The Hall of Shameless Mispronunciation

Ahhh the joys of hearing others say words wrong. We all have our pet peeves (it’s VER-BEEEE-AGE damnit! Not “verbage!” There’s an “i” in there for a reason!), but my mother takes it to an entirely different level, perhaps even an upper echelon of mispronunciation.

And also, just so you’re aware, my mother’s accent is somewhere in between Boston and Brooklyn, yet she’s from Connecticut. She lived in Poughkeepsie for 4 years in the 70’s and then moved back to Connecticut. No one can figure out where the accent came from, or, if it was New York, how the hell did it manage to stay tenaciously at her side for 30 years?

1) Queue.

Dictionary Definition: queue |kyoō|
noun. a list of data items, commands, etc., stored so as to be retrievable in a definite order, usually the order of insertion.

My Mom: “Kweeee! Click here to listen.
Used in a sentence: “I’m gonna put The Shield in my Blockbustah kwee.”

2) Brooch.

Dictionary Definition: brooch |brō ch; broō ch |
noun. An ornament fastened to clothing with a hinged pin and catch.

My Mom: “brewch” Click here to listen.
Used in a sentence: “Ohhhh, that’s a very nice brewch she’s wearin’.”

3) Trough.

Dictionary Definition: trough |trôf|
noun. A long, narrow open container for animals to eat or drink out of : a water trough.

My Mom: “trowww” Click here to listen.
Used in a sentence: “Look at the hawwses! They’re drinkin’ out of the trowwww!”