# What words, when mispronounced, set your teeth on edge? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624 "2008-11-13T23:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/21 "2008-11-14T05:21:57Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > mischievous as mis-chee-vee-ous How do you say it? And as for me, I guess it doesn’t set my teeth on edge, but when the cycle in motorcycle is pronounced the same as it is in bicycle, it just sounds so strange to me. ---
**Author:** ![GypsyBitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9bd4f/32.png) [@GypsyBitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GypsyBitch)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/22 "2008-11-14T05:34:41Z")
Libary for library…I am unable to keep the correction and subsequent comment about mispronouncing the name of a place that is dedicated to words from flying out of my mouth! :mad: Happens every time… ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/23 "2008-11-14T05:35:27Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > How do you say it? > > And as for me, I guess it doesn’t set my teeth on edge, but when the cycle in motorcycle is pronounced the same as it is in bicycle, it just sounds so strange to me. 😕 What it’s supposed to be sickle? As in “I don’t want a pickle. Just want to ride on my motorcycle.” That’s good for Arlo, but I think the rest of the planet rhymes it with bicycle. **GuanoLad**. Solder is most definitely pronounced “sodder” in North America. Being a transplant from the UK at a very young age (6) I was ridiculed for this “error” and a whole lot more before I finally learned to speak “correctly.” ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/24 "2008-11-14T05:41:38Z")
Valentime. Eric Clampton. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/25 "2008-11-14T05:49:49Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I just heard a reporter on NPR, fer Og’s sake, say “deteriate” instead of “deteriorate.” > > GAH! > > How about you? Yep, I was listening to that report about the financial crisis. She sounded intelligent until she said deteriate … twice. Anyway, since this board seems to have one of these every few weeks, here are mine: - “For all intensive purposes” (yes, I know it’s a phrase and not a word) - Any multi-syllabic word ending in “ty” for which the speaker employs a hard T sound instead of a soft t, e.g.: possibilitee, probitee, equalitee, etc… (drives me up the freaking wall) - exspecially - “a certain je ne sais quoi” (This makes me all kinds of stabby, because an embarrassingly high number of Americans who use it have absolutely no idea what the heck the words actually mean) - Usually non-Jewish people who insist on CONSTANTLY using certain Yiddish words even though they clearly have difficulty aspirating an H sound between two consonants, e.g.: “slep” for “Schlep”, “spillkiss” for “schpilchis”, etc… (Just…don’t. Okay?) - Philadelphians who pronounce “oh” as “ayoh”, e.g.: “hayogie” for “hoagie”, “hayome” for “home”, “bayoat” for “boat”, etc… (No, unfortunately, I’m not kidding) ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/26 "2008-11-14T05:50:20Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > 😕 What it’s supposed to be sickle? As in “I don’t want a pickle. Just want to ride on my motorcycle.” > > That’s good for Arlo, but I think the rest of the planet rhymes it with bicycle. I think **Nobody** rhymes “bicycle” with “pickle”, but “motorcycle” with “Michael”. You appear to think they do the reverse. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/27 "2008-11-14T06:09:11Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > I think **Nobody** rhymes “bicycle” with “pickle”, but “motorcycle” with “Michael”. You appear to think they do the reverse. Ah, upon re-read, never mind! I was hearing the **BI** -cycle, annunciation and not the bi- **CYCLE** annunciation. Either way, it caused me to go looking for some Arlo on Youtube. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/28 "2008-11-14T06:19:08Z")
I had a friend/coworker years ago that had to go to a parenting class because her teen got in some trouble. One of the things taught, that she really did like and agree with was the idea that the parent should always stay "Calm. Cool. And _Collective_. In my mind, I’d think, “Really? They want you to be Communist? That’s an interesting theory.” To my shame, I never did correct her to 'Collected". But no one but me was ever going to catch it, and it would’ve just upset her. (Bad time in her life.) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/29 "2008-11-14T06:23:31Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > 😕 What it’s supposed to be sickle? As in “I don’t want a pickle. Just want to ride on my motorcycle.” > > That’s good for Arlo, but I think the rest of the planet rhymes it with bicycle. Well so does he, when it fits. And I-i-i-i-I don’t wanna die. I just wanna ride on my motorcy . . . . . . . . . . . cle. Met Arlo at a show a couple years back and got to talk to him for a few minutes. Great show and heck of a nice guy. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/30 "2008-11-14T06:31:46Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Any multi-syllabic word ending in “ty” for which the speaker employs a hard T sound instead of a soft t, e.g.: possibilitee, probitee, equalitee, etc… (drives me up the freaking wall) It sounds like you are describing [intervocalic alveolar flapping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intervocalic_alveolar_flapping). Are you an American? If you are, your annoyance at this is quite surprising, as it is an almost categorical feature of American accents. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/31 "2008-11-14T06:37:47Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > How do you say it? > > And as for me, I guess it doesn’t set my teeth on edge, but when the cycle in motorcycle is pronounced the same as it is in bicycle, it just sounds so strange to me. :smack: Wait, I think I know. You probably say something like mis-chi-vus I’m guessing. And as for what I said I say bi - sickle and motor - psy-cle ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/32 "2008-11-14T06:48:44Z")
