From: don@madrigal.clari.net (Don Woods)
Newsgroups: rec.games.int-fiction
Subject: Re: XYZZY
Date: 27 Feb 1997 02:53:20 GMT
Organization: ClariNet Communications
Message-ID: <DON.97Feb26185320@madrigal.clari.net>

Alas, Crowther was responsible for XYZZY and PLUGH.  I think I remember
him saying that he'd generated them at random, but I don't remember how
(or even if) he pronounced them.

For my part, I say "zizzy" and "ploog".  I'm actually rather emphatic
about the latter, since it's supposed to be said in a hollow voice.
I've heard some people pronounce it "plug", "pluh", or even "pluff",
and when I imagine the hollow voice trying to say those I keep thinking
the poor voice is going to break down laughing...  (A hollow laugh,
naturally. :-)

On the other hand, PLOVER was my addition, and since it's keyed to the
name of the bird ("an emerald the size of a plover's egg!") it ought to
be pronounced like the bird.  But -- aha! -- being ignorant on the topic,
I always thought the bird's name was pronounced ploh-ver.  It wasn't
until I saw the discussion here that I thought to look up the word, and
found that both pluh-ver and ploh-ver are accepted, but pluh-ver is
apparently preferred.  Oh well.  But if you pronounce it pluh-ver, don't
blame me if the magic doesn't work!

        -- Don.

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-- Don Woods (don@clari.net)                    ClariNet provides on-line news.
-- http://www.clari.net/~don                    I provide personal opinions.
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