# Words you mis-said **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 17, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059 "2025-10-17T17:56:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/21 "2025-10-18T00:14:38Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I would love for a little pop up dictionary on my phone that didn’t require swiping to another page. That’s a great idea! I need a better dictionary app than I have, one that actually shows the pronunciation and can be used offline. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/22 "2025-10-18T01:34:57Z")
Install a second language keyboard, perhaps? I have both English and French loaded up so the autocorrect does more or less catch on and give me suggestions in the language I’m writing. Android Gboard apparently is what I’m using. I work in aviation, often on the subject of emergency equipment. I consistently mix up life _vests_ and life _rafts_ when I speak. Never in writing and I know damn well which one I mean when I’m talking but the incorrect word comes out often! My colleagues have just kind of accepted it and figure me out by context, or gently clarify, but they’ve stopped trying to correct me every time because clearly this isn’t something I’m going to learn. For all my skills, my brain and mouth can’t agree on this set of words. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/23 "2025-10-18T06:39:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > For an embarrassing length of time I thought that “epitome” was pronounced “epi-tome” and that it meant a very thick book. Yes, seriously. Seems reasonable to me. I saw “subtle” in books and pronounced in my head the way it’s spelled. Only learned the proper pronunciation during a spelling test in 7th grade. We had the same spelling test on Mondays and Fridays. If you got all of the words correct on Monday, you didn’t have to do the test on Friday. If you didn’t you had to study. I got “subtle” correct on Monday’s test, but messed up another word. Not me, but a neighbor. She told a late comer to “Behave yourself” instead of “Serve yourself”. Serve yourself = Bedien dich Behave yourself = Benimm dich > [@mnemosyne](#): > > Install a second language keyboard, perhaps? IPhones do this as well. I have German and English, which is also helpful for all those pesky umlauts. I’ll probably come back to this thread with more examples of mis-said words. 🙃 ---
**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:** [October 18, 2025, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/24 "2025-10-18T07:40:18Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > calliope Is this a common instrument? This is the first time to hear about it. Where to begin? I grew up saying so many words wrong that my family got tired of correcting me. I threw a “t” on the end of across. I pronounced a lot of short e vowels as short i, including words such as **lemon** and a friend named **Swen**. I mangled **aluminum** and even now I have to stop and think which the correct pronunication is. I thought that the hill Christ was crucified on was **cavalry** , like soldiers on horseback, rather than **calvary**. Since I was in Japan at the time Seinfield was on air, I never saw in the 90s and only saw clips on YouTube. For some reason, I added a “t” and it came out **Steinfield**. I used that until a friend laughed at me. I also learned a lot of vocabulary words by reading, and said **hedonist** with a short e like bed. I also jumped over words I couldn’t pronounce and I still tend to not read carefully. And I’ve managed to make some really bad mistakes in Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/25 "2025-10-18T07:43:32Z")
Not weird at all. I pronounced “recipe” as “re-SYP,” and even worse, “rendezvous” with the Z and S pronounced out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/26 "2025-10-18T09:26:05Z")
I grew up thinkIng: - “climate” rhymed with “limit” - “Satan” rhymed with “baton” - “apparel” was pronounced “app-a-RELL” ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/27 "2025-10-18T11:50:18Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Not weird at all. I pronounced “recipe” as “re-SYP,” [You weren’t that far off.](https://everylastrecipe.com/why-recipes-were-once-called-receipts-explained/) ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/28 "2025-10-18T11:51:10Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > > [@Jaycat.again](#): > > > > calliope > > Is this a common instrument? This is the first time to hear about it. Not as common as guitar, it’s true. Just to further confuse things, Calliope St. in New Orleans is pronounced “CAL-ee-ope.” ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/29 "2025-10-18T12:44:54Z")