Dudes just can’t seem to get that sometimes there is _no one true way,_ that sometimes there are two 100% legit ways of pronoucing a word. _Nuclear_ is one example. Names of countries is another= “Germany” is pronounced “Deutschland” if you want to be really precise.😛 Wouldn’t “England” be “Angle-Land”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/33 "2008-11-14T06:52:53Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > It sounds like you are describing [intervocalic alveolar flapping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intervocalic_alveolar_flapping). Are you an American? If you are, your annoyance at this is quite surprising, as it is an almost categorical feature of American accents. I believe you’re referencing vocalic weakening which causes a word like “possibility” to be pronounced as “possibilidy”, which is how most Americans, IME, pronounce it. I’m referencing the reverse, where the letter T is emphasized, which sounds very odd and jarring coming from a non Brit. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/34 "2008-11-14T06:56:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Dudes just can’t seem to get that sometimes there is _no one true way,_ that sometimes there are two 100% legit ways of pronoucing a word. > > _Nuclear_ is one example. > > Names of countries is another= “Germany” is pronounced “Deutschland” if you want to be really precise.😛 > > Wouldn’t “England” be “Angle-Land”? 😛 I presume you’re also joking about nuclear. If not, how is nuclear an example of a word with two legitimate pronunciations? ---
**Author:** ![Sonnenstrahl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Sonnenstrahl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonnenstrahl)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/35 "2008-11-14T06:58:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > j"Germany" is pronounced “Deutschland” if you want to be really precise.😛 Pretentious, you mean. 🙂 Mischievous is the one that drives me nuts, because almost everyone I’ve ever heard say that has no idea that the I doesn’t follow the V. It’s one thing when it’s a regional pronunciation, but this one is going to change the spelling! ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/36 "2008-11-14T07:02:34Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I believe you’re referencing vocalic weakening which causes a word like “possibility” to be pronounced as “possibilidy”, which is how most Americans, IME, pronounce it. I’m referencing the reverse, where the letter T is emphasized, which sounds very odd and jarring coming from a non Brit. Ah, gotcha. You are correct; I didn’t understand what you meant by “hard T” and “soft T” but all is clear now. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/37 "2008-11-14T07:05:14Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I presume you’re also joking about nuclear. If not, how is nuclear an example of a word with two legitimate pronunciations? Both are listed in nearly any reliable dictionary, including the Oxford English. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/38 "2008-11-14T07:05:19Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > I presume you’re also joking about nuclear. If not, how is nuclear an example of a word with two legitimate pronunciations? Well, surely you are familiar with two, very common, widely spread pronunciations, employed by people without reservation or shame who have naturally acquired it from the speech community around them. What else does it take to make a pronunciation legitimate? Indeed, there are more than two, and it would be just as silly to denigrate “noo-kleer” as a sign of idiocy in comparison to “nyoo-kleer” as it is to cast such aspersions upon “noo-kyuler” (or “nyoo-kyuler”, or whatever else is in common usage). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/39 "2008-11-14T09:17:01Z")
“Nuptial” is not pronounced “NUP-choo-ul.” It’s “NUP-sh’l.” Would you say “MAR-choo-ul” or “PAR-choo-ul”? And “pundint” for “pundit.” (Yes I’m looking at you, Michelle Obama.) ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/40 "2008-11-14T09:22:44Z")
I know that it’s rather pedantic to call a common pronunciation ‘wrong’, but I can’t accept ‘noo-cyu-lar’ or ‘noo-cu-lar’ for nuclear unless you change the spelling to ‘nucular’. It means “of or relating to ‘nu-cle-us’” not ‘nu-cle’ or ‘nu-cul’. Pronouncing it that way is, to me, like pronouncing ‘frog’ as ‘Wankel rotary engine’–it doesn’t matter how many people say it that way, you just can’t get there from the spelling of the actual word. In other words: “It’s spelled ‘Raymond Luxury Yacht’, but it’s pronounced ‘Throatwarbler Mangrove.’” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624.md?page=3)