Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 16:30:06 -0500

From: RonButters[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]AOL.COM

Subject: Re: Ironic French pronunciations



I have pronounced KROGER as [kro3e] (3 = the medial sound in *measure*) for

20 years. In my opinion, Kroger is the best supermarket chain in Durham,

North Carolina; the irony, however, is more self-directed than I take it that

[tar3e] for TARGET is, i.e., [kro3e] is where those who fancy ourselves as

particularly earnest about "sophisticated" home dining go to purchase "our"

foodstuffs. I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone other than gay men use the

pronunciation--I know that I first heard it from a clever gay man in the

1970s.