ble! \*\* Heh heh. I pronounce the name “Dante” as “dant.” Like “ant” with a D. ---
**Author:** ![Jerrybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@Jerrybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerrybear)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/27 "2003-05-20T23:14:51Z")
Sometimes I say “breafkast” instead of “breakfast.” When I first heard of the word as a young child, I just thought it sounded better that way. Occasionally I will pronounce the name of the NFL’s Greatest Quarterback Ever as it is spelled (Fav-ruh) instead of how it is supposed to be pronounced (Farrrve). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/28 "2003-05-20T23:42:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RawkStah \* > **While it’s never intentional, my pronunciations for “either” (EE-ther and EYE-ther) and “neither” (NEE-ther and NYE-ther) alternate.** You mean you’re intentionally inconsistent about those? Wow, I thought I was the only one in the world who did that. (Though I tend to favor eye-ther/nye-ther.) I also like to say “aminal.” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/29 "2003-05-20T23:45:22Z")
## quote: ## Originally posted by RawkStah While it’s never intentional > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biffy the Elephant Shrew \* > \*\*You mean you’re intentionally inconsistent > \*\* Ah, my first opportunity to use the :smack: ! And just for good measure: D’oh! ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/30 "2003-05-20T23:51:29Z")
horz doovers viola instead of voilà (I also sometimes do this in posts) ---
**Author:** ![karomon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@karomon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/karomon)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/31 "2003-05-21T00:03:45Z")
My roommate sometimes uses a really FOBby accent - for roof, he’ll say “LOOP-puh”. I’ve tried doing this several times, but I decided to leave it to the master - or “mas-SUH-tah”. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/32 "2003-05-21T00:19:25Z")
The only one I do that hasn’t already been mentioned is rhinocerous, which gets pronounced rhino-sauras. Or, at least the only one I use that I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![SouprChckn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@SouprChckn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SouprChckn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/33 "2003-05-21T00:52:39Z")
Possi-BLY. Cause nothing could possi-BLY go wrong. hehe. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/34 "2003-05-21T01:06:01Z")
Ham **p** ster, and ka-napes (for canapes.) ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/35 "2003-05-21T01:13:14Z")
I do the either/neither (eye-ther/ee-ther) thing as well… I try and get my friends to catch me out when I’m saying it so we can find out which one I use more often. But when I’m with my friends we pretty much mispronounce every other word just for the heck of it. We get quite a few stares in the streets. Some words have evolved so much, that when I’m at home I tell my parents to “devolumise” or “volumise” the TV 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lilbtagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@lilbtagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilbtagna)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/36 "2003-05-21T01:16:29Z")
I like to say mis-CHEE-vee-us. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/df705f/32.png) [@Peter\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/37 "2003-05-21T01:44:36Z")
Moab = sounds like robe trachea - I pronounce it the ‘other’ way. ---
**Author:** ![jjohnny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@jjohnny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjohnny)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/38 "2003-05-21T02:06:24Z")
schtuff for stuff. not really funny, just something I like to say. ---
**Author:** ![fizzestothetop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fizzestothetop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fizzestothetop)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/39 "2003-05-21T02:11:12Z")
In Ag class in 8th grade someone started coughing/choking on something and the boy I had a crush on said “Give him the hydrolic remover!” and ever since then the hiem…heim…hym…that one manouver, you know, has been the hydrolic remover to me. It’s much easier to spell that way too. (and no I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but he was still cute.) ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374/40 "2003-05-21T02:17:18Z")
Roast Beast instead of Roast Beef. I got it from an old boyfriend (I think he got it from “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”). “Ah Tri-uppt” (heavy 'okie/southern accent) instead of I tripped. It’s an OLD, OLD (late 70s early 80s) joke between my sister and I involving a line in a bad “B” movie (we are pretty sure we are the only ones in this country who have seen it). We never caught the name of it, because back then, in Anchorage the stations never came on with “Station Identification and You Are Watching” announcements on late night TV, and we started watching it after it had already played the title and pre (?)credits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-do-you-intentionally-mispronounce/176374.md?page=3)