# Words you just have to mispronounce **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 20, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450 "2015-03-20T02:59:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/1 "2015-03-20T02:59:47Z")
There’s a street near here called Shintaffer Rd. I can’t help but call it ‘Shit-snapper’. Cornwall is ‘Cornhole’. There are many others, but those will start. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/2 "2015-03-20T03:30:25Z")
Everyone else seems to be unable to pronounce “Skid Road”. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/3 "2015-03-20T03:33:15Z")
I say “asplore” for “explore”. I don’t really have any issues with saying “ex”, it’s just that one. I think there may be a couple of other words I do it for, but not many. It’s something I just started doing to be cute and now it happens naturally, though I can keep a lid on it if I really need to be professional. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/4 "2015-03-20T04:22:07Z")
Your car may have a defroster, but mine has a defrogetter. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/5 "2015-03-20T05:47:15Z")
Saying ‘juh-lop-penn-oh’ for jalapeno. Sort of a private joke with my cousins from when we were kids. ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/6 "2015-03-20T06:24:02Z")
A town in Michigan’s Upper peninsula is St. Ignace. Pronounced “Saint IG nass”. We call it “Saint Ig NOTCH ee”. My step daughter mispronounced the herb echinacea as “ah chin ah SAY ah” instead of “ek in AY shuh” and it stuck. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/7 "2015-03-20T07:03:50Z")
Using ex-act-ta-mundo for exactly never bores me (but it probably does everyone else), and I sometimes substitute ‘definitely’ for def-in-ate-ly. The second is very poor pronunciation and I imagine would provoke a cringe and eye role in some people. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/8 "2015-03-20T07:51:35Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Your car may have a defroster, but mine has a defrogetter. In my car, it’s known as a “defrogger.” ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/9 "2015-03-20T10:50:40Z")
There’s a street near me called Irhig. I call it Earwig. **Barking Dog** , I pronounce fajitas as fuh-JEYE-tis. Sounds like something you need to see a doctor for. The thing you do in a chemistry lab? That’s a spearmint. And when there are thunderclouds looming, the sky looks omnibus. ---
**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:** [March 20, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/10 "2015-03-20T11:19:42Z")
I’ve said this before, but hyperbole will always be hyperbowl to me. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/11 "2015-03-20T11:27:44Z")
When ordering a Guiness, I pronounce it Genius; some bartenders correct me. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/12 "2015-03-20T12:29:00Z")
There was some clip from the 70s I saw as a kid where another kid mispronounced the word smorgasbord as “borgassmord”. I’ve used that pronunciation ever since. Same with whores-dee-o-vores. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/13 "2015-03-20T12:53:18Z")
Thunder is _funder_. That’s what my dad called it when I was a kid so it wouldn’t seem so scary. Worcestershire is _woostesestashire_ - I’m sure you all know where that comes from Theater is _thee uh tra_ Favre, as in Brett, is _Fahvrrrrrrrrrrrr_ For some reason, the plural of birds is _birdeses_. I’ve even got my bf saying that one. Turquoise is\* turkwhozz\* ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/14 "2015-03-20T12:58:59Z")
We have a grocery store chain called Publix. You can guess what it sounds like in my head. I also like to mispronounce certain words if they fit a certain pattern. A word like cracker will become “C-racker” (SEE-racker), a clock is a C-lock, etc… I keep this firmly in my head as well. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/15 "2015-03-20T13:02:38Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > We have a grocery store chain called Publix. You can guess what it sounds like in my head. I also like to mispronounce certain words if they fit a certain pattern. A word like cracker will become “C-racker” (SEE-racker), a clock is a C-lock, etc… I keep this firmly in my head as well. Ah yes, _"Pubics, where shopping is a pleasure. "_ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/16 "2015-03-20T13:35:03Z")
“Vegetable” has a hiccup in it, so the “et” comes out–vej-uh-ble. For no reason, the fruit with the spines is a piney-apple. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/17 "2015-03-20T13:41:52Z")
When someone is choking I ask them if they want me to perform the “hymen remover” on them. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/18 "2015-03-20T13:42:37Z")
M. Night Sham-a-lam-a-ding-dong. I’m not even sure what his real name is. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/19 "2015-03-20T13:42:53Z")
> [@feckafree](#): > > I pronounce fajitas as fuh-JEYE-tis. A Russian friend came to visit in L.A. When we went to get something to eat, she looked at the menu and told the waitress she wanted the ‘fadgit-uhs.’ > [@Hampshire](#): > > There was some clip from the 70s I saw as a kid where another kid mispronounced the word smorgasbord as “borgassmord”. I’ve used that pronunciation ever since. > Same with whores-dee-o-vores. I recall reading that Mason Reese objected to being made to mispronounce ‘smorgasbord’, as he did know how to pronounce it. Dad would call those little appies ‘whore’s ovaries’. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450/20 "2015-03-20T13:47:59Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > When someone is choking I ask them if they want me to perform the “hymen remover” on them. I still use the term “hiney-lick manuever” from that old joke. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-have-to-mispronounce/715450.md?page=2)