# Which is it?



## littlechef (Jun 28, 2007)

As the saying goes:

"You say tomato , I say tomato..."

but I must profess that despite all my years in the industry, I still don't know the answer to this basic question.

Please, can anyone help put me out of my misery?

TIA.


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## luc_h (Jun 6, 2007)

(empty)


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## cookingwithfat (Feb 12, 2007)

Luc is totally correct unless you are in Virginia: in which case use the British pronunciation. My mother gets all kinds of upset when I say toe-may-to, it is always toe-mah-toe. I think this is true of other regions of the South as well. Particularly, cities which could be considered bastions of the "Old South" like Savannah etc...


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

so how do you say aunt?


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

ahnt I reckon but hey I like ants too I try not to step on them.

I'm of the tom-ah-toe school, but mostly I just call 'em yummy

What you can do for fun is ask a New Zealander what comes after 5


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## fingerpie (Jun 28, 2007)

What about :
bath or ba rth

or 

scone or sc-oone

or 

book or buk ?


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

Scone is a Scottish word, which we pronounce to rhyme with 'gone', the English pronounce to rhyme with 'loan' - and just to make it more interesting, it is also the name of the place where ancient Kings of Scotland were crowned and is pronounced to rhyme with 'loon'...


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## baddabing (Jun 9, 2007)

unti
mater
bisquit


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## chefguru (Jun 28, 2007)

*** = Smoke or gay?


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## baconman (Jun 29, 2007)

In Israel it is a cloth.

We say ag-van-yot, but when speaking in English we say to-may-toe.


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## hotchef (Jul 25, 2006)

as long as we know that tomatoes are round and red,
and cucumbers ar long and green.


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## dc sunshine (Feb 26, 2007)

What about Kilometre?

Kill-oh-muh-ter

or 
Kill-oh-meeter?

(Compare it to how you'd say centimeter and you'll get the idea - this is a favourite bug bear of mine)


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## cat man (May 7, 2007)

I have to chime in on this one...

Of all the words mispronounced, the one that annoys me the most is

BOUY
Being a Canadian who lives in the US, I hear it all the time pronounced

Boo-EE

My question is this.

If something is bouyant, it floats, if something has bouyancy, it floats.
Therefore, it's simply a BOY, not a Boo-EE

and while I'm on this track, the word QUAY is pronouced KEY!...not KWAY

Cat Man


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

But tomatoes aren't just round and red - they can be odd shaped, yellow, orange, purple, and other colors. The other day I had a green and white striped tomato.

Tanager Song Organic Heirloom Seeds

Shel


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## thetincook (Jun 14, 2002)

Cat Man- I thought you guys pronounced it Boo-eh?




Funny you mention quay. I used to pronuce "Q" (as in what lines are called in England) that way. Then there was the embarrising time when I tried to say nepotism.


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

My mother was from Boston and said "bahth" and "tomahto". We all disappointed her and said "bath" and "tomato".

I too, embarrassed myself by saying "quay" to a guy from England who I was dating. He looked at me rather strangly and asked if I meant "key".:blush: Um, isn't that what I said? 

Along those same lines, I hate the signs in the grocery that say "12 items of less". I know you'll spend less $$ in those lines, but you'll be buying fewer items. Or the sign over the greens in the grocery that said "Mescalin Greens". I'll bet they flew out of there!!!:lol:


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## thetincook (Jun 14, 2002)

I better go rewrite that menu...


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## lentil (Sep 8, 2003)

Either rewrite it or be prepared to offer something with a little more kick than just greens.:smoking:


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## deltadoc (Aug 15, 2004)

While I've never heard anyone call "pizza" anything other than "peet-zaa", my dad absolutely refused to pronounce it that way. To him, it was simple. It had two "z"s, and therefore was "pizzzzz-ah pi".

One that is common and i don't really get too upset is "lasagne" vs. "lasagna". One's the noodle and one's the dish.

But I've heard them pronounced "la-zag-knee" and "la-zag-nuh".

But I never get over NY'ers and other US Easterners adding "r"s where there are none.

And Iowa, where I'm from, there was either a "boy" in the river swimming (or fallen out of a boat", or there were red or (now I can't remember white or blue") "boo-ees" that helped you navigate the deeper part of the Mississippi River.

doc


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

Another American pronounciation I've heard (NB: from a small number of Americans, not ALL Americans:lips is Woor chester shy er sauce - it's pronounced Wooster (as in the town and county of Worcester and Worcestershire) and Sheer - and most people don't bother to add the 'sheer', either! :crazy:

That sort of contraction sorts the British from the rest... for instance:

Names: Featherstonehaugh is actually pronounced Fanshawe
Cholmondley is Chumlee
Scottish names like Menzies and Gilzean are pronounced Mingis and Gileen
Leicester is Lester
Bicester is Bister
Leominster is Lemster


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## luc_h (Jun 6, 2007)

(empty)


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

We just like to confuse non-natives!


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

The one I encounter all the time is pecan and pecon pie.


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## frayedknot (Dec 17, 2006)

Panini we all know it is PEE CAN pie..... LOL


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## hotchef (Jul 25, 2006)

you do what is easiest and convenient for you. as simple as that. someone does not like, tell them to take a hike.... sounds maybe rude. but i am many years in the hospitality industry. have worked in many countries. and each has their own names. but i use simple english and say tomatO.


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## akat (Jun 9, 2015)

try ordering any onions that aren't "red" or "brown" in australia.... funny stuff...


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Frayedknot said:


> Panini we all know it is PEE CAN pie..... LOL


I realize this is an old post but just couldn't resist...

A peecan is something grannies kept their beds for those middle of the nite nature calls /img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif

A puh khan comes from the shade trees in the back yard and is as delish out of the shell as it is in a pie.

mimi


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

Reminds me of a story my friend told me.

In culinary school one of his instructors was discussing Anise.

He said "you can pronounce it Ah-niece, or An-isss, but never the 3rd pronunciation".


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