Blue-Footed Musings

Forte: I refuse to say that something is someone’s forte. The reason for that is the pronunciation of the word “forte.” I know that it rightly rhymes with “port.” But, if I were to say it that way, someone else would say, “You mean for-tay.” Then I’d have to explain the difference between the French version (which sounds like “fort” and means “strength”) and the Italian (which sounds like “for-tay” and means “loud”). I don’t want to have that conversation. Who would?

Mien: It sounds like “mean” and rhymes with the similarly-spelled “lien.” It pains me to think of how many times I’ve said “me-en.”

Exacerbate: Someone once tried to tell me that this word has a hard C in it. It does not. The C is soft. It sounds sort of like egg-zasser-bait.

Flaccid: A toughie. I’ve heard flass-id, flak-sid, and even flak-id. The first two are correct (and listed in order of preference). The third is incorrect.

Quinoa: Like almost everyone else in America, I used to say “quin-oh-uh.” I got an early start on the correct pronunciation (“keen-wah”), because the pronunciation was given on the box of the first package of quinoa that I ever bought. Lucky!

Niche: I used to pronounce this word “neesh,” as seemed appropriate for its Frenchiness. Then other people’s pronunciation convinced me that it was “nitch.” Both pronunciations are included in Merriam-Webster, but “nitch” is preferred. It’s good that they’re both OK, because I can’t make up my mind over which one I prefer, and I tend to switch back and forth depending on my mood.

Quay: Until very recently, this was always “kway” to me, but then I found out most people say “key.” How odd! Merriam-Webster says that “key,” “kay,” and “kway” are all acceptable pronunciations, in that order of preference.

Queue: I used to avoid ever saying this word, because I wasn’t sure how to pronounce it. In my head, it was “cue-ee-oo-ee,” and more realistically speaking, I thought it might be pronounced “kie.” But then I heard someone call a waiting line a “cue” and the light bulb went on in my head. “Cue” it is. But let’s be honest: the spelling of this word is horrendous, and no one should ever be mocked for mangling its pronunciation.

Gyro: I saved this one for last, because it’s the special exception. I do not know how to pronounce this word correctly. It’s impossible to do so. Any pronunciation you use will likely get you schooled, because almost everyone has their own pronunciation, and they all think they’re right. Or, to look at it another way, all the pronunciations are simultaneously right and wrong. Accept it, and eat your gyro, and all will be well (that is, unless the “gyro” you’re referring to is a gyrocompass or gyroscope, neither of which you should attempt to eat, but which can both be safely pronounced “jie-roe”). Or you can say it the way Jimmy Fallon says to.