What's on my mind: (6/16/03)

Here are my answers to Eric's survey thing. How I pronounce these things, and what percentage of Americans I match with. Love of the game.

1. aunt - like "ant" (75.15%)

2. been - as in "sit" (64.82%)

3. the first vowel in "Bowie knife" - as in "boo" (19.27%)

4. caramel - I use both (car-ml, carra-mel) interchangeably (17.26%)

5. the vowel in the second syllable of "cauliflower" - as in "sit" (63.97%)

6. the last vowel in "centaur" - I use the same vowel in "car", "caught", and "centaur" (12.09%)

7. coupon - as in "coop" ("coopon") (66.86%)

8. Craig (the name) - as in "set" (28.00%)

9. crayon - (2 syllables, "cray-awn", where the second syllable rhymes with "dawn") (34.53%)

10. creek (a small body of running water) - as in "see" (88.57%)

11. the first vowel in "Florida" - as in "sore" ("flore-i-da") (73.38%)

12. flourish - as in "sore" ("flore-ish") (23.07%)

13. the last vowel in "handkerchief" - as in "sit" (78.23%)

14. lawyer - as in "boy" ("loyer") (72.84%)

15. How do you pronounce Mary/merry/marry? - all 3 are the same (56.88%)

16. mayonnaise - (3 syllables--"may-uh-naze") (45.83%)

17. the first vowel in "miracle" - as in "knit" (52.13%)

18. mischievous vs. mischievious - mischievous (3 syllables) (47.71%)

19. the final vowel in "Monday," "Friday," etc. - as in "say" (86.78%)

20. the second vowel in "pajamas" - as in "father" (51.86%)

21. pecan - ("pick Ahn") (20.92%)

22. poem - two syllables (67.61%)

23. really - as in "see" ("reely") (52.54%)

24. realtor (a real estate agent) - 2 syllables ("reel-ter") (44.21%)

25. roof, room, broom, root - as in "food" (75.09%)

26. route (as in, "the route from one place to another") - I can pronounce it either way interchangeably (30.42%)

27. the first vowel in "syrup" - "sear-up" (13.43%)

28. Do you pronounce "cot" and "caught" the same? - same (39.07%)

29. almond - all-mond (first syllable sounds like "all") (59.68%)

30. the "s" in "anniversary" - as in "sock" (93.82%)

31. asterisk - asteri[k] (with no s in the final cluster) (28.79%)

32. candidate - I pronounce the first d (50.15%)

33. the "s" in "chromosome" - [s] (35.73%)

34. et cetera - pronounced e[ts]etera (4 syllables) (65.12%)

35. the final consonant in "garage" - as in "edge" (37.01%)

36. the "c" in "grocery" - [s] as in "sock" (52.38%)

37. huge, humor, humongous, human... - I pronounce the h (94.65%)

38. the "s" in "nursery" - [s] as in "sock" (88.27%)

39. the "s" in the last name of Elvis Presley - [s] (66.19%)

40. quarter - with [kw] (62.07%)

41. Do you use "spigot" or "spicket" to refer to a faucet or tap that water comes out of? - spigot (66.89%)

42. strength - the "g" is silent (19.33%)

43. the final consonant in "Texas" - [s] (92.13%)

44. cream cheese - CREAM cheese (stress on the first syllable) (56.29%)

45. insurance - inSURance (stress on the second syllable) (79.82%)

46. New Haven (the city in Connecticut where Yale University is located) - NEW Haven (46.13%)

47. Thanksgiving - ThanksGIVing (65.34%)

48. umbrella - umBRELLa (78.57%)

49. I ____ her lifeless body from the pool - dragged (80.69%)

50. What word(s) do you use to address a group of two or more people? - you guys (42.53%)

51. Would you say "Are you coming with?" as a full sentence, to mean "Are you coming with us?" - no (60.12%)

52. Would you say "where are you at?" to mean "where are you?" - no (35.61%)

53. Modals are words like "can," "could," "might," "ought to," and so on. Can you use more than one modal at a time? (e.g., "I might could do that" to mean "I might be able to do that"; or "I used to could do that" to mean "I used to be able to do that") - no (87.68%)

54. He used to nap on the couch, but he sprawls out in that new lounge chair anymore - this use of "anymore" is unacceptable (92.89%)

55. I do exclusively figurative paintings anymore - unacceptable (91.56%)

56. Pantyhose are so expensive anymore that I just try to get a good suntan and forget about it. - unacceptable (67.26%)

57. Forget the nice clothes anymore (referring to babies eating messily after a certain age) - unacceptable (70.17%)

58. Which of these terms do you prefer for a sale of unwanted items on your porch, in your yard, etc.? - garage sale (52.17%)

59. What do you call the game wherein the participants see who can throw a knife closest to the other person (or alternately, get a jackknife to stick into the ground or a piece of wood)? - I have never heard of this "game" and have no idea what it's called (51.32%)

60. What do you call the area of grass between the sidewalk and the road? - I have no word for this (67.92%)

61. What do you call the area of grass that occurs in the middle of some streets? - island (44.18%)

62. What do you call the long narrow place in the middle of a divided highway? - median (79.22%)

63. What do you call the drink made with milk and ice cream? - milkshake/shake (96.42%)

64. What do you call the long sandwich that contains cold cuts, lettuce, and so on? - sub (77.15%)

65. What do you call the insect that flies around in the summer and has a rear section that glows in the dark? - firefly (30.43%)

