I remember years ago never using "hors d'oeuvres" when speaking since i didn't know how to pronounce it.
A friend who was a teacher played the same sort of game as Bean-- only he called them Horse's ovaries--and I was aplumb! i was sure that wasn't how the word was pronounced-- but didn't know how to correct him! he realized my quandry from the look on my face-- and thought it was as much fun as his misprounciation-- We always had horse's ovaries after that!
I find rather than mis pronouncing a word-- there where words -prior to spell check that i never used in writing--
for example i also used to "opt for" or make "a choice" never decide-- since i could never decide how to spell it- was it dec or dic or des or des-- and the advice "look it up" was usless! you have to have a clue as to how a word is spelt to look it up! I never thought as a dictionary as a spelling tool-- it was a word warehouse-- you could browse and find wonderful words--a free for the taking. but if you didn't know how to spell a word-- forget it!
i do remeber reading about a NY guy from Puerto Rico, who when he first went to school in NY, and had a Christian brother for a home room teacher--and mis read Brother Malachi's name as Mal lea chee--(as it would be said in spanish--) not Mal a key. It seem perfectly reasonable to me, since i had trouble with Jose when i first encountered it-- (Joe see--it seemed to me!)
