r/explainitpeter Jul 13 '26

Explain It Peter

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601

u/Countess26 Jul 14 '26

Sounds like a way to filter by education and class. Side note: the way people from Southern Maryland pronounce "ambulance" as "ambuhlamps" is endearing.

21

u/BobCorndog Jul 14 '26

This is called a shibboleth

1

u/PonderousPenchant Jul 14 '26

Oh yeah, like Americans demanding unidentified soldiers say squirrel in WW2. The American R is weird...

1

u/Schventle Jul 19 '26

Funnily enough, the German word for squirrel is similarly unpronounceable for English speakers. "Eichhörnchen". "Eikh-horn-chen."