Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!lll-winken!uunet!iscuva!frigg!carlp
From: carlp@frigg.iscs.com (Carl Paukstis)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Pound sign (was Re: the Telephone Test)
Message-ID: <2482@iscuva.ISCS.COM>
Date: 5 May 89 20:14:10 GMT
References: <630@marob.MASA.COM> <147@ixi.UUCP> <430@hsi86.hsi.UUCP>
Sender: news@iscuva.ISCS.COM
Reply-To: carlp@frig.UUCP (Carl Paukstis)
Organization: ISC Systems Corporation, Spokane WA
Lines: 67

I seem to remember taking a poll a couple of years ago, partly to draw
the "how do you pronounce 'char'" discussion AWAY from comp.lang.c and
into rec.humor.

With this repost of the results, I hope to again see the death of this
subject thread, thank you.

============== reprinted (edited) from: ==============
==Message-ID: <311@iscintl.UUCP>
==Date: 30 Oct 87 22:26:27 GMT

I had 37 responses; the pronunciations are listed in order of frequency
mentioned among those responses, most common first.

! = bang | shriek | ballbat | pling
* = star | splat | asterisk
$ = dollar | dollar sign | ding | string
# = sharp | pound | hash | number | gardengate | gate | oof | octoharp
\ = backslash | bash | reverse virgule
. = dot | point | period
- = dash | minus | hyphen
^ = caret | hat | up-arrow | boink
? = question mark | huh | question | query | kwes | quiz | quark
= = equals | gets
| = or | bar | pipe | tube | mark | whack
@ = at | snable-a (note 3)
% = percent | shift-5 | grape
+ = plus
_ = underscore | underline | underbar
& = and | ampersand | amper | donald duck (note 1)
( = left paren | paren | open paren | left banana | banana
) = right paren | close paren | right banana | banana | thesis
{ = left curly brace | left brace | open brace | open curly bracket | brace
    | left Tuborg (note 2) | open curly brace | curly brace
} = right curly brace | close brace | close curly bracket 
    | right Tuborg (note 2) | close curly brace | uncurly brace
[ = left bracket | open bracket | bracket | open square bracket 
    | edged parenthesis begin (note 3)
] = right bracket | close bracket | close square bracket | unbracket
    | edged parenthesis end (note 3)
~ = twiddle | squiggle | tilde | tildee
< = less than | left angle bracket | sucks (note 4) | in arrow
> = greater that | right angle bracket | blows (note 4) | out arrow
` = back tick | back ping | back quote | accent grave
' = tick | ping | quote | single quote
" = quote | double quote | double ping
/ = slash | virgule
: = colon
; = semicolon
, = comma


Notes:
1)  From Danish "Anders And", sounds like ampersand, means Donald Duck.
2)  From the advertising for a well-known beverage (Danish).
3)  Imported from Denmark, your mileage may vary.
4)  As in "cat sucks stdin, blows stdout".

==============

Can we go back to C now, please?

--
Carl Paukstis       "I'm the NRA"         |  DOMAIN:   carlp@iscuva.ISCS.COM   
    <political message goes here>         |  UUCP:     ...uunet!iscuva!carlp  
                                          |  GEnie: carlp         BIX: carlp
I speak for myself, not my employer.      |  Ma Bell:  +1 509 927 5600 x5321