# What's your favourite letter of the Greek alphabet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2017, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630 "2017-05-01T10:39:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/21 "2017-05-01T17:47:06Z")
Mu. Because… Well, _Moo_. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/22 "2017-05-01T17:51:55Z")
_Psi_. It’s all about the wave, baby! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/23 "2017-05-01T17:57:56Z")
Omega. From reading the book _The House with a Clock in its Walls_ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/24 "2017-05-01T18:14:51Z")
I was tempted to choose Tau, for the greater good. But, no, it’s Lambda. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/25 "2017-05-01T18:59:17Z")
I like Upsilon just for the pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/26 "2017-05-01T19:19:46Z")
Not much Omega love? I’m surprised. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/27 "2017-05-01T19:23:16Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Omega. From reading the book _The House with a Clock in its Walls_ > [@Calatin](#): > > Not much Omega love? I’m surprised. I’m with you! ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/28 "2017-05-01T19:42:33Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I have an irrational love for pi. Why iota … ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/29 "2017-05-01T21:24:31Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Why iota … Why I have alpha mind … Beta not do this again. … Omegawd! ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/30 "2017-05-01T21:44:02Z")
Prosaic though it may be, I love me some pi. Who doesn’t like pie? Especially lemon meringue, but I digress. Pi is also a nifty number and has its very own holiday on March 14th. And finally, I have fond memories of my college years during which I pledged a sorority whose first letter was pi. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/31 "2017-05-01T22:07:00Z")
> [@Calatin](#): > > Not much Omega love? I’m surprised. Count me in. _The Omega Man_ is one of my favorite guilty-pleasure movies. Plus, I like the shape of the symbol, with its sturdy little feet. Pi is OK, too. I like Pi(e). And Zeta. Otherwise the actress would just be Catherine Jones, which is boring. OTOH, Sigma is right out. This is because in my job I used to have to make a certain complicated oilfield calculation, called SigmaLog, that never seemed to work anyway. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/32 "2017-05-01T22:11:00Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > First, think about what the names omicron and omega actually mean. Similarly “upsilon” means u psilon which is translated as plain or simple u. There is no complicated u in the Greek language except for the diphthong oi. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/33 "2017-05-01T22:52:08Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Omega has a nice ring to it and looks like a horse shoe. Epsilon sounds the coolest and is what I most associate with sorority names. > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard “omicron” said out loud. I’m not even sure I was aware of its existence before this thread. Is it rarely used or something? [Here ya go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8UOit6ruZs). (Futurama reference ahead.) ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/34 "2017-05-02T00:35:46Z")
[Mmm, pi.](https://cdn.meme.am/instances/62529612.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/35 "2017-05-02T00:45:43Z")
This reminds me of when I actually sounded out what is on those Jesus fish in Greek, and it turns out it’s not “Christos,” but “Ichthys.” I laughed out loud. It’s a fish that says “fish.” _I_ could have that on _my_ car. And a cat that says “cat,” and a dog that says “dog,” and so on. Also, sometimes people put them on upside down. Then I really laugh. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/36 "2017-05-02T01:06:52Z")
Delta. Because of a “Mathematics as a foreign language” course I took in college ages ago and having been able to use it in daily conversation now and then since. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/37 "2017-05-02T03:28:49Z")
_Rah rah for Kappa Kappa Gamma! Three cheers for the girls who wear the **blue** and **blue**! And you can quote me when I say I am a, Kappa girl from KKG!_ Kappa wins. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/38 "2017-05-02T21:54:05Z")
Bonus question - which sounds the most science fictiony? Omicron is definitely up there, but I think zeta and upsilon are not far behind. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/39 "2017-05-03T00:34:00Z")
Tough choice. I went with lambda because I like colors (EM wavelengths) and queer books (Lambda Literary). ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630/40 "2017-05-03T01:17:21Z")
Λ (Lambda) because THIS IS SPARTA!!! Well, \*this \*isn’t Sparta. This is the ΣΔΜΒ. I got carried away. But I really like that Λ on the Spartan shields. It looks really badass, right? Like [this](http://www.300spartanwarriors.com/images/944_Warner_Bros._Frank_Miller_300_-_300SpartanWarriors.jpg). But when you think about it, we’re actually dealing with [this](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/05/7c/3a/057c3aa75114d94b0fdf236d874c272c.jpg). Those other Greeks show up with shields all covered in ornate decorations. Gorgon heads, animals, lots of shapes and patterns. But if you’re a Spartan? Just slap on a Lambda. Does it have some deep significance? Nope, it’s just the first letter in “Lacedaemonia”. In other words, it’s entirely utilitarian and no-nonsense. Or, if you will: Perfectly Spartan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favourite-letter-of-the-greek-alphabet/785630.md?page=3)