The Dreaded Second Month

Dreaded by radio announcers, that is. February. The almost unpronounceable word.

We have talked about this before. But, it is a problem that won't go away, until someone changes the name of the second month on the Julian calendar. Golden-voiced broadcasters, over whose tongues names like Quagadougou and Matershala Ali flow effortlessly are stumped by February. Try as they may, it comes out Febooarey or Feboobery or Febrewery (Freudian slip).

There has been a handful of announcers able to negotiate the tricky four syllables of February, including Bill Phillips, who was able to speak it with seamless ease in seven languages, including Urdu and Swahili.

But for those still gargling and choking over February, this word: take heart. Only 28 days to go. Hey, it could be worse; it could be leap year.