please empty your brain below
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there's also the classic 'Tutankhamen' which took an American tourist to Tooting Common instead of an exhibition at the British Museum.
But I've been asked how to get to 'Millend' which I did have to think about, and isn't on your list.
amber | 10.02.23 - 7:07 a.m. | #
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Having tried using a poncey French pronunciation for the second part of Theydon Bois ("bwa") I was told by a ticket office man that it was pronounced "Faydon Boys".
Alan P. | 10.02.23 - 7:17 a.m. | #
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Upminister
100andthirty | 10.02.23 - 7:19 a.m. | #
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STRATFORD: Saint Rat Ford
martin | 10.02.23 - 7:22 a.m. | #
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I'm afraid I always pronounce it BAL-ham. Thank you Peter Sellers
dg writes: That’s the comment in today’s sealed envelope ✉ and I am celebrating with the customary Creme Egg.
daveid76 | 10.02.23 - 7:33 a.m. | #
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I had been in Britain for less than a month when, on a riverboat cruise to Hampton Court, an American asked me where to get off for Coo.
Peter Cameron | Homepage | 10.02.23 - 7:51 a.m. | #
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Up-MINISTER
scrumpy | 10.02.23 - 7:52 a.m. | #
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The on-train announcement for Highgate has such a clipped pronunciation that it sounds like High-GITT.
The Banbury Man | Homepage | 10.02.23 - 8:03 a.m. | #
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Cheese Ham
Roo-is-lip
Saint Ockwell
Wimblydon.
and of course, from the advertisments that used to be displayed on the Picadilly Line for Cockburns' Port:
Hockborn, Heathrock Central, and Co'fosters
timbo | 10.02.23 - 8:18 a.m. | #
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Packaging art for initial retail batch of LEGO set 40220 London Bus (mini version) had the route placard '211B WESTMINISTER'.
LEGOFanInPJ | 10.02.23 - 8:23 a.m. | #
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Plaistow and Loughton are the only ones here that would trip me up.
Wikipedia describes /ˈhaɪɡɪt/ as an alternative pronunciation.
Alan | 10.02.23 - 8:33 a.m. | #
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Tutankhamen has always been a bit of a challenge. I always liked TWO-tanker-men, but I think the proper pronunciation was more like To-tan-CAR-moon.
Petras409 | 10.02.23 - 8:54 a.m. | #
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Les Tonstons is a station on Line 19 in Paris.
William | 10.02.23 - 9:06 a.m. | #
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From afar and hardly with the pronunciation of place names, I was going to take issue with some pronunciations until there were so many, I decided not to. I went back to the start of the post and read what the post is about and I felt much much relieved that I was not as ignorant as I thought. Most of the pronunciations are quite instinctive. I love pa-DING-tun. I suspect no one would.
Andrew | Homepage | 10.02.23 - 9:09 a.m. | #
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Given the diversity in London, what is the correct pronunciation of anything nowadays, you've even left the 'T' in Wa'er-oo and kept the 'F' out or norf.
Still Anon | 10.02.23 - 9:13 a.m. | #
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You can’t go too far wrong (of course there are exceptions) with standard British pronunciation if you put all the emphasis on the first syllable, then let everything else drop away. Compare the British and American pronunciations of Birmingham, for instance. Obvs different rules if it’s a name of more than one word.
Philip Downer | 10.02.23 - 9:23 a.m. | #
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My parents-in-law where lifelong residents of Chesham. They and many other older people nearly always pronounced it as CHESS-am, presumably after the River Chess!
MikeK | 10.02.23 - 9:29 a.m. | #
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Plaistow is definitely my favourite.
cau1khead | 10.02.23 - 9:33 a.m. | #
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The next time I hear someone say 'St Pancreas' I fear that I might not be responsible for my actions.
David | 10.02.23 - 9:49 a.m. | #
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In other advice to visitors:
When seeking directions, there is no need to mention little words at the end. Just use the first one, for instance: when is the next train to Leicester, or to Finchley, or Tottenham? People will know you mean the one within the Circle.
