Looks like I was mentioned in the Washington Post yesterday, August 19th, in response to a comment I wrote to John Kelly — Readers share their mispronunciations — after he invited readers to share their stupidities — and I surely have a Presidential Suite of them to choose from.
That said, little story was about one question in particular, “What words did you mispronounce or misunderstand?”
Chris Abraham grew up in Honolulu and while he had seen the word “hors d’oeuvres” before, it wasn’t one he used. In Hawaii the preferred term is “pupu.” And so when Chris arrived at George Washington University in 1988 and attempted to describe what pupus were, he said they were the same thing as “whore’s de vores.”
Wrote Chris: “My best friend, Mark Harrison, smiled and said, ‘Chris, I think you mean ‘oar durves.’?”
True story — ask Mark.
I love your honesty and humor when saying “and I surely have a Presidential Suite of them to choose from.”
Thank you, Susan — I really appreciate that! Thanks so much for reading.