# Words you have to struggle not to mispronounce **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 9, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007 "2010-11-09T05:07:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/61 "2010-11-10T18:33:44Z")
I have problems with the prefix “pseudo-”, I always want to pronounce it as suede - o, not soo-doh. For years I mispronounced greek names like Persephone (Percy-phone) and Euridice (Eura-dice). I have a friend who literally can’t say literally. Have you met my Viking buddy Vignar? I have another friend who asks for oil & vignar on his salads, I’m not sure if he’s joking around. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/62 "2010-11-10T19:14:53Z")
I love threads like this one. I’m surprised no one has mentioned ‘deteriorate’. I don’t mispronounce it but, boy-oh-boy, I’ve heard so many people pronounce it: duh-TIER-y-ayt, instead of duh-TIER-y-or-ayt. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/63 "2010-11-10T19:38:01Z")
The other day I was looking for a [foot powered log splitter](http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Craft-Foot-Operated-Log-Splitter/dp/B000T7HE76) and the woman at the store could not for the life of her get that “powered” out without it becoming “powdered.” She must have said it five times, stopping, realizing she was saying it wrong and saying powdered again. We both got a good chuckle out of that. I still don’t know what’s proper with “drawer.” You draw it out to open it, so it’s a “draw,” right? Or is it a droor? Or a draw-er? And just to complicate things, if someone’s got soiled underwear, that’s said “dirty draws.” ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/64 "2010-11-10T19:46:51Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > I still don’t know what’s proper with “drawer.” You draw it out to open it, so it’s a “draw,” right? Or is it a droor? Or a draw-er? Any of those would be fine; say whatever feels comfortable to you. Variations in accent are not mispronunciations. ---
**Author:** ![Nortia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Nortia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nortia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/65 "2010-11-10T23:33:39Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > I have problems with the prefix “pseudo-”, I always want to pronounce it as suede - o, not soo-doh. Me too. I also struggle to say sachet correctly. Fortunately it’s not a word I often use. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/66 "2010-11-10T23:49:43Z")
I have to use the phrase “questionable claim” on every phone call I take. Something about the “ch” and “kw” and “kl” and “bl” sounds clashing together trips my tongue up a lot unless I slow it way down. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/67 "2010-11-11T04:39:36Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > It is? Since when? Since forever. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/68 "2010-11-11T05:15:30Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I think you have another [couple](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gauge) of[entries](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assuage) for this thread. > > My brother’s dog is currently on Presnidone. Predsnid - Predsin… Sheesh. Strike everything out of my previous post except _vague_. I can only say thank you , gentles all, for your kind corrections. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/69 "2010-11-11T15:48:24Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Since forever. Interesting. The Merriam-Webster link is the first I’ve ever seen “sherbert” offered as an accepted alternative, and I don’t see it in many other places. (None of the three dictionaries on my iPhone include it, for example, and Google in its infinite wisdom asks “Did you mean _ **sherbet** _?”) I’ll accept it, but the same way I accept “nucular”: with gritted teeth. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/70 "2010-11-11T16:12:40Z")
soupcon inchoate ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/71 "2010-11-11T17:14:43Z")
Vulnerable. No idea why. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/72 "2010-11-11T18:02:49Z")
**Molybdenum** trips me up. I can’t seem to get it out without spraining my tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/73 "2010-11-11T18:06:17Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > **Molybdenum** trips me up. I can’t seem to get it out without spraining my tongue. Oh that’s a good one. They make crappy hand tools out of it. In my head it’s become moly-bendy-um. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/74 "2010-11-11T22:48:44Z")
anemone. That alternation of nasals. Funny, not one of the words mentioned above gives me the least problem. ---
**Author:** ![Iubaris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@Iubaris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iubaris)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/75 "2010-11-12T09:19:56Z")
My mispronunciation of “room” as sounding sort of like “rum” has long been a joke amongst my friends. I’m not entirely sure why I say it that way, I’m just too lazy to enunciate it properly. (Words that rhyme with room are perfectly okay!) As for another one, I always have to stop before saying etiquette. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/76 "2010-11-12T10:42:26Z")
I don’t struggle to pronounce “jail”. Instead, I say “prison”. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/77 "2010-11-12T11:16:03Z")
Already mentioned: assauge. What is it, ass-wage? I don’t really understand phonetic symbols, so would appreciate it if someone could write out the pronunciation for me. Also, I use “infarction” a lot at work, and thus freeze like a deer in front of the Peterbilt when I come across or need to use “infraction.” "Infarction is the default setting, so I try to override that, then mistakenly override again, ending up back at “infarction.” bah! ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/78 "2010-11-12T11:27:50Z")
I don’t know how to say ‘gasped’. I say ‘gahsp’ and ‘gahsping’ but I can’t say ‘gahsped’, it just doesn’t come out right. So I say ‘gassped’, but then that sounds wrong as well. I hate it when I am reading aloud to my kid and come across that word. ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/79 "2010-11-12T13:29:41Z")
I, too, have problems with ‘rural’. I could handle one R, but not TWO!! I have difficulty with ‘squirrel’ as well. Interestingly(to me), a lot of folks where I grew up pronounce their Rs the same way I do; not exactly like a W, but just like a softer R sound. So the W sound in ‘squirrel’ sets me off to say the Rs the same way. I get my Vs and Rs a little bit mixed up and so certain words are problematic - words where the V and the R are close together. Very - rerry Varying - rarying Variety - rariety When I was smaller, other kids pointed it out to me and laughed. I felt ashamed. Now I couldn’t give a monkeys, especially as I realised when I was older I wasn’t the only one in South Cambridgeshire who talks like that! Typical though my boyfriend only has three letters in his name, an R, a V and another. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007/80 "2010-11-12T13:33:33Z")
NASA. I pronounce it enough like ‘Nassau’ that other people comment on it. > [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](#): > > I, too, have problems with ‘rural’. I could handle one R, but not TWO!! I have difficulty with ‘squirrel’ as well. To me, ‘rural’ doesn’t rhyme with ‘squirrel’: squirrel, when I say it, has only one syllable! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-have-to-struggle-not-to-mispronounce/560007.md?page=5)