Malcolm of Kent | 10.02.23 - 9:58 a.m. | #
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Often reckon we should mess with people by saying that it's actually pronounced Traf-el-jer
RG | 10.02.23 - 10:06 a.m. | #
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WEST EALING: we stealing
RogerP | 10.02.23 - 10:09 a.m. | #
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The place may be called Upminster but the station has definitely become Up-MINISTER within London Underground. Long may it continue.
Andrew S | 10.02.23 - 10:13 a.m. | #
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I always thought Vauxhall had a faux French pronounciation like the Vaux brewery.
ap | 10.02.23 - 10:21 a.m. | #
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Whilst it's not a tube station, there was a radio ad some years ago which had an Aussie tourist asking for Loughborough Junction.
He was pronouncing it as
LOO-bra BAR-ooh-GAH junction
G-Man | 10.02.23 - 10:33 a.m. | #
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Alan P - You'll be surprised how many people will die on that hill. Living in Theydon Bois at the time, and being aware of what the History of the County of Essex says on the subject, I once had a disagreement with an Essex-based cabbie who was adamant that the 'poncy' pronunciation was correct (because forest etc.).
Never converse in a taxi.
Michael T | 10.02.23 - 10:37 a.m. | #
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Fin-ES-BERry Paa-rk
Johnny Topaz | 10.02.23 - 10:44 a.m. | #
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When I was regularly using Plaistow station everyone was confused: the drivers and the station staff. It wasn't unknown for the station staff to use one pronunciation and the recorded announcement the other pronunciation, within a minute of each other.
It got so bad I started to wonder which was correct - but then I come from an East Ham family that used to talk about "Kather-Rine" Road so I am probably not in a position to judge
Simon | Homepage | 10.02.23 - 10:55 a.m. | #
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Decades ago, there was a cross-platform tube ad campaign for a drink (malt whisky?) that “sorts the South Ken from the Theydon Bois”, featuring a self-satisfied looking blonde and a couple of City boys. Luckily I can’t remember the drink.
Surpassed by “New Barnet? Go via Boots”, though.
Labourer | 10.02.23 - 11:04 a.m. | #
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Diverted off the M20 by an accident, my wife had me take a tortuous diversion to try to get the Google lady to say Wrotham. We failed.
Peter | 10.02.23 - 11:26 a.m. | #
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OK, Plaistow = "plaistow" got me pretty good (as it should).
X-Plaistow | 10.02.23 - 11:45 a.m. | #
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Holborn used to trip me up when I was a kid.
Not on the tube but I'm confused whether Maryland is Maryland or Marry-land
Maryland | 10.02.23 - 12:20 p.m. | #
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I agree with MikeK, the traditional pronunciation of Chesham was not far from CHEZZ-um (my parents were local(ish) and born in the 10s / 20s). In fact if you'd asked me to write it down I might well have written that. The 'sh' sound seems to be a later thing.
John Styles | 10.02.23 - 12:33 p.m. | #
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Working on the DLR many years ago I was once asked by a very attractive french lady with little English,
"Please make me popular"
Lloyd | 10.02.23 - 1:04 p.m. | #
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As per the helpful staff member giving directions to some Americans on an early Inside the Tube / Going Underground TV programme -
" ... take the Pickerlydickerly line ...
Putters | 10.02.23 - 1:39 p.m. | #
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I remember way back some jolly employee of the railway shouting: "It's not Algate East, it's All Get Ahrt!" as the train was terminating there.
ActonMan | 10.02.23 - 1:44 p.m. | #
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I was quite amused when travelling on the District Line a few months ago to hear the driver announce that the train would be terminating at TAR-RILL
Bob S | 10.02.23 - 2:08 p.m. | #
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I once had occasion to meet television presenter Zoe Salmon and she pronounced it "ber-MOND-zay".
heath-rennf | 10.02.23 - 2:40 p.m. | #
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Not the tube but when I was a bus conductor a Japanese or Chinese man asked for a single to Pen-Gee.
