Everyone knows what "ghoti" means, but what about "ghoughphtheightteeau"?
Question #56256. Asked by achernar.
Flynn_17
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Flynn_17 22 year member
604 replies
Answer has 5 votes.
Currently voted the best answer.
What DOES ghoti mean?
Mar 29 2005, 8:13 AM
SOTHC
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SOTHC 21 year member
772 replies
Answer has 4 votes.
It is actually "ghoughpteighbteau" and is is pronounced Potato where P is the gh in hiccough (hiccup, O as ough in dough,T as pt in ptomaine, A as eigh in neigh, T as the bt in debt and O as the eau in plateau.
GHOTI is pronounced FISH according to George Bernard Shaw
Mar 29 2005, 8:24 AM
MaggieG
Answer has 1 vote
MaggieG
Answer has 1 vote.
GH as in enouGH, O as in wOmen, and TI as in staTIon. Fish.
Mar 29 2005, 8:26 AM
Flynn_17
Answer has 1 vote
Flynn_17 22 year member
604 replies
Answer has 1 vote.
Ah, OK.
*sits in a corner confused*
Mar 29 2005, 10:55 AM
achernar
Answer has 2 votes
achernar 21 year member
26 replies
Answer has 2 votes.
Potato is correct.
The letter-combination "phth" is pronounced like it is in "pthisis" a synonym of tuberculosis.
Mar 29 2005, 1:45 PM
Flynn_17
Answer has 2 votes
Flynn_17 22 year member
604 replies
Answer has 2 votes.
I'm surprised George Bernard Shaw didn't have something better to do with his time that make this up. It's massively pointless.
Mar 29 2005, 3:27 PM
MaggieG
Answer has 2 votes
MaggieG
Answer has 2 votes.
It was done to highlight the inconsistencies of spelling in English. This site say that it probably wasn't him.
Flynn, I have to ask. Why are you partaking in a trivia website and complaining about GBS's pointless activity? If he found it fun to do, it wasn't pointless was it, no more than your being here?
Mar 29 2005, 4:18 PM
mibmob
Answer has 3 votes
mibmob 21 year member
1273 replies
Answer has 3 votes.
is this above potato thing a GBS-ism too? Never heard of this?
http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxwhat04.html