# Words you just can't say correctly **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889 "2007-03-21T17:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Solfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/61 "2007-03-22T12:40:13Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] I don’t pronounce every bit of the real word; something like tempra-chure. Is that OK? [/QUOTE] Yes - it’s okay because you put the “r” in it, and don’t add an “i”. THERE IS NO I IN TEMPERATURE. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/62 "2007-03-22T13:47:18Z")
[QUOTE=tvvat] I remember being in line during elementary and one of the little snot nosed country bumpkins that I grew up with poked her head up and whined “Do we HAVE to go to libary?” to which I turned round and corrected “You’re sposed to say ‘the libRary’.” In response _she_ tried to correct _me_. I rarely run into someone who bastardizes library like that, but when I do I can feel the grade three rage bubbling up within me again. I do all the problys, tempichures, rurrls, and ah-munnas but Albertans are regarded as being very quick speakers, a stereotype which I exacerbate. If I’m in a formal setting or doing some public speaking, the Queen’s English comes out. Mind you, I’ve got an Australian immigrant father, and a Canadian mother, so maybe I’ve always been more mindful of pronunciation. Oh wait, I just realized that I bastardize Calgary into Cal-gree. That’s a true test of a native Calgarian though, much the same way a Vancouverite says Vangcouver. [/QUOTE] Sorry. I’m a liberrian. I work at tha liberry. Can’t help it. And I also can’t say or spell that person who plays the piano with you when you sing. How’s come of all the golfers in the world the only one I can’t pronounce is the only one with a tasty beverage? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/63 "2007-03-22T14:33:03Z")
Vulnerable. Panties comes out pannies. [QUOTE=gigi] I don’t pronounce every bit of the real word; something like tempra-chure. Is that OK? [/QUOTE] I think this is in the same class as “comfortable”. At some point in college, I started pronouncing the word properly, and people point and laugh. [QUOTE=Zsofia] I have a lot of dialect and accent related issues (horror/whore, jewelry/jury, pin/pen/peeing), but there are some _phrases_ I just trip over every time. “Long Island Iced Tea” and “Arnold Palmer” are two. [/QUOTE] I have trouble pronouncing LIIT after four or five of them, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/64 "2007-03-22T14:57:04Z")
[QUOTE=Mouse\_Maven] Here’s my list: Any derivation of _specific_ [/QUOTE] I had a boss who pronounced this word “pacific”. Drove me nuckin’ futts. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/65 "2007-03-22T15:06:44Z")
Proselytize and molybdenum. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/66 "2007-03-22T15:13:11Z")
[QUOTE=Astroboy14] For me it’s “phenomenon”… it’s not that I can’t pronounce it, it’s that I can’t help but say “_doo-doo-de-doo-doot_” in my head right afterwards, and it always throws me off what I was saying. [/QUOTE] When I visit my brother, I drive past a town named Menominee. I’ve found it impossible to read the sign without doing the “_doo-doo-dee-dah-doo-doot_” in my head and almost impossible to not sing it out loud. But, since my fiance hates when I do it, I try very hard not to when she’s in the car (sometimes I succeed). ---
**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:** [March 22, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/67 "2007-03-22T15:17:12Z")
[QUOTE=Omega Glory] Proselytize and molybdenum. [/QUOTE] I’ve always seen that as moly-bendium. And it doesn’t help that most cheap tools are made out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveroptic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiveroptic/32/8257_2.png) [@Fiveroptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveroptic)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/68 "2007-03-22T15:30:19Z")
“Screw Extractor.” Thank God I’ve only had to go into a hardware store once in my life to buy such a thing and after embarrassing myself trying to explain what I was looking for, I’ll never do it again. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/69 "2007-03-22T16:05:44Z")
My MIL says “flustrated.” She’s either trying to say “frustrated” or “flustered.” She’s English, if that makes a difference. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/70 "2007-03-22T16:09:20Z")