Pedantic of Purley | 10.02.23 - 2:47 p.m. | #
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I fondly remember the old Victoria Line announcements that the train would terminate at "BRI-kit-un"
Eleanor | 10.02.23 - 3:27 p.m. | #
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No-one would ever pronounce any of these in this fashion.
Dvaid B | 10.02.23 - 3:29 p.m. | #
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Bus conductor (announcing stops) “ ‘ighate”
Haughty lady passenger “You’ve dropped an aitch my man!”
Conductor “It’s alright missus. I’ll pick it up again at Hoxford Circus.
Bob S | 10.02.23 - 3:42 p.m. | #
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My inner linguist is crying from the lack of the International Phonetic Alphabet in the post and comments lol
Sophie | 10.02.23 - 4:18 p.m. | #
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Plaistow :D :D :D :D
Big Al | 10.02.23 - 4:55 p.m. | #
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Many years ago while on holiday in South Devon, an American asked me "Say, can you tell me how to get to Tones?" I guessed that, being aware of our frequently misleading way of spelling things, he had assumed that the second 't' in Totnes was silent...
ChrisL | 10.02.23 - 5:24 p.m. | #
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On one of the NLL stops, maybe Hackney Wick, there's an "Alight Here for Loughborough University" sign. TV comic Dave Gorman did a grand recollection of answering a tourist's question of Where's that? Lowbrow University, madam!
Nick K | 10.02.23 - 5:53 p.m. | #
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Key stations in my formative years - Arrer on the ill, Sarf,West, and Norf Arrer, edstone lane, sarf Ryslip, and occassionally Norfolt.
Cottonsocks | 10.02.23 - 6:10 p.m. | #
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A much older geezer told me his local beach was at Berm-on-Sea
Man of Kent | 10.02.23 - 7:14 p.m. | #
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Surprised not to find Wolframstow on the list!
James Webber | 10.02.23 - 7:19 p.m. | #
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The proper Croydonian pronunciation of Katharine St is Kath-A-rine though with an also acceptable Jag-A-rine St. iIt is always stressed on the A and with a long “I”. So I am in sympathy with the East Ham commentator.
Another vote for Westminister.
Robert Butlin | 10.02.23 - 8:20 p.m. | #
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Some national rail mispronunciations:
New Malden - New MAL DEN (Mal as in the french pronunciation which translates to English as sick), should be New Mall Den
Waddon - Whaddon
Carshalton - Car shall ton
Rainham - Rain ham
Chiswick - Chis wick (Anything with a consonant before a 'w', the 'w' is pronounced like the preceding letter like Berwick is really Berrick, Chiswick is really Chissick
I used to think that Greenwich was pronounced like 'Green witch'
lumpster | 10.02.23 - 8:29 p.m. | #
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Rules about ...wick and ...wich pronunciation always flounder on the difference between Norwich and Ipswich
Malcolm of Kent | 10.02.23 - 10:43 p.m. | #
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I was in Oxford Street and was asked by a French tourist the directions to 'Jean Louis' She had to repeat the name several times to us before we realised it was the department store she was after.
Brian | 11.02.23 - 8:07 a.m. | #
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A: on a Cross Country train a month or so ago, the train manager's announcements pronounced Berwick as it's written. Sounded very odd!
Betterbee | 11.02.23 - 9:32 a.m. | #
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The one that really annoys me HARROW AND WEALDSTONE (pronounced by most guards as "Harry and Will Stun" (or rhyming Wealdstone with Willesden)as if we have royal connections here!
Peewit | 11.02.23 - 9:45 a.m. | #
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I've once heard a tourist trying to frenchify the "Quays" in Surrey Quays. Didn't go well - he wasn't French.
K. | 11.02.23 - 9:50 a.m. | #
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Apocryphal story of a Polish chap looking for Khiz-vitsk (gutteral first consonant).
Ben Belinsky | 11.02.23 - 9:56 a.m. | #
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What a lovely selection, cheered me up reading through them. Other variations in this north-east corner:
Walfamstow;
Dagnam East
Theydon Boys
Plarstow
Tottnam
g.chingford | 11.02.23 - 5:40 p.m. | #
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