What did she say?

[PolarCub75@aol.com]

I don't know why, but I was sitting here and it just came to me, just like a lot of things do, right? LOL Anyway, I know there are probably more, then again, there may not be, but does anybody remember if and when Lucy and/or any other cast member mispronounced words? There were two off the top of my head that I remember hearing Lucy mispronounce. One was in the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode "The Celebrity Next Door." The Ricardo's were talking about having Talulah Bankhead over for dinner. Lucy is thinking about what to serve and instead of saying "menu...menu," she says "Mainu...mainu." LOL I know that it was a mispronunciation because, I have heard her say "menu" the correct way. I am not sure where the next one is from. I think it may be from a Connecticut episode. Lucy was talking about going outside on the "Patio," and instead of her saying the word "patio," she referred to it as the "pahtio." Again, I know I've heard her say the word the right way, so I know she must have made a mistake. It doesn't matter either way, it's just funny to hear.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by PolarCub75@aol.com

I don't know why, but I was sitting here and it just came to me, just like a lot of things do, right? LOL Anyway, I know there are probably more, then again, there may not be, but does anybody remember if and when Lucy and/or any other cast member mispronounced words? There were two off the top of my head that I remember hearing Lucy mispronounce. One was in the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episode "The Celebrity Next Door." The Ricardo's were talking about having Talulah Bankhead over for dinner. Lucy is thinking about what to serve and instead of saying "menu...menu," she says "Mainu...mainu." LOL I know that it was a mispronunciation because, I have heard her say "menu" the correct way. I am not sure where the next one is from. I think it may be from a Connecticut episode. Lucy was talking about going outside on the "Patio," and instead of her saying the word "patio," she referred to it as the "pahtio." Again, I know I've heard her say the word the right way, so I know she must have made a mistake. It doesn't matter either way, it's just funny to hear.

Those two examples you give are not so much mispronunciations, but more likely reflect the regional accent where Lucy grew up. I hear it a lot in certain words she says, like tomato. The fact is, her pronunciation of those words is actually more correct in terms of the historical pronunciation, whereas the mainstream American English pronunciation has deviated from where it was historically. The word "patio" came into the English language from Spanish. And Lucy's pronunciation is more in line with the Spanish pronunciation, which is most likely how it was pronounced in English originally. "Menu" came into English via either French or Latin. Her pronunciation of the word is closer to either of those languages than the current mainstream American English pronunciation. So if there's a right or wrong in this, Lucy's most likely right and the rest of us are wrong. I'd be curious as to how the Brits pronounce those words. One word I do question with regard to her pronunciation is cashmere. She used that word in one of the Lucy-Desi hours. I can't remember which one. Her pronunciation was "cazh-mer" instead of cazh-meer.

[Ireneparalegal]

After living with Desi for so many years, Lucy's vocabulary was bound to change.

[caladon]

For whatever reason, Lucille Ball also preferred to use the pronunciation of ta-mah-toe rather than the standard American pronunciation, toe-may-toe.

[Ireneparalegal]

Lucy did begin to say TO-MA-TO but quickly changed it to TA-MA-TO in the scene where Lucy is trying to make Ricky mad with the tomato juice on his white dinner jacket.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

After living with Desi for so many years, Lucy's vocabulary was bound to change.

That could be it. Several months ago, I saw her on an episode of Password from around 1980. She was giving the clues to her partner and was trying to get her partner to say "bananas." So Lucy says "platanos." Her partner had no clue. Alan Ludden had no clue. After a few moments of silence, Lucy says something like, "I guess I must have spent too much time with the Cuban."

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by NOVARick

That could be it. Several months ago, I saw her on an episode of Password from around 1980. She was giving the clues to her partner and was trying to get her partner to say "bananas." So Lucy says "platanos." Her partner had no clue. Alan Ludden had no clue. After a few moments of silence, Lucy says something like, "I guess I must have spent too much time with the Cuban."

OMG I know I seen Password with Lucy on it, but vaguely remember her appearance. What a cute story.

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

OMG I know I seen Password with Lucy on it, but vaguely remember her appearance. What a cute story.

She was actually on that show LOTS of times, from the early '60s until her last appearance in 1988.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by NOVARick

She was actually on that show LOTS of times, from the early '60s until her last appearance in 1988.

Yeah, I was a Password fan for the longest time. I know I seen Lucy many times on there, I just don't remember that particular story you just posted. I would love seeing Lucy on anything, whether it was Password or a talk show. I was glued to my seat!

[PolarCub75@aol.com]

I came across a YouTube video of Desi/Ricky singing "I am the Good Prince Lancelot," with Vivian/Ethel/Lilly. LOL In the song, he starts to name off past girlfriends that lead up to lilly. One of the names he says is "Mercedes." Although, he says "Mer-said-is," instead of Meredes. LOL

[NOVARick]

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

Yeah, I was a Password fan for the longest time. I know I seen Lucy many times on there, I just don't remember that particular story you just posted. I would love seeing Lucy on anything, whether it was Password or a talk show. I was glued to my seat!

If you watch the Game Show Network, she turns up on there from time to time. I've seen her on every version of Password (the original, Password Plus, and Super Password), I've seen her on Body Language. And some of those old panel shows that they don't play much anymore (I've Got a Secret, What's My Line).