Clapboard

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>Incidentally , how do you people pronounce "clapboard"? I tend to
>pronounce in /clab:@rd/.

There are two senses of 'clapboard' (or two words if you like).

In the sense 'siding', it is given as EITHER /kl&b at rd/ OR /kl&pbOrd/ in the
dictionaries (RH, M-W, AH). [I ignore any 'bord'/'bOrd' distinction here.]
[& = ash ('ae'), @r = schwa-r (single phoneme I guess).]

In the other sense, = 'clapstick', a device used in movies, RH and M-W give
ONLY /kl&pbOrd/ (NOT /kl&b at rd/).

I would be inclined to use /kl&b at rd/ for 'siding'.

Were one presented with the naked word 'clapboard' out of context, however,
it would be safer to say /kl&pbOrd/, I guess.

Probably I've never used the word in spontaneous speech, in either sense.

-- Doug Wilson