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Why don't they spell Iron "I-Earn" or pronounce Irony 'I-Ernie'?

Postby friendociate » 13 Feb 2023, 19:55

It's one of the little oddities/cruelties of the English language---how we pronounce 'I-Earn' when we say "Iron," but don't describe "the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect" as 'I-earn-ic' :shifty:

"Iron" comes from a wordroot that means "Strong (maybe Holy) Metal." - like Iron Irons Ironed Ironing IroningBoard Andiron CastIron FlatIron Ironclad Ironmonger Ironstone Ironwork PigIron

"Irony" (if not meaning "of or resembling Iron :mrgreen: ) comes from a wordroot that means "to Speak (see Verb)." - as does Irony Ironies Ironist Ironists Ironic Ironically

... just a little of the abundance of random brain-stuff in my head ...
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Last edited by friendociate on 12 Mar 2023, 15:53, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Why don't they spell Iron "I-Earn" or pronounce Irony 'I-Ernie'?

Postby oldbuddy » 24 Feb 2023, 20:53

You could say that about a ton of crazy quirks in the English language, but I always tell myself it's just because that's the way it is. Now that we have smartphones you can ask Google and have answers in seconds, so it's no big deal.
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Re: Why don't they spell Iron "I-Earn" or pronounce Irony 'I-Ernie'?

Postby friendociate » 25 Feb 2023, 12:20

oldbuddy wrote:Now that we have smartphones you can ask Google and have answers in seconds, so it's no big deal.

I DON'T have a smartphone (I can "ask Google" (tho I ask Yahoo! with 'Search for a Cause,' and many ask SIRI or ... is AskJeeves still around? (Kind of, but no)), but I 'ask ForumCoin' to see if any of my fellow forum-ers know why :geek:
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