geoduck

[Jonathan Lighter]

This "love mussel" business has inadvertently revealed that the clam spelled "geoduck" was most likely pronounced /'gu i d at k/ originally - and it still is.

OED, however, with a single cite from 1883, gives only the spelling pronunciation.

Was this a mere shot in the dark by the Oxford Dons?

More interesting - why did  we start spelling  "gooeyduck" as "geoduck," and is this the weirdest mismatch since "hiccup / hiccough" ?

JL


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