# When Did Mikes Become Mice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954 "2006-08-31T18:11:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/1 "2006-08-31T18:11:34Z")
As a (former, thank goodness!) copy editor, this has been nagging at me: the abbreviation for “microphone” has always been “mike” (“he was miked,” “they used mikes,” etc.). In the past few years, I have been seeing “mic” more and more often, which I cannot stand: it looks like it should be pronounced “mick,” and how does one use it? “He was miced?” “They used mics?” Yuck. I understand that “mic” is a literal shortening of the word “microphone,” but can anyone \*younger \*than I tell me how and why it’s starting to replace the old standby “mike?” ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/2 "2006-08-31T18:17:37Z")
My dad, a stagehand for well over thirty years, says he’s only ever seen “mic” used. This might be because some stuff was labled fast and they didn’t have time to spell out “microphones” or even “mikes,” so they just used “mic.” My boyfriend, a stagehand for over 15 years, corroborates his story. I think it might depend on the industry. ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/3 "2006-08-31T18:30:50Z")
I was in “the show business” for years, and I’ve written about show people using old newspaper and magazine articles, and I’ve only seen “mike.” Your father’s abbreviation story makes sense: but I’ve only seen “mike” till recently. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/4 "2006-08-31T18:38:57Z")
If I saw ‘mike’ in this context, I’d have assumed it was an error, until now… > [@Etymonline](#): > > Of the two spellings of the short form of the word, mike (1927) is older than mic (1961). > **[mike | Search Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=mike)** > > The online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internet's go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible... Speculation: is ‘mic’ not pretty much standard as an indication of inputs on electronic equipment? (It is on the minidisc player on the desk in front of me, anyway.) This could help explain its rise in popularity. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/5 "2006-08-31T18:55:02Z")
I didn’t know it was going to be quite so controversial when I brought it up, but when I asked about this (post #96 in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=373800&page=2&pp=50)) it sparked quite a bit of discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/6 "2006-08-31T18:55:22Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Speculation: is ‘mic’ not pretty much standard as an indication of inputs on electronic equipment? (It is on the minidisc player on the desk in front of me, anyway.) This could help explain its rise in popularity. Yes. Every piece of consumer or pro electronics I’ve seen (going back to at least the 70s) uses “Mic” as a label on inputs, volume, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/7 "2006-08-31T19:06:01Z")
I share EVE’s confusion. “Mic,” under the rules of English, should be pronounced “Mick.” Like “Bic pen.” And “sic 'em.” And “Don’t be a dic.” 😉 I can’t think of any examples where, in a three-letter word, CVC = long V sound. (This is the TM’s chance to post long lists of 3-letter CVC/long V words to correct me, which is why I didn’t say there weren’t any, only that I can’t think of any.) It is also my recollection that historically it was spelled “mike” to reflect the pronunciation, not “mic” to reflect the spelling. Only lately do I recall seeing “mic,” which makes me wince a little because I can’t help reading, “Is my Mick on?” “Turn up the volume on the Mick.” ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/8 "2006-08-31T19:07:20Z")
I’ve never seen “mike” used at all, but then I’ve never seen it written in an abbreviated context. If you’re going through the trouble to write, why abbreviate? I think, though, that if I _did_ see “mike” to mean microphone, it would jar me. That’s not saying I’m right to think that way; I just haven’t experience it. For what it’s worth, though, it’s always been “mic” on electronic equipment as far as I can rememeber back to the 70’s – Radio Shack cassette recorders always had REM and MIC inputs on their sides, and one or both of these were used with my home computer back when the cassette was our means of data storage. Yeah, cassettes, uphill, both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/9 "2006-08-31T19:13:17Z")
Mic as a label is quite right next to the input on a piece of electronic equipment. Used in a sentence, would “mic.” be proper…or would an abbreviation not be proper at all? If I am pissed off, I am p.o.-ed? Would one be mic.-ed? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/10 "2006-08-31T19:18:04Z")
