# 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:** 2
**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, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/21 "2006-08-31T22:50:53Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] Would you describe a recording as ‘close-microphoned’, then? I probably would never use “close-microphone” as a verb. _To mic … to be miked … miking_ … Hardly the only irregular verb in the language 😉 [/QUOTE] It’s a regular verb: root; root + ed = past; root + ing = transitive. The only thing changing is the spelling. But you see why the spelling must be changed for past and transitive in order to clarify the pronunciation; why not for the infinitive? > [@RealityChuck](#): > > 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. You’re right; pronunciation _is_ based on usage, but it also has a set of generlaly accepted rules. “G” is not a great example of such rules because it can be pronounced either hard or soft, which doesn’t give a non-native speaker much of a clue in any specific case, except that a person who knows “linger” might suspect “finger”'s correct pronunciation – though if they thought of “singer” instead they’d be screwed. 😉 But it is a generally recognized rule that three letter words, CVC take a short vowel, not a long vowel: Gap. Pet. Pin. Cop. Dun. As we all all learned in first grade, if you want to make the vowel-sound long, you add an “e”: Gape. Pete. Pine. Cope. Dune. So applying this general rule, “mic”=“mick,” and unfortunately, that’s what I hear in my head every time I see it in print. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/22 "2006-09-01T00:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] I share EVE’s confusion. “Mic,” under the rules of English, should be pronounced “Mick.” [/quote] There ain’t no rules in English. > [@](#): > > 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’s a stretch, but how about _cum_ (from the Latin, not the testicles.) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/23 "2006-09-01T03:10:31Z")
Here’s the thing: “Mic” is great for a label on a piece of equipment that gives 1/4" or less room for said label, and is clearly a legitimate _abbreviation_. “Microphone” is great for those who are writing about it. But when people **talk** about it, they often naturally shorten the word, and in this case the natural way to represent this shortened _spoken_ form is “mike.” Which is why “mike” has been around for 80 years, about as long as microphones have been around. And the funny thing is, “mike” has been understood to thus mean “microphone” for 80 years. There was no more need to change it to “mic” (when representing the spoken short form) than there is to change “nuke” to “nuc” when discussing nuclear weapons. I can only assume some brain-deficient gearhead couldn’t grasp this concept, and started us on the road to hell by writing it as “mic.” ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/24 "2006-09-01T03:45:12Z")
Following up Gary T’s example of _nuclear_ to _“nuke”_, I offer up _bicycle_ to _“bike.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/25 "2006-09-01T06:19:33Z")
[QUOTE=Jodi] It’s a regular verb: root; root + ed = past; root + ing = transitive. The only thing changing is the spelling. But you see why the spelling must be changed for past and transitive in order to clarify the pronunciation; why not for the infinitive? [/QUOTE] That’s “progressive”, not “transitive”. Transitive refers to the class of verbs that take direct objects. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/26 "2006-09-01T06:25:19Z")
Well, if you look in any pre-1995 dictionary, the prefix “Giga” is pronouced with a soft “G”. So much for technonerds knowing a damn thing about language. /technonerd ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/27 "2006-09-01T06:37:30Z")
[QUOTE=Gary T] There was no more need to change it to “mic” [/quote] Agreed > [@](#): > > I can only assume some brain-deficient gearhead couldn’t grasp this concept, and started us on the road to hell by writing it as “mic.” And it has therefore become an [acceptable](http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/mic) [alternative](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=50327&dict=CALD). Don’t like it? Tough, because that’s how English works. [QUOTE=Jodi] So applying this general rule, “mic”=“mick,” and unfortunately, that’s what I hear in my head every time I see it in print. [/QUOTE] So do I. Every time it’s used as the name of a friend, who abbreviates Michael that way. Useful thing, context - how do you cope with other words with more than one pronunciation? ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/28 "2006-09-01T06:38:58Z")
I am a former copy editor who is now a news editor. I have also been employed in commercial radio broadcasting in various capacities since 1966. I have always used “mike,” in spite of labels on consumer-level audio equipment. That was probably influenced in part by a long-running column entitled “Behind The Mike,” which appeared in \* The Oregonian, \* the largest daily newspaper in the state of Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/29 "2006-09-01T07:09:29Z")
[QUOTE=Hometownboy] That was probably influenced in part by a long-running column entitled “Behind The Mike,” which appeared in \* The Oregonian, \* the largest daily newspaper in the state of Oregon. [/QUOTE] Thanks - I was trying to think up a way to googlefight these two without ‘mike’ getting spurious results. And the [mics](http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=%22behind+the+mike%22&word2=%22behind+the+mic%22) have it. [‘On the mic’](http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=%22on+the+mike%22&word2=%22on+the+mic%22) is a runaway winner, although ['at the mike/mic](http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=%22at+the+mike%22&word2=%22at+the+mic%22) is almost equal. ---
