Things you never had right. (Appalachia: tenant, radio, rating)

[Margery]

And there is the famous "Gladly the cross I'd bear" which sounds like "Gladly, the cross-eyed bear".

[spencgr]

When I was a child, I always confused "prosecuted" (as in "shoplifters will be prosecuted"), with "persecuted", which, thanks to my Catholic school upbringing, I understood to mean "killed".

Needless to say, no sticky fingers here.

[jacmadhel]

Until a few years ago, I thought eggs didn't expire. My husband (boyfriend at the time) found 5 month old eggs in my fridge and said, "No wonder your kids hate eggs!!" Eeeww, right?

Also he has informed me that "forte" -meaning a person's skill or talent- is NOT pronounced fort-ay but fort.

This is the first house I ever lived in with a mailbox by street and my husband had to explain the procedure for the flag. I am 43--embarrassing.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by slowlane3

Although boys in the locker room would insult each other using insulting names for sexual identity and associated acts, I never knew what they were talking about.

My mother was not clued in to a lot of slang words, and also fond of "sounding British" and used a lot of expressions she thought sounded "anglophile". This sometimes led to embarrassing moments. One time I found out she never grasped that a word that rhymes with maggots was an offensive term for "gay". She thought it meant kindling for the fire. She gave a speech at a banquet and in front of the crowd asked someone to throw a few f****ots on the fire.

The one Nova-related thing that I've never gotten right is saying Rt. 7 without using "the". As in "I took the 7 to get to McLean." I know it's wrong. I do, I do, I do. But what can I say, I lived in California for 20+ years and some habits I just can't break.

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by jacmadhel

Also he has informed me that "forte" -meaning a person's skill or talent- is NOT pronounced fort-ay but fort.

Apparently it can be pronounced both ways: Forte | Define Forte at Dictionary.com

I've always pronounced it fort-ay and didn't know it was proper the other way.

[saganista]

Forte comes from both French and Italian with the same spelling and meaning, but different pronunciation. In French, the final "e" is silent. In Italian, it isn't. There being more Italians than French in the US, the dominant spoken version here has been FOR-tay, but FORT is well represented as well. It might catch up if all you FORT-sayers start some sort of lobbying campaign or other, but I don't think it's in gneeral as big an issue with people as say, whether toilet paper should come off the top or bottom of the roll...

[scottfs]

Originally Posted by Caladium

The one Nova-related thing that I've never gotten right is saying Rt. 7 without using "the". As in "I took the 7 to get to McLean." I know it's wrong. I do, I do, I do. But what can I say, I lived in California for 20+ years and some habits I just can't break.

You have no idea how much this drives me nuts...the wife and a friend of mine who recently moved here originate from out west and they can't stop doing this, no matter how much I try to correct them! They will ask "Oh, so do I need to take the 495 to the 66?" and I smugly reply "No, 'the 66' doesn't exist. You could, however take the beltway to 66". I may be contributing to my wife's directional handicap but I can't resist.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

Apparently it can be pronounced both ways: Forte | Define Forte at Dictionary.com

I've always pronounced it fort-ay and didn't know it was proper the other way.

Thanks so much for this response. I almost thought I had been saying that wrong thanks to the earlier comment.

[oneasterisk]

Originally Posted by dkf747

Thanks so much for this response. I almost thought I had been saying that wrong thanks to the earlier comment.

You're welcome. I had to look it up when you posted to make sure I hadn't been saying it wrong all this time!

[Yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by Caladium

My mother was not clued in to a lot of slang words, and also fond of "sounding British" and used a lot of expressions she thought sounded "anglophile". This sometimes led to embarrassing moments. One time I found out she never grasped that a word that rhymes with maggots was an offensive term for "gay". She thought it meant kindling for the fire. She gave a speech at a banquet and in front of the crowd asked someone to throw a few f****ots on the fire.

We once attended a wedding in NYC where about half the guests had come over from England. At the end of the reception some of the British guests told my adult children that they were "going out to pick up some f*gs." My children thought this was surprisingly blunt. It was clarified a short time later when the Brits reappeared -- with their newly-purchased CIGARETTES.