Is it just me, or has anyone else on the board winced (or had some other reaction of irritation or frustration) when Milton Berle mispronounced his character’s name as
“Louis the Li-Lock”?
Louis the “Li-LOCK” - anyone else, or just me?
Moderators: Scott Sebring, Ben Bentley
Re: Louis the “Li-LOCK” - anyone else, or just me?
It's a regional dialect, not a mispronunciation. Webster's gives three options: lie-lack, lie-lock and lie-lick. I've never heard the third one, but I moved around the northeast U.S. lot as a kid and heard the first two often. I settled on the first one in my own usage, but Berle's way of saying it never seemed odd to me.
Re: Louis the “Li-LOCK” - anyone else, or just me?
Interesting. I have never heard it pronounced other than the first way, except for Berle. Every time he said his name, it was like a cheese-grater on my brain.