Hey, I brought this up in another thread a couple of months ago, and a bunch of audiophiles jumped all over me. The abbreviation was “Mic”, and always had been, and only ignorant civilians thought it ought to be “Mike”. Good to see they’re treating **Eve** nicer. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/11 "2006-08-31T19:20:01Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > I can’t think of any examples where, in a three-letter word, CVC = long V sound. (This is the TM’s chance to post long lists of 3-letter CVC/long V words to correct me, which is why I didn’t say there weren’t any, only that I can’t think of any.) Where do you plug mikes into on hi-fis? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/12 "2006-08-31T19:23:13Z")
> [@Guardian style guide](#): > > mic - abbreviation for microphone > **[Guardian and Observer style guide: P](https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-p)** > > From pace to pyrrhic victory > [@The Times style guide](#): > > mike (not mic), as abbreviation for microphone > **[The Times & The Sunday Times](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/)** > > News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times So I guess in the UK, ‘mic’ = sandal-wearing muesli munchers, ‘mike’ = respectable middle-class white male. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/13 "2006-08-31T19:29:33Z")
I think it’s a little different when you’re talking about a label on a piece of equipment, because in that circumstance pronunciation is irrelevant; you don’t have (well, at least I don’t have) any conversational flow or narrative going on in your head or out loud. For stuff you read though, that would be reviewed by a copy editor, “mic” is IMO just jarring because it should be pronounced “Mick.” So when I talk about seeing “mike” in this context, I mean in a story or news piece, not as a label on the back of a stereo. And I don’t have any cites, just a vague recollection; it’s not like it comes up that often. But just as I can see that “mic” is indefensible from the pronunciation view, I can also see that “mike” is unacceptable from the spelling view, since there’s no “I” in “team” and no “K” in “microphone”. So I agree with BALTHISAR; if I were using it, I wouldn’t abbreviate it at all. Unless I was slapping labels on stereo parts, which seems unlikely. 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 31, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/14 "2006-08-31T19:30:13Z")
As a former proofreader, I always understood the “correct” word to be “mike.” How on earth would you pronounce “miced,” “micing” or “mics”? You really need to have a “k” in there. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/15 "2006-08-31T19:33:12Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > So I agree with BALTHISAR; if I were using it, I wouldn’t abbreviate it at all. Unless I was slapping labels on stereo parts, which seems unlikely. 🙂 Would you describe a recording as ‘close-microphoned’, then? > [@panache45](#): > > As a former proofreader, I always understood the “correct” word to be “mike.” How on earth would you pronounce “miced,” “micing” or “mics”? You really need to have a “k” in there. _To mic … to be miked … miking_ … Hardly the only irregular verb in the language 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/16 "2006-08-31T19:35:46Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > As a former proofreader, I always understood the “correct” word to be “mike.” How on earth would you pronounce “miced,” “micing” or “mics”? You really need to have a “k” in there. Same here: when I was at my former magazine, we always used “mike.” My _replacement_, I see, uses “mic.” _I_ never woulda let 'em get away with that . . . So, it seems to boil down to a “technology vs. newsprint” difference. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/17 "2006-08-31T19:46:12Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The abbreviation was “Mic”, and always had been, and only ignorant civilians thought it ought to be “Mike”. I think that’s probably it right there: journalists and writers gravitated to “mike” because it sounds like short for microphone, while professionals and such used what they actually use on the job. I always write out microphone, especially when it’s plural - I guess I hate both abbreviations. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/18 "2006-08-31T19:48:58Z")
I’ve seen it both ways. The pronunciation was definitely “mike,” but when I did college radio in the early 70s, it was always spelled “mic.” The OED confirms that “mike” was first. But the abbreviation “mic.” was probably used before it was spelled “mic” as a separate word. Yes, the pronunciation isn’t logical, but so what? Look at words like “finger” (cf. “integer”) or margarine (a “g” followed by an “a” should be a hard “g” as in “garish,” right?) Pronunciation is based on usage, not logic. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/19 "2006-08-31T19:50:07Z")
I can deal with “mic.” better than I can with “mic”. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/20 "2006-08-31T22:00:26Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > As a (former, thank goodness!) copy editor, this has been nagging at me: the abbreviation for “microphone” has always been “mike” (“he was miked,” “they used mikes,” etc.). When Did Mikes Become Mice? When someone accidently filled out a purchase order and specified MICE! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954.md?page=2)