I've wondered if, as a challenge, I could get someone who says "noo-kyuh-ler" to mispronounce "unclear" as "un-kyuh-ler," then ask why they can say "clear" if "un" is in front of it, but not if "noo" is in front of it.


That's better spelled joolery. But there's another pronunciation gaffe, too:
A Southern California jeweler has been using the same announcer for their radio ads for at least ten years. About ten years ago I called their corporate offices on the weekend and was able to leave a voice message asking why they advertised Jewry when their product had nothing at all to do with Jewish people. I mentioned that the large group known collectively as "Soviet Jewry" would probably want the word "jewelry" to be pronounced correctly. The announcer was able to say it right for two or three years but just couldn't sustain the pronunciation.


Come on, now, let's write it the way it's said: meterologists.

Well, there's the challenge of upsetting everybody by using a very respectable word that is nearly forbidden these days. See [Link: washingtonpost.com] for a situation involving the word "niggardly." And if that word offends you, look it up and especially look at its origins. It is a near homonym* for another word, but it's not that word.

*Homonym -- now there's a word that can get people started.

For that matter, today's reading included an article explaining how an invented etymology claims that the word "picnic" had its origin in watching lynchings in the south, even though it derives from a French word from the 1600s. There were objections to a recent event since it was called a picnic. Even after seeing the explanation for why there should be no offense, it was objected to. Someone suggested changing it to "an outing." Good, right? NOPE. Some gay people objected that they didn't want any public outings.

And the beat goes on....