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weirdly pronounced british family or place names

A list of 37 words by sionnach.

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There was a young curate of Salisbury
Whose habits were quite halisbury-scalisbury
He'd go hiking in Hampshire
Without any Pampshire
Till the bishop insisted he walisbury

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  • madmouth Screawn. The popular mispronunciation is screw-on and the real thing shree-in. Irish origin.
    May 2, 2009

  • sionnach
    I find it intriguing that the current google ad on this page is:

    Learn Irish like a Spy
    World's leading Irish method. Same course used by FBI & CIA. Jan 5, 2009

  • gangerh And Mousehole, in Cornwall, pronounced 'mouzell'. Jan 2, 2009

  • gangerh And Rocester, pronounced 'roaster', HQ of the JCB.
    And there's Keighley, pronounced 'Keethlee'. Jan 2, 2009

  • chained_bear *gently places mini-cupcake on sarra's outstuck tongue*

    I love this page. It reminds me of that thing on Sioux. (*checks to see if that thing is on Sioux*) Jan 2, 2009

  • sarra *sticks tongue out at c_b*

    Marylebone, and…

    A dashing young fellow named Cockburn
    Was attempting to travel to Holborn.
    He asked with a cough
    If he please could get ough
    When he found himself en route to Oban… Jan 2, 2009

  • sarra Leominster, Cirencester (not any longer, I don't think)

    Also the more mundane Bicester and Alcester. Jan 2, 2009

  • chained_bear Well, cuz it's fun to make fun of stupid pronunciations, and if you can get a rooster joke in there, why... so much the better! :) Jan 2, 2009

  • sarra But why would you? ;)

    Oh, by the way, I've just remembered Brewood. Rhymes with what beer has had done to it. Or what's hatched from a mother hen's eggs. Jan 2, 2009

  • chained_bear I think it works, if you pronounce "Worcester" rather like "Wooster." It isn't an exact rhyme (you don't say "wooooooster," more like "wuhster"), but it works. Jan 2, 2009

  • sarra Heh, I can do all of these limericks. And "Meppum" is even completely first-principles logical to me. This one though:

    An old lady living in Worcester
    Had a gift of a handsome young rorcester;

    Are they your invention? This one doesn't work in the slightest — doesn't, hasn't ever, and never will, to my knowledge! Shall I find/upload a pronunciation of Worcester for you? Jan 2, 2009

  • gangerh And also Meopham in Kent. Pronounced 'Meppum'. Jan 1, 2009

  • sionnach Thanks, gangerh!
    c_b: No clue, alas. Jan 1, 2009

  • gangerh Barnoldswick, sionnach? Pronounced 'Barlick'. Jan 1, 2009

  • chained_bear This is fascinating. I can read most of these and make sense of them, except for the one in the list description!

    Also, could someone, for the love of God, please tell me how the frig to pronounce "Ahoghill," which is not technically an English place name (it's in Northern Ireland)?? Jan 1, 2009

  • sionnach An old couple living in Gloucester
    Had a beautiful girl, but they loucester;
    She fell from a yacht,
    And never the spacht
    Could be found where the cold waves had toucester.

    An old lady living in Worcester
    Had a gift of a handsome young rorcester;
    But the way that it crough,
    As 'twould never get through,
    Was more than the lady was uorcester.

    At the bar in the old inn at Leicester
    Was a beautiful bar-maid named Heicester;
    She gave to each guest
    Only what was the buest,
    And they all, with one accord, bleicester. Jan 1, 2009

  • sionnach 'Strachen' and 'Straughan' seem to be the most common variations. But it appears to be Scottish, rather than English. Aug 2, 2008

  • plethora Like "strawn", usually. There are a bunch of variations on the spelling, I'm pretty sure, but I can never remember how to spell them... Aug 2, 2008

  • sionnach plethora: How is "Strachan" pronounced? Aug 2, 2008

  • plethora Strachan. Aug 2, 2008

  • yarb There was a young fellow of Caius
    with hair that fell down to his knaius:
    his pals, for a lark,
    cut it off in the dark,
    and thought it a marvellous whaius. Nov 9, 2007

  • sionnach A young man of Gloucester named Foucester,
    Had a wife who ran off with a coucester.
    He traced her to Leicester,
    And tried to arreicester,
    But in spite of these efforts he loucester. Mar 10, 2007

  • sionnach There was a young man named Colquhoun
    Who kept as a pet a babuhoun
    His mother said 'Cholmondeley,
    I don't think it's quite colmondeley
    To feed your babuhoun with a spuhoun'.

    As I said, I have a weakness for these limericks. Feb 23, 2007

  • reesetee Great! Feb 22, 2007

  • sionnach A youthful schoolmistress named beauchamp
    Said: These awful boys, how shall I teauchamp?
    For they will not behave
    Although I look grave
    And with tears in my eyes I beseauchamp. Feb 22, 2007

  • trivet I like it! Feb 22, 2007