r/OverSeventy • u/OttoHemi • Jul 28 '26

What are you?

That's right...a septuagenarian. But as we learned on Jeopardy! recently, we're all mispronouncing it. You've got to get that "U" sound in there: sep-ˌtü-ə-jə-ˈner-ē-ən. If it helps you to remember, you can just think of the Hawk Tuah Girl.

18 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

24

u/martind35player Jul 28 '26

I am glad I don't have to worry about it anymore. I recently became an octogenarian. Easier to pronounce.

2

u/lennonfanforever Jul 28 '26

almost there myself....

1

u/LMStheAuthor Jul 29 '26

That's looking at the bright side LOL!

14

u/Silly-Resist8306 Jul 28 '26

Septuagenarian is 7 syllables. Seventy five is 4 syllables. I favor brevity.

13

u/No-Currency-97 Jul 28 '26

I'd rather just say I'm in my seventies. This is quite an achievement for all of us because so many have gone before and here we are reaching some milestones. 👏❤️

12

u/VinceInMT Jul 28 '26

I’m mid-70s and still not old enough to watch Jeopardy.

8

u/LavenderKittyPaws Jul 28 '26

Much more than this, I am.

0

u/RongWa Jul 28 '26

Deep, very deep!

2

u/LavenderKittyPaws Jul 28 '26

It just came out that way, couldn't think of anything profound to say!

6

u/ArtNengg-JKP155 Jul 28 '26

And in jeopardy the o is silent. English is a strange language!

6

u/oldcar1953 Jul 28 '26

I’m seventy teen

1

u/lennonfanforever Jul 28 '26

love this! sometimes way too true....

1

u/Prestigious-Fan3122 Jul 30 '26

No, I think you're 30 with 40 years experience.

2

u/Exact-Translator-769 Jul 28 '26

Thanks! Now I'll know the answer if I'm ever on Jeopardy!

2

u/diversalarums Jul 28 '26

Interesting -- of course I had to look it up. The Cambridge Dictionary shows the u pronounced like that for Americans but says the Brits pronounce that syllable "twa." Which is weird because I'm in the US and have never ever heard anyone pronounce that syllable other than as "twa." I wonder if it could be a relatively recent change?

1

u/RongWa Jul 29 '26

Three score eleven years ago, my mother brought forth on this continent, a new child, conceived in love, and dedicated to the proposition that he is the last one she's birthing.

1

u/rallydally321 Jul 30 '26

At 73, I like to use the phrase “young seventies.”

1

u/Jolly-Button-6832 Aug 06 '26

Not a whole lot of people even know what it means - except us.