I heard a guy on the radio pronounce _paradigm_ as _puh-RID-i-gum._ In college, I pronounced _victuals_ the way it looks. _Vittles_ is a completely different word, right? In middle school (the most embarrassing time of life) I said _PEE-c’n_ instead of _p’-KAHN_. It’s how my parents and grandparents pronounced it. Then there’s the county seat in nearby St. Charles county. The locals say _La PLATE-uh_ for La Plata. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2025, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/30 "2025-10-18T12:50:09Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > I won bets from him at various times, on various subjects. For instance, he insisted that Bruce Springsteen (rather than Tom Waits) wrote “Jersey Girl.” 40+ years ago, a friend bet me $5 (handshake and everything) that the Beatles sang the (Bee Gees) song “Lonely Days”. Even after I proved him wrong, he waffled, saying that I had to prove that the Beatles never, ever sang that tune. What would $5 plus 40 years of interest amount to? mmm ---
**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:** [October 18, 2025, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/31 "2025-10-18T12:58:36Z")
Grandpa used to get his insurance from **Allstate Farm**. And his favorite TV show was **She Wrote Murder.** As far as my one: - I embarrassed myself in 2nd grade class by pronouncing **Chevrolet** with a hard T. - I embarrassed myself to my sister by saying **GREENwich Village**. - And, just last year, I embarrassed myself to a family member by pronouncing **trebuchet** _trebucket_. - Finally, to this day, when I read the word **infrared** I say it in my head as if it rhymed with _scared_. As many others have identified, these come with learning words through reading. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/32 "2025-10-18T14:24:39Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > In middle school (the most embarrassing time of life) I said _PEE-c’n_ instead of _p’-KAHN_. It’s how my parents and grandparents pronounced it. I actually use both of those pronunciations, depending on which sounds better in the moment. However, butter pecan ice cream is always butter p’KAHN. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/33 "2025-10-18T15:18:00Z")
Mine was “misled” which, of course, is pronounced “MY-zled”. How else would you pronounce it? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/34 "2025-10-18T16:47:31Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Is this a common instrument? This is the first time to hear about it. You’ve never heard _Blinded by the Light_? It’s that song about calliopes and feminine hygiene products. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/35 "2025-10-18T16:50:23Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > It’s that song about calliopes and feminine hygiene products. I see what you did there! 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/36 "2025-10-18T22:59:16Z")
Until this year, I thought the word “segue” rhymed with “egg” and that there was a separate word “segueway”. Oops. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/37 "2025-10-18T23:24:54Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Oeu **vr** e - not that that makes it any easier to pronounce! You probably know how to pronounce hors d’oeuvres at least approximately. Just drop the hors d and you got it. But then I think I am getting Old Timer’s disease. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/38 "2025-10-18T23:28:44Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Is this [calliope] a common instrument? This is the first time to hear about it. Not any more, certainly. The only place you’ll see one nowadays is in contexts that are trying very hard to be old-fashioned. It’s also the name of my school’s lit mag, so it gets mentioned in the PA announcements every so often. It’s always amusing, the various ways the student readers mispronounce it. Here’s a nerdy one: Up until maybe ten years ago, I thought that the big D&D monster was named “TARE-ass-kay”. I didn’t realize that he was French, and that it’s therefore “tar-RASK” (tarrasque). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/39 "2025-10-18T23:42:25Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > You probably know how to pronounce hors d’oeuvres at least approximately. I can say it, but I can’t spell it! ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059/40 "2025-10-18T23:50:36Z")
There’s a number of words I first saw in print and for years wrongly assumed they were pronounced as per what the spelling indicated. The example that always comes to mind is “segue”. I used to think it was “SEAG”, until I heard that it was “SEG-way” like the vehicle. There are a few names that I terribly mispronounced a kid because prior to learning to read English, I had learned to read Serbian (mother tongue) and I applied Serbian orthography to my pronunciation: I pronounced “Clyde” as “Slide” I pronounced “Isaac” as “Eeesatch” And I pronounced “Clifford” as “TSEAR-fold” (as in Clifford the Big Red Dog) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-mis-said/1024059.md?page=3)