English words you have mispronounced for a long time

[Montecfo]

This one drives my SIL nuts. She's from the Philly metro area, and was a French minor in college. There's a road between Lexington (where she lives) and Versailles. She'd be giving directions, or asking directions and was blown away with the ver-sales thing. After 20 or so years, she's gotten used to it but it still bugs her.

On the Mary, Merry, Marry front - I'd add Ferry and Fairy. I was, literally, taught those words as homonyms in elementary school, as examples of a homonym - along with Bare and Bear, and of course There, Their, and They're. This was in San Diego.

DH, from Philly, is in the camp of different pronunciations for Mary/Merry/Marry and Ferry/Fairie. It is usually only and issue when we are in the NW and need to take a Ferry and he starts mocking my pronunciation and I ask him if he wants to take the "furry" to Bainbridge (or where-ever) because his pronunciation is so weird.

Another regional thing is whether you stand 'in line' or 'online'.... To me, online is on the internet, in line is when you are in a queue. My friends from NYC and northern Jersey are firmly in the online camp.

People that say online need to pay attention and fall in line.

Never heard that one.

 

[rk911]

For mauve, the shade of light purple, do you say mahv or mohv?

mohv

 

[GalaxyBoy]

A few years ago I started noticing people pronouncing “bury” not as “berry” but as “burrey.” Of course the way I say it is correct.

 

[rk911]

Locals in KY pronounce the town of Versailles as Ver-sales, not the more typical way Ver-sigh. Louisville is usually Lew-ah-vul to most locals...

old joke...how do you pronounce the capital of kentucky...LOO-EEE-VILL or LOO-ISS-VILL? answer: Lexington.

 

[Gumby]

old joke...how do you pronounce the capital of kentucky...LOO-EEE-VILL or LOO-ISS-VILL? answer: Lexington.

According to MissMolly https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...ced-for-a-long-time-113269-5.html#post2744178, with whom Google agrees, the capital of Kentucky is Frankfort.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

old joke...how do you pronounce the capital of kentucky...LOO-EEE-VILL or LOO-ISS-VILL? answer: Lexington.

Answer: Frankfort!

 

[MissMolly]

old joke...how do you pronounce the capital of kentucky...LOO-EEE-VILL or LOO-ISS-VILL? answer: Lexington.

No, it's not. It's Frankfort.

 

[rk911]

According to MissMolly https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...ced-for-a-long-time-113269-5.html#post2744178, with whom Google agrees, the capital of Kentucky is Frankfort.

ya caught it. congrats!

 

[Major Tom]

You have simply defined an eggcorn. It's incorrect but still "makes sense".

I'd argue that there are two different categories of eggcorn; the ones that somehow make sense, and the ones that don't. For instance, saying "I could of" instead of "I could have" might make sense in terms of it sounding similar, but it is grammatically nonsensical. On the other hand, "he's got another thing coming" does make sense, so perhaps it is a more acceptable form of eggcorn?

If eggcorns such as "for all intensive purposes" and "I could of" ever become folk etymologies, I think they qualify as more egregious linguistic offences than "he's got another thing coming" did when it became the widely accepted version.

And just to go further, doesn't every living person always have another "thing" coming? So what is the purpose of the opening conditional phrase?

Yes, every living thing does indeed always have another thing coming, but the opening conditional phrase in the statement, "if he thinks [fill in blank for undesired behavior] is acceptable to me, then he's got another thing coming..." sets the context of the sentence. It states that if he thinks a certain thing, then he will have another thing coming, as opposed to saying that he will always have another thing coming, regardless of what he thinks or does, simply because he is alive. Even without the opening conditional phrase, it could still make sense, as so much about language is contextual.

 

[Montecfo]

old joke...how do you pronounce the capital of kentucky...LOO-EEE-VILL or LOO-ISS-VILL? answer: Lexington.

It's a decent joke for the unwary, but this joke is on you I guess.

It's Frankfort.

 

[Montecfo]

I'd argue that there are two different categories of eggcorn; the ones that somehow make sense, and the ones that don't. For instance, saying "I could of" instead of "I could have" might make sense in terms of it sounding similar, but it is grammatically nonsensical. On the other hand, "he's got another thing coming" does make sense, so perhaps it is a more acceptable form of eggcorn?

If eggcorns such as "for all intensive purposes" and "I could of" ever become folk etymologies, I think they qualify as more egregious linguistic offences than "he's got another thing coming" did when it became the widely accepted version.




Yes, every living thing does indeed always have another thing coming, but the opening conditional phrase in the statement, "if he thinks [fill in blank for undesired behavior] is acceptable to me, then he's got another thing coming..." sets the context of the sentence. It states that if he thinks a certain thing, then he will have another thing coming, as opposed to saying that he will always have another thing coming, regardless of what he thinks or does, simply because he is alive. Even without the opening conditional phrase, it could still make sense, as so much about language is contextual.

But the statement is nonsensical, since he has another "thing" coming in either case.

I think it fails logically.

Here is another:

"She has a tough road to hoe."

Correct would be a "tough row to hoe."

