Names: Mr Conman

We've blogged before about silly names, but today a press release came through at work written by a Mr Conman. Although I assume this name doesn't have a stress on the final syllable, unlike the word 'conman', it is still amusingly appropriate for someone who works in PR...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I once worked with someone called Gon Wong. He worked in Live Support, too, so was the first person you called when something had, ahem, gon wong.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

I just can't imagine pronouncing that: "con-MAN."

Unless that's a common stress in British pronunciation?

Gloom Raider said...

Does it make me a bad person that I'm remembering an old boss that I wish had been named Conman?

JD (The Engine Room) said...

Hmm, I would pronounce the word 'conman' with both syllables stressed: 'CON-MAN'. But I would pronounce the surname 'conman' with a stress only on the first syllable: 'CON-man'. That would give the second syllable a schwa vowel sound.

Anonymous said...

I guess I might say "CON-mun" instead of "con man"--change the "a" sound to the schwa or whatever. In addition to the longer & stronger stress on CON

Anonymous said...

I used to work in a bookshop, and when taking customer orders I always got amusement from asking those customers with the name Cox 'and how do you spell that?' (that is, if I could keep a straight face).Childish I know but it helped to pass the day.

Apus said...

I used to share a flat with a girl who laboured under the surname Hiscock. I leave it to you to guess her nickname.

But as an example of how slang is very much a local thing, while moving in her clobber Sue (for such was her name) called down to ask if anyone could help her with some humping. Once we'd all got over the shock it turned out that in her North London birthplace humping means shifting or carrying and nothing else. South of the river it has an extra meaning which, again, you can work out for yourselves.

Apus said...

PS gloom raider, I assume your old bos was that well known troublemaker Conman the Barbarian?

Sorry, couldn't resist it.

JD (The Engine Room) said...

Apus, a slight coincidence - I once shared a flat with a girl that had the surname Hancock.