vagaries
plural noun

- an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behaviour

- an erratic, unpredictable, or extravagant manifestation, action, or notion

Oxford Languages / Merriam-Webster

—
THE VAGARIES OF ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

How would you pronounce the word “GHOTI”? There are two possibilities:

(1) Notice the pronunciation of the English word “rouGH” where GH=F, “wOmen” where O=I, and “staTIon” where TI=SH. Thus, following these examples “GHOTI” is pronounced “FISH”! … but,

(2) Notice the pronunciation of the English word “althouGH” where GH is slient, “peOple” where O is silent, “lisTen” where T is silent, and “parliament” where i is silent. Thus, following these examples “GHOTI” is not pronounced at all!

The “Story of the Silent Fish” — attributed to George Bernhard Shaw — is a wonderful example of the vagaries of English pronunciation.

—
SYNONYMS

aberrations, anomalies, bumps in the road, caprices, coins tosses, curveballs, dice rolls, eccentricities, haphazardness, irregularities, oddballs, oddities, one-offs, out of left field, peculiar turns, peculiarities, pot luck, quirks (of fate), randomness, roulette wheels, surprises, turns of the cards, uncertainty, unpredictability, unknowns, VAGARIES, whims, whimsies, wild cards, yo-yo effects

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“The strange word ‘ghoti’ amusingly illustrates the VAGARIES of English!”

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations.

Every month, I spend evening and weekend hours with my family researching and writing your daily OWAD. It remains FREE, AD-free, and ALIVE thanks to voluntary donations from appreciative readers.

If you aren’t already, please also consider supporting us - even the equivalent of a single cup of coffee a month will help us cover mailing, site hosting, and maintenance costs. Just head over to DonorBox:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-5-3

or bank transfer to Paul Smith
IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40
Please use your email-address as ‘Verwendungszweck’

Thank you,
Paul