"Ennui" - that's a bitch the first time you try to pronounce it.
Oh and "macabre." Ultimately you need to watch a lot of overblown horror parodies until you've heard "Master of the Macabre" to get it right.
Also the names "Sean" and "Geoff."
Who among us can ignore the allure of really funny math puns?
Willow ,'Empty Places'
Natter 67: Overriding Vetoes
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, nail polish, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
DavidS - Mar 23, 2011 9:26:00 am PDT #29806 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Amy - Mar 23, 2011 9:26:23 am PDT #29807 of 30001
Because books.
So, which words did you mispronounce and how embarrassing was it when you were corrected?
Segue and archipelago.
SailAweigh - Mar 23, 2011 9:29:01 am PDT #29808 of 30001
Nana korobi, ya oki. (Fall down seven times, stand up eight.) ~Yuzuru Hanyu/Japanese proverb
Mine was epitome. I was reading out loud to my mother when I was around 10-11 and pronounced it "ep'-i-tome." Imagine my surprise when she corrected it to "e-pit'-o-me." I've been suspicious of words ending in "e" ever since. Is it English or is it Greek???
Jesse - Mar 23, 2011 9:29:38 am PDT #29809 of 30001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
fact: elizabeth taylor outlived the person who wrote her NY Times obit.
Wow.
I know there are a couple of words I still don't have solidly in my head, but I can't remember what they are right now.
DavidS - Mar 23, 2011 9:30:23 am PDT #29810 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Segue
Right?
and archipelago.
I actually corrected my high school English teacher on this one. He sort of blinked and said, "No, I think you're right."
Tom Scola - Mar 23, 2011 9:32:58 am PDT #29811 of 30001
Mr. Scola’s wardrobe by Botany 500
Guillotine.
Polter-Cow - Mar 23, 2011 9:33:44 am PDT #29812 of 30001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
epitome
Oh yeah, I definitely thought that was pronounced like it looks. Don't remember when I found out the right way, though.
Zenkitty - Mar 23, 2011 9:34:16 am PDT #29813 of 30001
Every now and then, I think I might actually be a little odd.
So, which words did you mispronounce and how embarrassing was it when you were corrected?
Proprietor (PROP-uh-teer), Toledo (TOE-le-doh), and mausoleum (maw-SO-lee-um). I still get mausoleum wrong half the time. It was embarrassing and infuriating. I was a kid, in all three cases, and it was my family laughing at me.
I still don't know how to pronounce archipelago.
Tom Scola - Mar 23, 2011 9:36:12 am PDT #29814 of 30001
Mr. Scola’s wardrobe by Botany 500
ark-ə-PEL-ah-go.
erikaj - Mar 23, 2011 9:38:08 am PDT #29815 of 30001
Always Anti-fascist!
inchoate Mamet(As in David) Talking about David Ma*may* was way more embarrassing cause I actually said it out loud and thought I was slick, besides.Sometimes I still get flushed cheeks if he is reviewed and I see it. Keith Olbermann used "inchoate" in a commentary so that was a private embarrassment thinking how often I thought "en-choat" and nodded at myself. Of course, my dad sometimes made fun of me for using exotic words *correctly* too, so I probably have many issues about that kind of thing.