**Author:** ![Sharky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Sharky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharky)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/30 "2006-09-01T08:07:51Z")
According to the AP Stylebook, “mike” is the correct abbreviation for “microphone”. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2006, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/31 "2006-09-01T10:56:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, if you look in any pre-1995 dictionary, the prefix “Giga” is pronouced with a soft “G”. So much for technonerds knowing a damn thing about language. > > /technonerd As a technonerd from way back, I’ve never heard anybody pronoune it with a soft "G’ going back to the 1970s – except for Christopher lloyd in **Back to the Future**. And he caught lots of grief for that one. He said he’d been misinformed. Can’t say I’ve checked dictionaries on this, but if they say soft "g’, they’re misinformed, too. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/32 "2006-09-01T12:12:36Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] As a technonerd from way back, I’ve never heard anybody pronoune it with a soft "G’ going back to the 1970s – except for Christopher lloyd in **Back to the Future**. And he caught lots of grief for that one. He said he’d been misinformed. Can’t say I’ve checked dictionaries on this, but if they say soft "g’, they’re misinformed, too. [/QUOTE] Yes, the dictionaries that ruled the world were wrong on this one, and the hard drive salesmen in leisure suits were right. Yes, you must be right since you are an old doper with many posts. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/33 "2006-09-01T12:19:12Z")
In any case, the “new” dictionaries will reflect the illiteracy of the asshats in the computer business (the most illiterate of all professions), so you will eventually be right, only because a dictionary reflects usage. D’oh! So you will be “blinging” in your knowledge of the language. /not //Show me an IT guy and I will show you a guy who can not spel. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/34 "2006-09-01T12:22:49Z")
And I meant to say, IT is the most illiterate of all professions, but I thought of an exception: education majors. Cant spel LOL!l!!! ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/35 "2006-09-01T12:30:51Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] As a technonerd from way back, I’ve never heard anybody pronoune it with a soft "G’ going back to the 1970s – except for Christopher lloyd in **Back to the Future**. And he caught lots of grief for that one. He said he’d been misinformed. Can’t say I’ve checked dictionaries on this, but if they say soft "g’, they’re misinformed, too. [/QUOTE] And exactly what metric was the Giga prefix being used for in the 70’s? Not memory capacity, not processor speed. Perhaps Mr. Lloyd was on the right track. In fact he certainly was. Yah, all the dictionaries were wrong: > [@](#): > > giga- > pref. > > ``` > One billion (109): gigahertz. > > ``` > > [From Greek gigs, giant. I notice “Giant” has a soft “G”, so I guess the greeks were wrong too. I mean they only invented it. /sheesh ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/36 "2006-09-01T12:34:13Z")
And I love going into Fry’s. Salesman: “This processor runs at 2.3 GIG a hertz” Me: “You mean jigahertz” Salesman: “No GIG a hertz” Me: “I can’t help it if you don’t speak English? Now what is a hertz?” Salesman: Head asplodes. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/37 "2006-09-01T12:36:33Z")
It looks stupid, clumsy and wrong, but “mic” is how I’ve always seen it. The way I figure it, if you put a microphone on someone, they’ve been “mic’d.” It’s easier on the brain. Maybe they should just spell it “myc” so the pronunciation sounds right in the brain. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/38 "2006-09-01T12:50:07Z")
In forty years of playing and singing, I’ve always used “mikes”, not “mics”. But look what I found on Shure’s site, in a blurb about their SM series, of which I have several: > [@](#): > > Durable and reliable, SM mics deliver consistent vocal and instrumental reproduction in any performance setting. [Link.](http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_sm_overview_content) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/39 "2006-09-01T13:14:10Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] The way I figure it, if you put a microphone on someone, they’ve been “mic’d.” [/QUOTE] Except an apostrophe indicates that a letter is missing, and the word with the apostrophe is an abbreviation. In this context, the missing letter is obviously an “e”, so “mic’d” is an abbreviation for “miced” and we’re back to **Eve’s** original point. (And thanks for raising it, **Eve** - I’ve wondered about this for a while as well.) ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/40 "2006-09-01T13:27:43Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Wanderer] And I love going into Fry’s. Salesman: “This processor runs at 2.3 GIG a hertz” Me: “You mean jigahertz” Salesman: “No GIG a hertz” Me: “I can’t help it if you don’t speak English? Now what is a hertz?” Salesman: Head asplodes. [/QUOTE] Since hard-G “Gig” is the accepted and now preferred pronunciation, obviously the salesman speaks English perfectly well. I’d think any person who would “correct” someone like this (“I can’t help it if you don’t speak English”) was being a consummate jerk. My head might “asplode,” but it would be from anger, not confusion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954.md?page=3)