# Words You’ve Never Heard Pronounced **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774 "2022-05-01T22:23:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/121 "2022-05-03T20:06:22Z")
The General Motors plants in my town\* recruited with billboards in places like Livingston, KY and Talladega, AL. So, when I was in elementary school, some of the kids said “pen” as “pin” or even “pee-yun.” To make the distinction, a pointy thing was a pin, but a write-y thing was an “ink-pin.” Today, some real-estate pros are called Realtors (a registered trademark). They make a thing about saying “RE-ul-tur,” but some people, even announcers paid to do their ads, say “RE-luh-tur.” It probably annoys the Realtors. \*Anderson, IN ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/122 "2022-05-03T20:17:42Z")
People in Anderson also call bell peppers mangos. Chesterfield, too. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/123 "2022-05-03T21:28:11Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I always assumed that “vittles” was simply the colloquial or “hillbilly” way to pronounce victuals. Similarly for “critters” == “creatures”. And also: “varmint” == colloquial (American Englyshe) for vermin. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > I was in my 20s before I figured out that “epitome” doesn’t rhyme with “home”. You got it way ahead of me. I only just learned this a few years ago (and I’m well beyond 20s now). > [@AskNott](#): > > So, when I was in elementary school, some of the kids said “pen” as “pin” or even “pee-yun.” He-'un and me-'un went to the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Esturionette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9d8465/32.png) [@Esturionette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esturionette)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/124 "2022-05-03T22:21:26Z")
Names are a sensitive subject, so I hope nobody’s feelings get hurt when I mention my strong urge to tell people the “correct” way to pronounce their own name. I only ever read the news, so when I happen to hear a famous person’s name pronounced, I am sometimes surprised and rebellious. I will never get over the fact that Buttigieg is booty-judge rather than butty-gig. If you were unlucky enough to be saddled with a funny name, but with a readily available less-funny pronunciation, why would you choose the most ridiculous option? I decided to post about it because I’ve just learned that Joss Whedon is not pronounced wedd’n, but weed-on. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/125 "2022-05-03T22:27:18Z")
If you have a strong urge to correct people on the pronunciation of their name, you would know better than most if they consider that sensitive. I don’t follow celebrity culture very closely. FWIW I also thought it was weddin’. I wouldn’t have even tried guessing Politician Pete’s. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/126 "2022-05-03T23:49:12Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I would see the word ‘segue’ in print and used to think it was pronounced something like ‘seug’. Funny thing is, I’d hear it pronounced as ‘segway’, as in “let’s segway now to a different subject…” and I didn’t put two and two together for a long time. I thought they were two entirely different words. Hehe. I once had conversation with my best friend Her: to segu into another topic- Me: Hey, that’s actually pronounced segway. I’m only telling you this before you say it at work and someone pokes fun. I mean, from what you’ve told me about your coworkers- Her: Shannon, segway is that stupid 2 wheeled thing people ride on. Me: yes, which is named after the phonetic spelling of segue… Her: Oh!!! I too was a child who thought that people were mizzled until perhaps age 11 or 12. And I was a young adult before I put together the spellings and pronunciations of genre and [double] entendre. French, man, I don’t get why they can’t spell things like they’re said. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/127 "2022-05-04T04:56:54Z")
There’s an old movie called “The Gazebo” in which one of the characters uses that pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![TokenRing](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokenring/32/3559_2.png) [@TokenRing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokenRing)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/128 "2022-05-04T09:48:26Z")
Plaid ---
**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:** [May 4, 2022, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/129 "2022-05-04T10:53:17Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I only relatively recently learned that “slough” is pronounced like “slew”… To me it has always been _sluff_, at least in the biological meaning of the word. > [@Esturionette](#): > > Names are a sensitive subject, so I hope nobody’s feelings get hurt when I mention my strong urge to tell people the “correct” way to pronounce their own name… I know of a child named Jonathan. His mother hits the roof when someone pronounces her child’s name in the traditional way. She will respond with anger in her voice: “It’s joe-NAY-than!” (pronounced as if his name were Joe Nathan) mmm ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/130 "2022-05-04T11:51:13Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > > [@tofor](#): > > > > debacle (deh-BAH-kul) > > Err, what’s wrong with this one? Whoops, see how insidious it is? I still can’t keep track of what the right way to say it is. I think I originally read it as “DEH-buh-kul”, only later to learn it was “deh-BAH-kul”. Only today to learn that just about any way you can imagine to say it is listed in Merriam-Webster. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/131 "2022-05-04T12:02:10Z")
My dad would ridicule people who pronounced words incorrectly. But I always saw it as this is a person who is reading above the level of their peer group. They know the written word. They know the meaning, but they have never heard it said so they are taking a best guess at how to say it. It’s a mistake, but I think it demonstrates that the person is an achiever. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/132 "2022-05-04T15:19:48Z")
“Avoirdupois” If you’re familiar with French, you’ll want to pronounce it somewhat like “ah-vwar-dyoo-pwah.” But in English, it’s really just “a-ver-duh-poiz.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/133 "2022-05-04T15:39:34Z")
Not me personally, but I’ve heard people insist that Quixotic is correctly pronounced key-ho-tic. Yes, the character’s name was pronounced Don Key-ho-tay, but standard English Quixotic is quick-zot-ic. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/134 "2022-05-04T16:11:54Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > _shammy_ , _foke-s’l_ and _vittle_ . I was about to make a joke about “I wouldn’t want to share a foke-s’l with him” but then I realized that both a forecastle and a foxhole are pretty tight spaces that could be shared by two people. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/135 "2022-05-04T16:13:21Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > the character’s name was pronounced Don Key-ho-tay, I’ve heard “Don Quick-zit” too. Sounds like a guy who gets acne fast. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/136 "2022-05-04T16:27:37Z")
When — throw — they never are glum. And — round the fo’c’s’l swigging their rum… (Each blank contains an anagram of the same seven letter word. HINT: If you can guess it, maybe I’ll give you a piaster. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/137 "2022-05-04T19:40:41Z")
> [@TokenRing](#): > > Plaid That reminds me…when I used to read “plait” in UK books, I’d say “playt” in my head. Apparently, they say “platt.” ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/138 "2022-05-04T21:27:31Z")
Really? That sounds wrong and harsh in my head. If you want me to pronounce it “platt” then spell it that way. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/139 "2022-05-04T21:28:20Z")
Another predominantly British/Australian word: “quay”. I think it’s pronounced like “key”, but not entirely sure. Or is it “kay”? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/140 "2022-05-04T22:06:40Z")
There are many, many persons people have not heard, or cannot hear, pronounce their own names. Van Gogh. Don Quixote. Alexandre Dumas. Alexander Mackenzie. Confucius. Caesar. So no surprise if many get it wrong (or merely “wrong”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774.md?page=8)