[QUOTE=Quiddity Glomfuster] Worst mistake was ‘ravishing’ for ‘ravenous’. There’s just no way anybody lets you get off when you proclaim that you’re stunning when all you want’s a sandwich. [/QUOTE] “Culinary delights” doesn’t mean what I thought it did. …and now I’m no longer welcome at Olive Garden… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_of_the_clams)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/71 "2007-03-22T16:36:32Z")
Aaaaaht: the painting with the melting clocks by Dali is considered aaaaaht. I hate that word. Litchacha, lithchatchu: easier to just say books and stuff. Litrrrrrly isn’t any easier either. Paaaahdon: why don’t I just say excuse me? As you can see, I struggle a bit pronouncing the ‘r’ in some words. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/72 "2007-03-22T17:53:19Z")
[QUOTE=RetroVertigo] My wife instead of saying breakfast says something like Brekfrist for which she gets teased. [/QUOTE] If you come back **RetroVertigo** , where is your wife from? Long ago, my SO pointed out that I do the exact same thing (he teased me too) and talking to my sister, so does she. Neither of my parents do, so we don’t know where it came from? I grew up in Minnesota. I like pancakes for brekfrist. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/73 "2007-03-22T17:57:08Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Sorry. I’m a liberrian. I work at tha liberry. Can’t help it. [/QUOTE] And I’m a librarian who usually says /libry/ – just two syllables. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/74 "2007-03-22T18:12:41Z")
[QUOTE=LifeOnWry] Or Montgomery Ward. Too many Rs and Ws too close to one another. [/QUOTE] There’s a fairly major thoroughfare in Salt Lake named Redwood Road. It almost always comes out as “Wedwood Woad”. One of the local furniture dealers tries to make a play on this in their advertising, but totally misses the point. They say they’re located on “Road Redwood–I mean Redwood Road–I mean…” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/75 "2007-03-22T18:20:51Z")
[QUOTE=tvvat] That’s a true test of a native Calgarian though, much the same way a Vancouverite says Vangcouver. [/QUOTE] I’ve never been within 1000 miles of Vancouver, but if someone said “Van - coo - ver” I’d assume that English was their second language. I mean, you don’t pronounce _trunk_ “trun - k”, but rather “trungk”, right? Unless you mean something totally different by “Vangcouver” ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/76 "2007-03-22T18:32:39Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] My MIL says “flustrated.” She’s either trying to say “frustrated” or “flustered.” She’s English, if that makes a difference. 😃 [/QUOTE] “Flustrated” is listed in my unabridged Merriam-Webster. ---
**Author:** ![BlueSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@BlueSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/77 "2007-03-23T00:34:31Z")
Although I’m generally not a mumbler, for some reason “wolf” likes to come out of my mouth as “wuff”. I had an ex who would always giggle after this mispronunciation and it would take me a moment or two to realize what was so dang hilarious. Now, I’m acutely aware of it and unless I’ve been drinking, my sentences will go something like this: “I really liked 300 but that CGI…(long pause while I think about the word in my head)…‘wollllllf’ looked too cartoonish.” ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/78 "2007-03-23T01:02:34Z")
I always want to pronounce con-spi-cu-ous as con-spi-cious. I don’t know why. My friend thinks it’s because I associate the word with suspicious. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/79 "2007-03-23T01:19:23Z")
Prolly, foe-urd, and temp-uh-chure are my most common ones. (Until this thread I never realized that temp-uh-chure was incorrect). I also say lash-vicious for lascivious – fortunately that one doesn’t come up very often. But my all time worst is Pay for Performance. I was on a committee at work to discuss…that topic, which is how I started referring it to it. I’d have to tell people, “I have to go to a meeting now about that thing I can’t say.” I can’t explain exactly how I pronounced it, but it’s sort of like “pay for pthhhpthh” Interestingly, I can pronounce performance on its own just fine, but the “for” in front of it messes me up completely. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-cant-say-correctly/396889/80 "2007-03-23T01:31:01Z")
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