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When i was in high school i used this word in a classroom, fortunately there were only two others present, i pronounced it JUV' in ile, i was told and i quote that it was Juvnile to pronounce it that way, because its supposed to be pronounced Juv' in al. SINCE THEN everyone i hear pronounces it ile on the end, thoughts?

Octopusses, shouldn' it be octopi? Yet all the nature shows say octopusses.



mark very-picky Bailey

Octopusses, shouldn't it be octopi? Yet all the nature shows say octopusses.

Nope. The proper plural would actually be octopodes, though English prefers octopuses (1 s). The 'i' ending is a mistaken belief that the '-us' ending is Latin, when it is Greek.

As for juvenile, I can using both pronunciations, depending on the tempo and beat of the sentence. As an individual word, though, I go with -ile. The other way makes me think of Juvenal.

As an individual word, though, I go with -ile. The other way makes me think of Juvenal.

Well, we certainly wouldn't want that.

M.Bailey

M Bailey has been on a tear lately. Love it!

Hmm - tear, tare, tarry. Could a lot of tares make up a tarry?