Pronouncing "Massachusetts"

[Wilson Gray]

On 8/3/07, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Pronouncing "Massachusetts"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> At 8/3/2007 12:21 PM, Lon L. wrote:
> >It is all very curious to me, unless one posits that a desire for
> >simple, ribald paranomasia lies behind such occurrences.
>
> Perhaps.  (I'd love to see the 4-syllable charade (whether Massa -
> choo - shits or Mass -achoo - shits).  I'm reminded of the ancient
> question, "What three towns in Massachusetts are named after former governors?"
>
> Answer:  Peabody, Marblehead, and (vide "Olive, the other reindeer" ) Athol.
>
> Joel
>
>

I've heard that joke (1972) as

Q. "What Massachusetts governor was named after three Massacusetts towns?"

A. "Endicott, Peabody, and Marblehead."

The governor's actual name was Endicott Peabody.

FWIW, around these parts, Peabody is pronounced "PEE-biddy."

-Wilson
--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                              -Sam'l Clemens

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