# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/41 "2006-09-01T14:05:10Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Wanderer] 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 [/QUOTE] So Doc Brown got it right after all. You just made my day. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/42 "2006-09-01T14:13:07Z")
[QUOTE=Sharky] According to the AP Stylebook, “mike” is the correct abbreviation for “microphone”. [/QUOTE] What’s it listed under? I can’t find it under “microphone” or “mike.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/43 "2006-09-01T14:41:33Z")
Aside: I’d always heard the abbreviation for laceration, “lac”, pronounced as lack on **er** (my medical authority!) as in, “he has a giant scalp ‘lack’”. Then on Grey’s Anatomy last night, they pronounce it “lass” which actually makes more sense. Which medical show is more accurate on this particular issue? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/44 "2006-09-01T15:05:00Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] 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. [/QUOTE] Obviously, the missing letters are “rophone.” 😉 ---
**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, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/45 "2006-09-01T18:22:04Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Wanderer] 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: I notice “Giant” has a soft “G”, so I guess the greeks were wrong too. I mean they only invented it. /sheesh [/QUOTE] I’m not even going to try to figure out what the hell you’re going on about here, but it should be noted that Greek doesn’t have a “soft G” sound. I’m not sure why you made reference to a Greek word (which you incomprehensible wrote in the Roman alphabet, not the Greek one), but quite obviously if you are worried about Greek pronunciation, than you recognize that “giga-” with a “hard G” is correct, and that the “soft G” pronunciation is therefore obviously a sign of illiteracy and ignorance of history. ---
**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, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/46 "2006-09-01T19:25:14Z")
[QUOTE=Sharky] According to the AP Stylebook, “mike” is the correct abbreviation for “microphone”. [/QUOTE] And as I noted earlier, there’s more than one style guide in existence, and they don’t all agree. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/47 "2006-09-01T19:42:57Z")
Well, I did learn what I asked, anyway: “mic” seems to come from the techie abbreviation. What surprises me is how prevalent it’s been for so long! I hadn’t noticed “mic” till the past few years, have always seen “Mike.” Since we can’t kill mic, maybe we can start a drive for mic.? . . . Now to get the period taken out of “Ms.”. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/48 "2006-09-01T19:57:05Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] 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,” [/QUOTE] Why doesn’t the longer word look like it should be pronounced **mick** rophone? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/49 "2006-09-01T20:01:36Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] 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. [/QUOTE] Well, of course they’re treating **Eve** nicer. I mean, it’s **EVE**. Abusing her is like publically dissing Galadriel. You can do it–using the literal meaning of “can”–but you’d best be prepared to have your head chopped off and to find yourself pumped full of arrows at the same moment. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/50 "2006-09-01T21:00:27Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Wanderer] 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: I notice “Giant” has a soft “G”, so I guess the greeks were wrong too. I mean they only invented it. /sheesh [/QUOTE] The greek word is γίγας, which is pronounced with a hard G. ---
**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, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/51 "2006-09-01T23:20:44Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] What’s it listed under? I can’t find it under “microphone” or “mike.” [/QUOTE] I searched on “microphone” on the “Ask the Editor” page on [APStylebook.com](http://www.apstylebook.com/ask_editor.php). > [@](#): > > How does the AP abbreviate microphone? Do you go to an open mic night or an open mike night? Was the musician’s guitar mic’ed or miked? – from Newport News, VA on Tue, Jun 06, 2006 > > AP uses “mike” as the abbreviated form of microphone. > [@GorillaMan](#): > > And as I noted earlier, there’s more than one style guide in existence, and they don’t all agree. You’re correct, of course. I’m just used to using the AP Stylebook as the house standard reference. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/52 "2006-09-02T01:01:44Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] 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.) [/QUOTE] Right, but it’s easier on the eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/53 "2006-09-02T02:15:24Z")
Sigh. I do believe the mike/mic has become a generational divide. Googling “open mike” yielded 1.48 megahits, while “open mic” scored 7.49 megahits. The tide has definitely been turned by the consarn whippersnappers, but we — the few, the proud, the stubborn — will resist on the ramparts, armed only with our pride, **Eve’s** blessing, and a quiver of mixed metaphors. :: sound of distant bugle:: ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/54 "2006-09-02T02:37:40Z")
[QUOTE=Hometownboy] The tide has definitely been turned by the consarn whippersnappers, but we — the few, the proud, the stubborn — will resist on the ramparts, armed only with our pride, **Eve’s** blessing, and a quiver of mixed metaphors. :: sound of distant bugle:: [/QUOTE] Gee. I feel like [Liberty Leading the People Over the Barricades of Paris](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/la/bigliberty.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/la/revhome.html&h=600&w=764&sz=81&hl=en&start=2&tbnid=EIGQX-V2uJLeOM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=142&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522Delacroix%2522%2Bliberty%2Bleading%2Bthe%2Bpeople%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG), except [checks quickly] my boobs aren’t hanging out. ---
**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 3, 2006, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/55 "2006-09-03T13:08:41Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] Right, but it’s easier on the eyes. [/QUOTE] I think that’s a matter of opinion. To me, “mic’d” looks like it’s pronounced “micked” so it disrupts the flow of reading. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/56 "2006-09-03T16:05:06Z")
[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? 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. [/QUOTE] Have you ever seen a calendar where the last 2 months are abbreviated “Nove” and “Decce”? I personally think that these rules that you speak of are out the window for abbreviations. ---
**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 4, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954/57 "2006-09-04T16:43:30Z")
> [@](#): > > And exactly what metric was the Giga prefix being used for in the 70’s? Not memory capacity, not processor speed. Yeah, we all know that the World begins and ends with PC specs. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-mikes-become-mice/370954.md?page=2)