The spelling (and we can assume, pronunciation) was Temese or Tamesis in the middle ages. This, by an obvious route, became 'tems' in pronunciation . . .Thanks for clearing that one up Andrew!
Actually, "Worcester" is pronounced "Wooster" here in the states too. Worcester, Mass is pronounced "Wooster" (actually, it's "Woostah" ), not "Worchester".
I've always heard (and said) "New Han-sure".
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I've always heard (and said) "New Han-sure".From my experience, New Hampshire natives, (hard to find these days with the influx of state-income-tax-fleeing Bay-Staters), pronounce it "New-hampsha", the 'r' being lost somewhere deep in the back woods . . .
Here in Connecticut, the city of Greenwich is pronounced "Gren-ich" nothing green about it. Elsewhere in the state, the Thames River, in New London is pronounced Thames, no 'tems' about it.
That's interesting; what region of the country do you live in? I've definitely heard that pronunciation before, but everyone I've known living in the Mid-Atlantic states and now New England pronounces the "p".
Merriam-Webster's entry supports my pronunciation: nü 'hamp-shr.
I was just referring to the sauce, which is "WorcesterSHIRE" pronounced "Wooster" (without the "shire").
I was just referring to the sauce, which is "WorcesterSHIRE" pronounced "Wooster" (without the "shire").Same in the UK. I lived in Worcester (where they really do make the sauce) and I never heard anyone call it 'Worcestershire Sauce' even though that's what it says on the bottle. A propos - if you ever get the chance to try the limited edition vintage Worcester Sauce from Lee and Perrins, I can strongly recommend it.
Not in my part of the US. We know that "Worcester" is "Wooster" and "Worcestershire" is "Woostershur" (although sometimes you hear "Woostersheer")..
What do you call a person from Massachusetts? A Massachusite?Well, the friends and family I have in New Hampshire usually call them, um, Massholes, usually on the road, usually preceded or followed by $*%$ Boston drivers.
They would follow cars with MA plates back across the border and bust them for bootlegging.That's actually considered bootlegging? People here in GA drive to TN and SC all the time to buy fireworks since they're illegal here but I've never heard of anyone getting busted for it.
Not in my part of the US. We know that "Worcester" is "Wooster" and "Worcestershire" is "Woostershur" (although sometimes you hear "Woostersheer")..I think this must be a New England phenomenon. Growing up in upstate New York, it was always Wor-ces-ter-sure Sauce. However, we did have a vague inkling of Whoo-ster Poly. From my Boston vantage point Worchester, MA is invariably "Woosta" and so is the sauce.
EDIT: I see New Hampshire natives share New York's sentiments.
My guess would either be 'title inflation', since "admiral' somewhere in the title sounds more impressive than a mere "commodore", or consistency with the Army ranks was sought in that all flag officers in the Army are "generals" of one sort or another. I think the Singapore Navy used the "Commodore" rank until fairly recently, until a commodore switched to politics and became a minister about 10-15 years ago, when he suddenly became a rear-admiral instead, hence my suspicion of title inflation.
(One other oddity of the Singapore Navy's ranks is that below flag rank, they use the same ranks as the Army. Presumably so that our local idiots don't get confused as to why an Army captain is no big deal, but a Navy captain is.)
Another pronunciation oddity: Birmingham in Alabama would to the Americans be "burr-ming-ham", like in ham and eggs, but to the Brits the city in the UK Midlands is "burr-ming-em".
That's not a Brit/American thing. Right on Cape Cod, within a 1/2 hour drive from each other, are the towns of Eastham and Chatham, pronounced "East-Ham" (accent on the 'Ham') and "Chat-um" (accent on the 'Chat'). There's also Dedham (Ded-um) and Wareham (Wear-Ham), Needham (Need-um) and Waltham (Wal-Tham) and most curious of all Stoneham (pronounced both 'Stone-um' and 'Stone-Ham' depending on how old you are and what part of town you hail from).