No reason to hoe a road! Especially if it is ass fault (couldn't resist).

Of course if you never have hoed anything then road perhaps works, though nonsensical.

 

[Major Tom]

But the statement is nonsensical, since he has another "thing" coming in either case.

I think it fails logically.

Here is another:

"She has a tough road to hoe."

Correct would be a "tough row to hoe."

No reason to hoe a road! Especially if it is ass fault (couldn't resist).

Of course if you never have hoed anything then road perhaps works, though nonsensical.

Interesting point. However, I think you are being overly logical, to the point of being pedantic, with this approach. Focusing solely on the sentence, "if he thinks [fill in blank for undesired behavior] is acceptable to me, then he's got another thing coming...", it is true (if we are to believe the speaker) that if he thinks a certain thing, then he will experience something else entirely. If he doesn't think aforestated thing, there will be no new event for him, as a result of his approach. He will, at some point, experience "another thing coming", but very possibly not immediately, and not as a result of this particular set of circumstances.

Incidentally, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this sort of thing without contention. I agree about the "tough road to hoe" example. I grew up in the country, and have never known anyone who tried to hoe a road. I imagine that trying to hoe a road would be tough, so perhaps, as you say, it does make some kind of sense.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

But the statement is nonsensical, since he has another "thing" coming in either case.

I think in this context, "another thing" is meant as a synonym for "a different thing." That is, the next thing that is coming is different than what the person was expecting.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Another point to add to this think/thing discussion: On the western side of the Atlantic, "think" is not a noun! You can hardly blame us for rejecting "another think coming" when, to an American's ears, that makes a fundamental grammatical error. We don't say "I had an interesting think this morning in the bath." I am given to understand on the eastern shores of the pond, they might say something like that.

If a Brit thinks that we are going to start using that word as a noun, they have another thing coming.

 

[Morricol61]

I pronounce "aluminum" as al-you-MIN-ee-um, just for fun. In fact, around the house, I pronounce a lot of words in a way other than I would pronounce them in a more serious context.

al-you-MIN-ee-um is how we say it Australia, so it must be correct.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I always say- in the words of Rob Halford- you’ve got another thing coming.
Whether or not he is correct doesn’t matter. It only matters that I am quoting him correctly. [emoji12]

 

[Montecfo]

Interesting point. However, I think you are being overly logical, to the point of being pedantic, with this approach. Focusing solely on the sentence, "if he thinks [fill in blank for undesired behavior] is acceptable to me, then he's got another thing coming...", it is true (if we are to believe the speaker) that if he thinks a certain thing, then he will experience something else entirely. If he doesn't think aforestated thing, there will be no new event for him, as a result of his approach. He will, at some point, experience "another thing coming", but very possibly not immediately, and not as a result of this particular set of circumstances.

Incidentally, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this sort of thing without contention. I agree about the "tough road to hoe" example. I grew up in the country, and have never known anyone who tried to hoe a road. I imagine that trying to hoe a road would be tough, so perhaps, as you say, it does make some kind of sense.

I do love the discussion. I consider the charge that I have excess logic to be illogical, by definition.

 

[Montecfo]

Another point to add to this think/thing discussion: On the western side of the Atlantic, "think" is not a noun! You can hardly blame us for rejecting "another think coming" when, to an American's ears, that makes a fundamental grammatical error. We don't say "I had an interesting think this morning in the bath." I am given to understand on the eastern shores of the pond, they might say something like that.

If a Brit thinks that we are going to start using that word as a noun, they have another thing coming.

It's a very well established colloquialism in America, despite being misunderstood by some.

 

[KCGeezer]

I think in this context, "another thing" is meant as a synonym for "a different thing." That is, the next thing that is coming is different than what the person was expecting.

Unless it’s preceded by ‘and’. Then it’s often a continuation of the preceding think.

 

[Qs Laptop]

There is a town in Minnesota about 130 miles due west of Minneapolis which shares the same name as the capital of Uruguay. Montevideo.

Here in Minnesota we pronounce it Mon-tah-vid-ee-oh.

Everybody else pronounces it Mon-teh-va-day-oh.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I can always tell who’s not local to southwest Virginia by the way they say the names of some of the towns.

Buchanan should be BUCKanan, not BYOOcanan.
Staunton is pronounced Stanton.
Buena Vista is Byoona Vista.
Roanoke has three syllables, not two. Say the short “a.”
Norfolk is something like Nawfahk, not Nor-Folk.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

My hometown a main drag is spelled skibo. Locals say it sky-bo. Everyone else ESP resporters not from there report to you from near the wreckage on skee-bo Rd.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Unless it’s preceded by ‘and’. Then it’s often a continuation of the preceding think.

Now you have me confused. "Another thing" is NOT preceded by "and" in the expression we have been discussing. And did you mean to write "think" there?

 

[GalaxyBoy]

And speaking of eggcorns, one I have to admit to using for years is “baited breath.” I even insisted it was spelled incorrectly as “bated breath.”

 

[Marita40]

I was thinking about misheard song lyrics and found this fun list:
Misheard Rock Lyrics