Random poll of the day: zorac

Random poll of the day

I've been meaning to do this for ages. I am intrigued to find out how people pronounce the words in this poll's eponynymous song.

Poll #150071 Let's call the whole thing off

Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All. Participants: 44

Is it one, or the other?

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eether

17(41.5%)

eyether

24(58.5%)

Or is it none of the above?

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neether

15(36.6%)

nyther

26(63.4%)

A question of spuds:

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potayto

44(100.0%)

potahto

0(0.0%)

Is it a fruit or a vegetable?

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tomayto

21(47.7%)

tomahto

23(52.3%)

What do you wear in bed?

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pajammas

13(29.5%)

pajahmas

31(70.5%)

Which one's a hoot?

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larfter

17(38.6%)

laffter

27(61.4%)

The opposite of before is:

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arfter

16(36.4%)

affter

28(63.6%)

Favourite ice-cream flavour:

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vanilla

42(95.5%)

vanella

2(4.5%)

What the blazes is this?

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sa's'parilla

29(65.9%)

sa's'parella

4(9.1%)

I have no clue

11(25.0%)

Your preferred aphrodisicac?

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ersters

0(0.0%)

oysters

44(100.0%)

jiggery_pokery

June 25 2003, 17:08:20 UTC 17 years ago

New comment

Hee! Funny stuff.

I tend to use both of the options reasonably frequently for some of these - either, neither, after and laughter. However, in each case I've gone for the one of the two which sounds more natural rather than the other which sounds affected.

I very much doubt I will be able to think of any of these without thinking of the song, though.

Unfortunately poll #150000 was a bit lame - friends-only :-(

dancingrain

June 26 2003, 17:09:53 UTC 17 years ago

me too, for eether/eyther, neether/neyther, and some others including ones not on the poll... I also notice it tends to really depend on who I am hanging about with. When I was in England I veered more to the "ey" side, as I tend to do when around Brits here as well; here I veer more to the "ee" side.

On a side note: my (English) Granny and my Dad used this song to befuddle me for years, evidently. They sang it lots when I was a kid, and I assumed that potato was pronounced "po-tah-to" in Britain, so she always made sure to call them po-tah-tos around me. It wasn't til AlexMalfoy corrected me last year that I realized they'd been pulling my leg all my life!

hermorrine

June 25 2003, 17:10:00 UTC 17 years ago

How can you not know what sasparilla is?

mhw

June 25 2003, 17:11:56 UTC 17 years ago

I have a mental block that prevents me thinking of substances that taste like dental mouthwash.

June 25 2003, 20:53:17 UTC 17 years ago

You must've gotten some bad sasparilla then...

17 years ago

zorac

June 25 2003, 17:12:34 UTC 17 years ago

Very easily. Probably by being British.

leiabelle

June 25 2003, 17:22:00 UTC 17 years ago

Hee. I use both pronunciations of the first two, depending on context. Much like the two pronunciations of "route". Am strange, yes. :)

June 26 2003, 02:07:48 UTC 17 years ago

I will admit to using poth pronounciations of some of those (yes, especially the first two)

As for "route", thats pronounced "root", the thing pronounced "rowt" is spelled "rout".
Well, on this side of the pond, anyway.
I get freaked when I here routers being referred to as rowters...

June 26 2003, 08:57:09 UTC 17 years ago

Yes, particularly when the thing I'm used to hear called a "rowter" is a machine tool for cutting grooves in wood or metal, and thus not the kind of thing to which one would entrust packets of data. That's a "rooter".

burtlo

June 25 2003, 18:58:13 UTC 17 years ago

Do you say when something is extremely bad:

It's horrible or harrible.

June 26 2003, 01:08:51 UTC 17 years ago

Horrible, definately.

ringbark

June 26 2003, 04:03:10 UTC 17 years ago

I remember hearing a Cornishman joke many years ago:

Outsider: Now then, which word do you use round here? Nyther or neether?
Cornishman: Nather. We don't use the word at all.

bopeepsheep

June 29 2003, 07:11:59 UTC 17 years ago

My dialect lecturer at college:There are two distinct ways to say 'u' as in 'cup' - the southern way (cuhp) and the northern way (coop).
Me: Um, no, there's at least three. At home* we say 'curp'.
Lecturer: Er...

And of course some Londoners say 'cap', and I'm sure there are more variations too.

* 'Home' being rural Oxfordshire.

sophie10

June 26 2003, 04:19:09 UTC 17 years ago

I see to remember this coming up at punt!t00bage, about the potatos and tomatos anyway :D

June 29 2003, 07:08:53 UTC 17 years ago

I would use "eyether" and "eether" for different situations and stresses, ditto "neether" and "nyether". And for a few of the others I'd use a completely different pronunciation from the one you have there, too... (Per-jahmas, for instance, or p'jahmas, depending on how strongly my local accent was coming out that day.)

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