# words you've always mispronounced **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611 "2003-06-18T03:13:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/1 "2003-06-18T03:13:01Z")
It came as a great shock ( well, not really ) that I had been mispronouncing SEGUE wrongly forever. Somebody was rabbitting on about one thing SEGWAYING into something else and I had the temerity to correct his pronounciation! Much embarrassment later I humbly apologised, but began to think that pronouncing segue as seeg was far better. What words have you always mispronounced? How long? And do you think your variation is better? ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Trauma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Doc\_Trauma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Trauma)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/2 "2003-06-18T03:18:08Z")
Cache …I always read it as “cack”. Though “Cash-ae” does have a more elegant tone, I think that a “Cack” of weapons sounds more impressive then a “cash-ae”. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/3 "2003-06-18T03:34:10Z")
“Dour”. I always want to make it rhyme with sour, i.e. “SOW-er”. It comes from reading it way before I ever heard somebody say it, or bothered to actually look it up. The early mistake stuck. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/4 "2003-06-18T03:39:01Z")
“Hyperbole” It’s always been “hyper bowl” in my head. I’m SO happy I heard the correct pronunciation before I actually said it out loud and sounded like a complete dumbass. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/5 "2003-06-18T03:45:34Z")
This is embarrassing to admit but for the longest time I thought _hindrance_ was actually _hindrix._ Boy what a dumb ass mistake that was! ---
**Author:** ![Calliope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Calliope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calliope)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/6 "2003-06-18T03:46:24Z")
Hover–I always want to pronounce it hoe-ver. It drives my husband batty. Personally, I like my pronounciation better! And sword. I pronounce the W. ---
**Author:** ![ShadiRoxan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@ShadiRoxan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadiRoxan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/7 "2003-06-18T03:47:49Z")
I always pronounce iron exactly how it is spelled. eye-ron. It makes more sense then i-earn to me. ---
**Author:** ![NightRabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@NightRabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NightRabbit)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/8 "2003-06-18T03:48:19Z")
**TVeblen** , oh my god… it turns out that I’ve been mispronouncing “dour” my whole life and never realized it… how is that possible??? Blah. I wonder which other words I don’t actually know? The only other one I can think of right now is “documentary”… I always pronounced it the British way, stress on the last syllable, until my roommate laughed at me and I realized that I was saying it oddly. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/9 "2003-06-18T04:08:40Z")
Nietzsche and Aamar I can’t say at all. Ostensibly -I always say obstensively and it makes me sad. My brother had a big problem with ‘respite’ til he said it out loud in front of me. I said “what’s a re-spite?” and he said it was a little rest and I said, “like a respite?” and for about five minutes I was the smart one. Oh, what a day that was. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_B.Goode](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Johnny\_B.Goode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_B.Goode)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/10 "2003-06-18T04:21:40Z")
I don’t mispronounce these but they take extra care on my behalf: anemone - have to slow right down to avoid saying “an-enemy” fifth - most people wouldn’t notice if I said “fith” but I make a conscious effort not to. ---
**Author:** ![Doc\_Trauma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Doc\_Trauma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doc_Trauma)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/11 "2003-06-18T04:34:48Z")
…and another one that doesn’t quite fit the thread…Presbyterian. I can say it but if I try to read it it always come out pie-bestree-an. Can’t figure it out ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/12 "2003-06-18T04:59:29Z")
Dilapidated…it comes out "dil-AP-il-ay-TID. And then there’s “fugue.” That I just gave up on. ---
**Author:** ![LinkStarzWing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8c91f0/32.png) [@LinkStarzWing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LinkStarzWing)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/13 "2003-06-18T05:09:52Z")
I said determined wrong until the 5th grade! I said it “det-er-mind-ded” I’d be reading whatever it was and then I got to determined, and then the kids would laugh and I didn’t understand why until I was about 11. ---
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/14 "2003-06-18T05:15:10Z")
Paean. As a matter of fact, I still don’t know how to pronounce it. Somebody throw me a bone! W00t! 200! ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/15 "2003-06-18T05:54:16Z")
I pronounced “melee” like “mee-lee” for a while. I used to pronounce “segue” the same way as well. I probably screw up a lot of other words that I only encounter in print too. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/16 "2003-06-18T06:20:56Z")
Not verbaly, but I always read indicted as in-DICK-ted, and cognac as cog-NAC. ---
**Author:** ![Ryle\_Dup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ryle\_Dup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryle_Dup)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/17 "2003-06-18T06:54:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by typhoon \* > \*\*I pronounced “melee” like “mee-lee” for a while. I used to pronounce “segue” the same way as well. I probably screw up a lot of other words that I only encounter in print too. \*\* In my family we pronounce it “mee-lee” I can’t stand the “may-lay” it just sounds so _wrong_… ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/18 "2003-06-18T07:04:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sqube \* > **Paean. As a matter of fact, I still don’t know how to pronounce it. Somebody throw me a bone!** According to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=paean), it’s pronounced as in, “Hey, Sqube, you just drank 2 gallons of apple juice! What are you doing now?” Mine are, unforunately: **caveat** : which is bad because it’s one of those words you really shouldn’t be using unless you know how to pronounce it. According to [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com), my pronunciation (short _a_ kind of like “cat-vee-ot”) is acceptable, but not the preferred one. **Arkansas** : dammit, it won’t stop being Ar-Kansas to me. **superfluous** : for the longest time I pronounced it “SOOperFLOOus” until a really arrogant bastard spent an awful long time correcting me with great relish. Now I know how to pronounce it correctly, but am very nervous about saying it. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/19 "2003-06-18T11:59:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TVeblen \* > \*\*“Dour”. > > I always want to make it rhyme with sour, i.e. “SOW-er”. It comes from reading it way before I ever heard somebody say it, or bothered to actually look it up. The early mistake stuck. \*\* Actually, it appears that you (and many of us) are safe. I looked it up at m-w.com (can’t link to the word) and they have two alternate pronunciations: “Doo+er” and “Dow+er” If you click on the rightmost speaker, your computer will pronounce the word like “Power”. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611/20 "2003-06-18T13:30:09Z")
Gaia I always thought it was GUY-uh, but it’s GAY-uh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-youve-always-mispronounced/182611.md?page=2)