# Zed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 2, 2005, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519 "2005-06-02T07:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/1 "2005-06-02T07:35:06Z")
“Zed” is clearly the most practical pronounciation of the last letter of the alphabet, “Zee” is easily confused with “Cee”, particularly when spelling something over the phone. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/2 "2005-06-02T08:12:21Z")
Hi there, **mrrealtime** , welcome to the boards. I assume you’re talking about [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mzed.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mzed.html) ? Fair enough- ‘zed’ is less ambiguous than ‘zee’ over the phone, between English-speakers that both know what it means, but so what? (and I’m a Brit saying this, just for the record). There are a number of other pairs of ambiguous-sounding letters/numbers - but we don’t feel compelled to change them just to make them easier to use on the phone. ‘eff’(F) and ‘ess’(S), ‘em’(M) and ‘en’(N), even ‘five’ and ‘nine’, apparently. Fortunately, though, the [Phonetic Alphabet](http://www.dynamoo.com/technical/phonetic.htm) exists (and indeed was _created_) to solve this very problem. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/3 "2005-06-02T13:39:29Z")
Yeah, but you can’t sing the phonetic alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/4 "2005-06-02T13:59:27Z")
Sure you can. Two eighth notes for every quarter note. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/5 "2005-06-02T15:41:18Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Yeah, but you can’t sing the phonetic alphabet. You have just given me a new aim in life. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/6 "2005-06-02T15:55:18Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Yeah, but you can’t sing the phonetic alphabet. It sort of falls down at ‘Lima, Mike, November’ (no room for ‘Oscar, Papa’ in the tune). ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/7 "2005-06-02T17:07:52Z")
To me, “zed” is there purely to tell us, the Aussies (sometimes) and the Brits apart from Americans. 🙂 And yes – on the phone, to make sure I’ve copied something down correctly, I say “Zed for Zebra”. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/8 "2005-06-02T19:19:16Z")
> [@Ice Wolf](#): > > And yes – on the phone, to make sure I’ve copied something down correctly, I say “Zed for Zebra”. For my part, I spell out things like that all the time: you know, ‘“p” as in “psychiatrist,” “k” as in “knee,” “e” as in “ess,” “s” as in “sea,” “c” as in “Celt,” “g” as in “gnosis,” “w” as in “writhe,” “m” as in “mnemonic.”’ RR ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/9 "2005-06-02T20:03:15Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > “Zed” is clearly the most practical pronounciation of the last letter of the alphabet, “Zee” is easily confused with “Cee”, particularly when spelling something over the phone. Zed’s dead, baby. Zed’s dead. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/10 "2005-06-02T20:20:13Z")
> [@RiverRunner](#): > > For my part, I spell out things like that all the time: you know, ‘“p” as in “psychiatrist,” “k” as in “knee,” “e” as in “ess,” “s” as in “sea,” “c” as in “Celt,” “g” as in “gnosis,” “w” as in “writhe,” “m” as in “mnemonic.”’ Not to forget “H” as in “Preparation.” ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/11 "2005-06-02T20:29:14Z")
I can’t remember **ever** singing the Alphabet Song as “X, Y, Zee”, it was always “X, Y, Zed”. It never bothered me that it didn’t rhyme that way - that was just the way it was (I was an uncritical kid at that age 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/12 "2005-06-02T20:37:46Z")
I thought it was P as in bath (the P is silent in bath). ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/13 "2005-06-02T20:50:01Z")
> [@Ice Wolf](#): > > To me, “zed” is there purely to tell us, the Aussies (sometimes) and the Brits apart from Americans. 🙂 And yes – on the phone, to make sure I’ve copied something down correctly, I say “Zed for Zebra”. Yeah, and I’ll bet you pronounce it ZEH-bra instead of ZEE-bra, too. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/14 "2005-06-02T22:07:18Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I thought it was P as in bath (the P is silent in bath). Pee in the bath is completely unsanitary, **Mangetout** , and you know that every bath contract has an unsanitary clause. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/15 "2005-06-02T22:14:41Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > Yeah, and I’ll bet you pronounce it ZEH-bra instead of ZEE-bra, too. Well, that’s what the nice Mr Attenborough taught us 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/16 "2005-06-02T22:19:21Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Pee in the bath is completely unsanitary, **Mangetout** , and you know that every bath contract has an unsanitary clause. That may be so, but any child will tell you it is indeed silent. Unless you do it standing up. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/17 "2005-06-03T14:27:55Z")
Lifeguard: “I’m kicking you out for peeing in the pool.” **Mangetout** : “But why just me? Everybody pees in the pool!” Lifeguard: “Yeah, but not from the diving board!” ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/18 "2005-06-03T15:11:21Z")
> [@Ice Wolf](#): > > To me, “zed” is there purely to tell us, the Aussies (sometimes) and the Brits apart from Americans. 🙂 And yes – on the phone, to make sure I’ve copied something down correctly, I say “Zed for Zebra”. Actually it’s to help us Americans spot those sneaky Canadians in our midst. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/19 "2005-06-05T08:42:40Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Pee in the bath is completely unsanitary, **Mangetout** , and you know that every bath contract has an unsanitary clause. You can’t fool me. There’s no such thing as unsanitary clause. ---
**Author:** ![Tierce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Tierce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tierce)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519/20 "2005-06-07T03:54:49Z")
And while we’re at it, is it Lima (lye’-ma) as in beans, or Lima (lee’-ma) as in Peru? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zed/306519.md?page=2)