From Asterisk To Zoology, Common Mispronunciations That Trip Us Up

Published October 7, 2016 at 1:40 PM EDT

There’s a new book out on one of our favorite topics: mispronounced words.

Here & Now‘s Robin Young speaks with Kathryn and Ross Petras, co-authors of “You’re Saying It Wrong.”

You can also test your knowledge with a word pronunciation quiz.

asterisk: ASS-ter-isk not ASS-ter-icks or ASS-ter-ick
badminton: BAD-mint-en not BAD-mitt-en
coup de grace: coo-de-GRAHS not coo-de-GRAH
coxswain: COCK-suhn not cox-SWANE
detritus:de-TRY-tuss, not DEH-trit-uss
electoral: ee-LECK-tor-uhl not ee-leck-TOR-uhl or ee-leck-TOR-ee-uhl
for all intents and purposes: for all intents and purposes, not for all intensive purposes
heartrending: HART-rending, not hart-REN-der-ing
mischievous: MIS-chu-vus, not mis-CHEE-vee-us
orangutan: aw-RANG-uh-tan or uh-RANG-uh-tan, not aw-RANG-uh-tang
pho: fuh, not phoh
quay: kee, not kway
quinoa: KEEN-wah, not KWIN-oh-ah or kwin-OH-a
remuneration: ri-MYOO-nuh-ray-shuhn, not re-NOOM-err-ay-shuhn
restaurateur: res-ter-uh-TOOR, not rest-ter-ahnt-TOOR
supposedly: sup-POSE-ed-lee, not sup-POSE-ah-blee
triathlon: tri-ATH-luhn, not tri-ATH-ah-luhn
utmost: UT-most, not UP-most
victual: VIT-l, not VIC-tchoo-uhl

Kathryn and Ross Petras, co-authors of “You’re Saying It Wrong: A Pronunciation Guide to the 150 Most Commonly Mispronounced Words and Their Tangled Histories of Misuse.”