Zed?
Now that I have more time, I have noticed some odd things. My next door neighbors push their leaves into the street rather than taking them to be composted. Our dog likes tuna fish but not with miracle whip mixed in. And oddly, British and Canadian people say “zed” instead of “zee”.
We all know the “abcd” song. Any self respecting 3 year old can sing it to you. So why, oh why, do British and Canadian people say, “zed”?
Well, here’s an answer from the Straight Dope Scientific Advisory Board: Basically, Americans were mad at the British after the revolutionary war and didn’t want to sound like them. (Click here for the whole answer.)
So where do we stand? Should we encourage the entire world to sing the “abcd” song and get over their “zedish” issues? Or should be go back to our roots and take up the cause of “zed”?
Since “zed” goes back to the Greek, we propose:
A = al
B = bet
C = sorry no “c”
D = del
E = ep
and onward to zed.
Or here’s another quiz:
If someone says to you, “I put my jumpers in the boot”, they mean:
1) I put my cables in the trunk.
2) I put my sweaters in my shoe.
3) I put my cables in my shoe.
4) I put my sweaters in the trunk.
5) I think the entire world should sing the “abcd” song and convert to saying “zee”.
You decide what’s important to you. For now, I will continue to sing the “abcd” song loudly and constantly until my next door neighbors get a clue and take their leave to be composted.
Filed under: Thoughts on being human....
