Friday, June 23, 2006

Once in a while I'm wrong

I was going to write some snarky message here about how so many people mispronounce espresso, adding that darned x to the word. I even planned to include the phonetic spelling to prove my point. So I went to the dictionary (online of course) to get the exact phonetic spelling, and it seems I stand corrected. While we at Starbucks--and most other respectable coffee shops--do not pronounce or spell the word with an x, apparently, that is a legitimate option. Here is Encarta's phonetic spelling:

es·pres·so [ e spréssō ] (plural es·pres·sos) or ex·pres·so [ ik spréssō ] (plural ex·pres·sos)

Ok, so yeah I was wrong. But, hey, I'm woman enough to admit it.

Still, I hate when people add the x. It's just uncivilized and it annoys the hell out of me.

:)

3 Comments:

At June 26, 2006 8:55 PM, Blogger raquel said...

hearing expresso at our coffeehouse is like nails to a chalkboard to me! ugh! i despise that pronunciation. but now that i know it's a legitimate way to say it...i guess i can't put it on the decaf list...the decaf list? you ask...well, it's our gripe board. it all started out of the idea "why the hell do you come to a coffeeshop for decaf coffee? 1/2 caff. fine. but decaf? come on!" hence, the decaf list was born. it's a chalkboard that gets washed about once a week. or until one is tired of looking at the same gripes...fun stuff!

 
At June 27, 2006 1:50 AM, Blogger Heather said...

That's funny. The other day, someone ordered a triple-shot drink...decaf. Why get three whole shots of espresso when it's decaf?

Perhaps the dictionary says that expresso is acceptable, but I still refuse to recognize it as a legitimate pronunciation.

Our store and specific customer base in that neighborhood is still too new to have lots of repeated annoyances, but I know they will come soon. Maybe I'll start a decaf list there! Ooh, but I do get a kick out of people who order a mocha latte or something with lots of syrup and then want the milk to be non-fat. That will have to go on the list...

 
At June 27, 2006 10:34 PM, Blogger Heather said...

Raquel, do you have a blog?

 

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