# Words you couldn't pronounce when you were a kid **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839 "2013-04-04T17:13:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/41 "2013-04-06T23:46:35Z")
> [@4thdentist](#): > > Also, woostershestershire sauce. I still have to remind myself of the right way to say it. By the way, what _is_ the right way to say that? ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/42 "2013-04-07T02:59:27Z")
I probably had some, but I don’t remember them. I do remember, though, my little sister Elizabeth not being able to pronounce Elizabeth when she was first trying to say it. It would come out “Eeeee-[ramble of nonsense syllables].” We all ended up calling her “E” even when she got older. She’s in her 40s now and Dad might still call her “E.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/43 "2013-04-08T00:10:37Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > By the way, what _is_ the right way to say that? Wor-ster-sher or Woo-ste-sher are generally both accepted. The latter is partly mimicking a British accent. The only word I remember not being able to pronounce was “three.” I’m sure there were more, but that one got me a lecture at preschool. I do remember doing my best to avoid words I couldn’t say after that lecture. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/44 "2013-04-08T17:29:18Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > By the way, what _is_ the right way to say that? Round these parts it’s “WOO-stuh-shire”. Or if we are being silly “woo-ster-CHES-tish-shire”. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/45 "2013-04-08T17:53:45Z")
“Grand Prix”. Instead of “Grawn Pree”, it came out “Grand Pricks”. My older brother used to love to get me to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/46 "2013-04-08T18:00:54Z")
I used to say “tangenital” until college. ---
**Author:** ![EverwonderWhy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EverwonderWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EverwonderWhy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/47 "2013-04-08T19:26:25Z")
I pronounced “specifically” as “pacifically”. Also, “pinch” black for “pitch” black. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/48 "2013-04-09T18:34:45Z")
I still trip up on the phrase “Power of Attorney” … it comes out as “Power of Eternity” (why yes, hello Dr Freud) which is embarrassing as a long term care nurse. I remember answering a question in history class about the “Leo-Pard” rhyming with Hard and the Chesapeake, to much derision. We had just started the unit and I had never heard it pronounced out loud. I knew how to say Leopard, as in the spotted feline, but I was equating the word with the name Leopold. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/50 "2013-08-28T05:00:11Z")
For whatever reason, I couldn’t pronounce Puerto Rico properly. I always said it PEW-er-to Ri-co. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/51 "2013-08-28T05:11:42Z")
When I was child-like, various grups occasionally advised me that I was pronouncing “color” wrong. I could never figure out, neither then nor ever since, how I was saying it any differently from what I heard anyone else saying. For all I know, I might _still_ be saying it wrong, but people are just too polite to mention anything. How badly can one mess up a simple word like “color”? I vaguely suspect I was saying something sort of like “keller” I was also chided for saying “blanket” wrong. I kinda think maybe I was saying “blainket” (first syllable rhyming with “try” or “cry”), like Eliza Doolittle saying “The rine in spine falls minely in the pline”. > [@NeonMadman](#): > > As a big \*Superman \*fan as a kid, I had trouble pronouncing the word “invulnerable.” Problem was, I had read it many times in the comics, but never heard it spoken. So I routinely pronounced it “in-vul-NEER-uh-bul.” I was a so-so Superman/Superboy reader back in those days. But I never did figure out how to say Mxyzptlk, let alone Kltpzyxm. (And yes, I know they weren’t entirely consistent about the spelling.) I never heard it pronounced until Mikhail Mxyzptlk appeared in an episode of Smallville. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/52 "2013-08-28T05:21:57Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > As a big \*Superman \*fan as a kid, I had trouble pronouncing the word “invulnerable.” Problem was, I had read it many times in the comics, but never heard it spoken. So I routinely pronounced it “in-vul-NEER-uh-bul.” Okay, now that you mention that, I can think of various words that I pronounced wrong simply because I had never heard them spoken (or never paid attention). Often by putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable. In some cases, well into adulthood. Nevada: When I first saw this, I pronounced it NEV-a-duh. (Following the same pronunciation pattern as for Canada. Strange, since I lived in Los Angeles, which was certainly closer to Nevada than Canada.) There were certainly others that I might or might not think of. Two that I learned to pronounce much later were banal and docent – I had always put the accent on the first syllable. To this day, baNAL and doCENT still just don’t sound right to me. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/53 "2013-08-28T12:24:03Z")
For some reason I could never remember whether the word was _relevant_ or _revelant_. Possibly I was thinking it was related to _reveal_. I was probably in my twenties before I could pronounce and spell it right consistently without looking it up. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/54 "2013-08-28T13:08:32Z")
I couldn’t say Library (LieBerry) I couldn’t say Vollyball - (ball EE ball) I couldn’t say Ed - (M) ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/55 "2013-08-28T14:08:32Z")
So many of them…here’s one: Bouquet, I knew, was pronounced boo-KAY, so banquet was obviously pronounced ban-KAY by analogy. Only…it wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/56 "2013-08-28T14:49:52Z")
My almost 3 year old daughter replaces all her “L’s” with “Y’s” which I will be sad to see corrected as she ages. So her LEGS are her YEGS and she YOVES her mommy and daddy 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/57 "2013-08-28T15:46:59Z")
Strategy STILL comes out as Stragety if I’m talking fast. I blame Bugs Bunny. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/58 "2013-08-28T18:43:23Z")
When I was little, all of my mother’s relatives lived in You Nork. In college, my roommate finally decided to ask me about a word I used all the time: “seeg” (with a hard “g”). When I explained it, she informed me that while it is spelled “segue”, it is pronounced “segway”. Although I can pronounce spaghetti correctly now, I still think of it as pisghetti. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/59 "2013-08-28T19:48:52Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I was a so-so Superman/Superboy reader back in those days. But I never did figure out how to say Mxyzptlk, let alone Kltpzyxm. (And yes, I know they weren’t entirely consistent about the spelling.) I never heard it pronounced until Mikhail Mxyzptlk appeared in an episode of Smallville. A letter column in one issue gave the pronunciation. I don’t recall it for sure, but it was something like mix yez pittle ics. When reading to my little brother, I always called ihm Mr. Mixed-Pickle or Mr. M-X-Y. ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/60 "2013-08-28T22:19:07Z")
When my daughter was in PRE-school, she must have mis-heard its pronunciation, for one day, she announced, I’m going to pretty school. I thought it was so adorable I never corrected her. She also said gur instead of girl. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/61 "2013-08-29T01:36:16Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Wor-ster-sher or Woo-ste-sher are generally both accepted. The latter is partly mimicking a British accent. Or a New English accent. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839.md?page=4)