On “Good Mystical Morning,” Rhett McLaughlin and Charles “Link” Neal, in a humorous but educational way, went over a list of words and names that are often mispronounced, including “barbed wire” (for years I said “barb wire”).
I’m using words from McLaughlin’s and Neal’s list. This week, however, I’m doing the quiz differently. For each, you’re asked to mark two answers. A or B has the correct pronunciation and the incorrect pronunciation. McLaughlin pointed out that it’s “pro-NUN-ciation” and not “pro-NOUNCE-iation.” C and D have your choices of the correct meaning.
1. lambast:
A. lam-BASTE (rhymes with paste)
B. lam-BASTE (rhymes with fast)
C. to harshly reprimand
D. to bake
2. disguise:
A. dis-GUYZ or di-SKIES
B. DUH-skies
C. rodomontade (rod-uh-mon-TAID)
D. to change appearance to conceal identity or to mislead
3. dilate:
A. DYE-late
B. DYE-uh-late
C. to make larger or wider
D. to make smaller or slenderer
4. recurred:
A. RE-uh-curd
B. re-CURD
C. when something happens again
D. safeguarded
No. 1 is A and C. Lambast is pronounced the same way as “lambasting a lamb.” No. 2 is A and D. No. 3 is A and C. No. 4 is B and C. There’s no such word as “re-occur.”
Editor's Note: Dr. Don Rodney Vaughan is the pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church near Eupora and is on the faculty of East Mississippi Community College, Golden Triangle Campus. Contact him at
dvaughan@eastms.edu.