66. What do you call the miniature lobster that one finds in lakes and streams for example (a crustacean of the family Astacidae)? - crawfish (38.82%)

67. What do you call the kind of spider (or spider-like creature) that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs? - daddy long leg(s) (94.28%)

68. What nicknames do/did you use for your maternal grandmother? - grandma (50.67%)

69. What about your paternal grandmother (is there a distinction?) - n/a

70. What do/did you call your maternal grandfather? - n/a

71. paternal grandfather? - n/a

72. What do you call the big clumps of dust that gather under furniture and in corners? - dust balls (21.35%)

73. What is your *general* term for the rubber-soled shoes worn in gym class, for athletic activities, etc.? - sneakers (45.50%)

74. What do you call the little gray creature (that looks like an insect but is actually a crustacean) that rolls up into a ball when you touch it? - roly poly (33.07%)

75. What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket? - grocery cart (13.95%)

76. What term do you use to refer to something that is across both streets from you at an intersection (or diagonally across from you in general)? - I have no term for this (3.68%)

77. What do you call the activity of driving around in circles in a car? - other (16.12%)

78. What do you call paper that has already been used for something or is otherwise imperfect? - scratch paper (31.01%)

79. What is your *general* term for a big road that you drive relatively fast on? - highway (57.00%)

80. What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining? - fox's wedding (0.15%)

81. When you are cold, and little points of skin begin to come on your arms and legs, you have- - goose bumps (89.87%)

82. What do you call the gooey or dry matter that collects in the corners of your eyes, especially while you are sleeping? - eye booger (10.68%)

83. What do you call an easy course? - other (42.05%)

84. What do you call a traffic situation in which several roads meet in a circle and you have to get off at a certain point? - I have no word for this (12.31%)

85. What is the thing that women use to tie their hair? - hair thing (14.97%)

86. Do you use the word cruller? - I have no idea what this means (27.24%)

87. Do you use the term "bear claw" for a kind of pastry? - yes (55.22%)

88. What do you call someone who is the opposite of pigeon-toed (i.e. when they walk their feet point outwards)? - I have no word for this (31.12%)

89. Can you call coleslaw "slaw"? - yes (38.33%)

90. What do you call the box you bury a dead person in? - coffin (65.82%)

91. Do you say "vinegar and oil" or "oil and vinegar" for the type of salad dressing? - oil and vinegar (78.59%)

92. What do you call it when a driver changes over one or more lanes way too quickly? - other (87.87%)

93. When you stand outside with a long line of people waiting to get in somewhere, are you standing "in line" or "on line" (as in, "I stood ___ in the cold for two hours before they opened the doors")? - in line (88.30%)

94. Do you say "frosting" or "icing" for the sweet spread one puts on a cake? - frosting (32.79%)

95. What is "the City"? - other (41.72%)

96. What is the distinction between dinner and supper? - I do not use the term supper (33.14%)

97. Which of these terms do you prefer? - garbage can (27.38%)

98. Which of these terms do you prefer? - both (9.75%)

99. Which of these terms do you prefer for the small road parallel to the highway? - feeder road (1.97%)

100. Do you cut or mow the lawn or grass? - mow the lawn (66.79%)

101. Do you pass in homework or hand in homework? - hand in (75.74%)

102. What do you call the insect that looks like a large thin spider and skitters along the top of water? - other (4.65%)

103. What do you call the thing from which you might drink water in a school? - water fountain (60.97%)

104. What do you call a public railway system (normally underground)? - the subway (80.51%)

105. What is your generic term for a sweetened carbonated beverage? - soda (52.97%)

106. What do you call the act of covering a house or area in front of a house with toilet paper? - tp'ing (57.61%)

107. What do you call a traffic jam caused by drivers slowing down to look at an accident or other diversion on the side of the road? - rubbernecking is the activity (slowing down and gawking) that causes the traffic jam, but I have no word for the traffic jam itself (60.53%)

108. What vowel do you use in bag? - as in "sat" (88.62%)

109. What do you call the paper container in which you might bring home items you bought at the store? - bag (90.26%)

110. What do you call the night before Halloween? - I have no word for this (70.38%)

111. What do you call the end of a loaf of bread? - end (17.29%)

112. How do you pronounce the word for the type of drug that acts as central nervous system depressant and is used as a sedative or hypnotic? (Please do not look up the word in a dictionary before answering this question.) - barbituate (78.77%)

113. amphitheater - f (41.64%)

114. citizen - [s] (29.75%)

115. What do you call a point that is purely academic, or that cannot be settled and isn't worth discussing further? - a moot point (89.03%)

116. How do you pronounce the -sp- sequence in "thespian" (the word meaning "actor")? - [sp] (as in "desperate") (79.13%)

117. What do you call the level of a building that is partly or entirely underground? - basement (60.67%)

118. What do you call a drive-through liquor store? - I have never heard of such a thing (48.26%)

119. What do you call food that you buy at a restaurant but then eat at home? - take-out (70.52%)

120. What do you say when you want to lay claim to the front seat of a car? - shotgun (69.04%)

121. What word do you use for gawking at someone in a lustful way? - ogle (43.77%)

122. Do you say "expecially", or "especially"? - especially (95.55%)