Well What Other Words Have I Been Saying Wrong?!

So last night we were watching TV when a lady said the word “wheelbarrow”.

I instantly start laughing and say “Wheelbarrow, what the heck is that?! Doesn’t she mean wheelbarrel?!” To which know it all Terry says “No Jenn, she said it right. It is wheelbarrow. It is a common mistake, like when people pronounce it FebUary and not FebRUary.”

Um, what the heck, when did that happen?! I am almost 30 years old I had absolutely NO IDEA that it was wheelbarrow. I mean wheelbarrow doesn’t even make sense and sound right…wheelbarrel sounds so much better.

I seriously feel like such a dufus, however I am 100% certain there are many more words I am not saying correctly.  *sigh*


And for the record:


A wheelbarrow is a carrier, usually having only one wheel, consisting of a tray bolted to two handles and two legs. While known mostly as a device for carrying small loads for the household gardener, a wheelbarrow is often also used in construction and industry for carrying larger loads.


The birthplace of the modern wheelbarrow was China, possibly as early as 100 B.C. One early version consisted of a large single wheel at or near the front of a platform. The load would be placed behind the wheel, and the operator would lift the heavy end and push the load. Sometimes a small basket would be used to carry the load, and was similar to rickshaws.


Unlike Chinese wheelbarrows, European wheelbarrows were designed to carry small loads over short distances. It is difficult to trace the progression of the wheelbarrow from China to Europe. Possibly, Arab traders brought it to the Middle East and Europeans learned of it during the Crusades. Ancient Greeks might have used the wheelbarrow for construction, while the Romans might have adapted it for agriculture. After Rome fell, the wheelbarrow could have remained in use in Byzantium until the Crusaders learned of it during their journeys. However, it is most likely that it was an independent invention of the late middle ages, created by putting a wheel on the two-person handbarrow already in use for carrying such items as stones or sheaves of corn.