"Clique": kleek? klick?

Damien Hall halldj at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU
Mon Jan 2 20:11:15 UTC 2006


As has been noted (OED2), *clique* is only 'kleek' in Britain and consequently
for me.  But I've been interested to see in this discussion that not all
Americans say (only) 'klick'.  In interviews conducted around Philadelphia (and
in conversation with colleagues from all over the States) I have only ever heard
'klick', and, actually, when I first heard the word from a Philadelphian
interviewee, I needed an (internal) double-take to realise that what had just
been said wasn't some sense of *click* that I hadn't been familiar with.

As for the adjective from the word, in Britain I have only ever heard *cliquey*,
which is, of course, 'kleeky'.

Damien Hall
University of Pennsylvania



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