# 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:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/62 "2013-08-31T15:02:33Z")
Rural. Can’t say it to this day. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/63 "2013-09-02T03:49:14Z")
When I was very small I couldn’t pronounce “water”–I called it something that sounded like “why-ee.” Had trouble with “Spalding” (the manufacturer of sports equipment) for a long time–it would always come out “Spadling.” ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/64 "2013-09-02T04:10:49Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Wor-ster-sher or Woo-ste-sher are generally both accepted. The latter is partly mimicking a British accent. _Wuh-stuh-sheer_ is the correct pronunciation of the name of the county, of which Worcester (_Wuh-stuh_) is the county town. However, for those of us from whose country the stuff comes, in the name of the sauce, the “shire” is silent: _Wuh-stuh Sauce_. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ When I was a little kid, I thought bad people went to prism. ([Apparently, in Chicago, they do.](http://thefunambulistdotnet.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/prison-chicago3.jpg)) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/65 "2013-09-02T14:43:26Z")
Sausage. I always asked for saugages, which my mother thought was cute right up to the day she died. My youngest son always placed an ‘n’ after the ‘s’ (that was followed by a vowel) that started a word, i.e., subway would become snubway. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/66 "2013-09-02T16:33:04Z")
Too many to relate. I heard the “e” sound in “lemon” as “i” so I’d say “limen.” Had a friend “Swin” and not the “Swen” and “Chinny” and not “Chenny.” I still have to stop and think how to say aluminum, but I guess it’s more a slow down now. My sister would say “Arkansas” as “Are Kansas.” The funny thing is that I’m teaching English now. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/67 "2013-09-02T19:23:43Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Had a friend “Swin” and not the “Swen” and “Chinny” and not “Chenny.” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/68 "2013-09-03T00:02:09Z")
Cipher. I pronounced it the way it looks: “siffer”. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839/69 "2013-09-04T21:34:10Z")
Before I pubed I had an incredibly high pitched squeeky voice when I was a kid. It was like a whiny cartoon mouse. That in itself irritated adults to no end. When I was little I couldn’t say hundred. So when I’d count I’d go …98, 99, onedy! (pronounced “won Dee” ) I couldn’t pronouce “issue” so I called it “in-use”. When we were learning about friction in 2nd grade I kept pronouncing it “fucktion” and this drama queen named Melvin kept having a hissy fit to the teacher over it. Until I was in about 3rd grade I couldn’t grasp the concept of acronyms and such. The local public television station was run by the Milwaukee Area Technical College and I’d see the word MATC and try to pronounce it. Almost drove me nuts! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-couldnt-pronounce-when-you-were-a-kid/654839.md?page=3)