Srank?

[Mr Hero]

I had a customer call and ask for our street address so he could punch it into his GPS. I spell the street name and conclude 2 F's as in Frank. I was pretty sure I was clear. He calls up later and says his GPS isn't recognizing *****ss as a street. I tell him it's *****ff

[FenigDurak]

Hehe, I think I know what street! I knew a guy who called it Iflin, but he liked to make up words.

[Shalom]

Digital phones (which includes all modern cell phones) make it really hard to distinguish S from F. Sometimes when someone is spelling the name on the phone and I can't tell which it is, I'll say "So is that F as in Frank, or F as in Fam?" Nobody's caught on yet, although I've cracked up a cow-orker who overheard this.

[Mr Hero]

Hehe, I think I know what street! I knew a guy who called it Iflin, but he liked to make up words.

That sounds to be the street I was talking about, even though it's mangled. I'd just prefer not to mention the actual street in a public forum.

[Mr Hero]

I just realized something else. Saying "f's" and "s's" sounds different. "s's" has another syllable.

[lupo pazzesco]

I have that problem. My last name has ends with 2 f's. I tell people my email address is my first initial last name at store name dot com, and they always go. ******ss?

Me: No, *****ff
Them: *****ss??
Me: No, ******FF
Them: So *****ss at store name dot com, the email will be sent to--
Me: No, ma'am/sir! It's two f's! F as in future!! F as in Frank!!


Buh.

[Kogo Shuko]

Perhaps try using Foxtrot?
Not enough people use the phonetic alphabet. =/

[Magpie]

Not enough people use the phonetic alphabet. =/

It's entirely self perpetuating too. There's the 5-10 that everyone knows, but if you use the rest of them people will get confused and that will detract from you trying to communicate. (Of course, if someone thinks that "S as in Frank" makes sense, perhaps it's difficult to detract further from that).

[RestaurantDude]

A as in aye.
E as in Eye
S as in sea.
W as in why.
X as in Xylophone.
Y as in you.

[Mr Hero]

A as in aye.
E as in Eye
S as in sea.
W as in why.
X as in Xylophone.
Y as in you.

A as in Are?
A as in Am?

[TheMike]

try lisping the S ... for some reason people can always tell that "eth" means "s" even when they can't tell the diff between f and s.

[Shalom]

A as in aye.
E as in Eye
S as in sea.
W as in why.
X as in Xylophone.
Y as in you.

I already posted a list of these.

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...9&postcount=10

Only change I'd make was for N: I'd make it N as in Nguyen, rather than as in 9. Couldn't think of a decent one for F or R, either.

[XCashier]

I had a customer call and ask for our street address so he could punch it into his GPS. I spell the street name and conclude 2 F's as in Frank. I was pretty sure I was clear. He calls up later and says his GPS isn't recognizing *****ss as a street. I tell him it's *****ff

Perhaps he's speaking Early Modern English (ie, Shakespearean English)?

The letter <S> had two distinct lowercase forms: <s> as today, and <ſ> (long s). The former was used at the end of a word, and the latter everywhere else, except that double-lowercase-S was variously written <ſſ> or <ſs>.

Every time I see something written in that style, I always see the "ſ" as an "f".

Or, more likely, to quote from Cool Hand Luke, "What we've got here is a failure to communicate".

[Ironclad Alibi]

Perhaps he's speaking Early Modern English (ie, Shakespearean English)?

That reminded me of this letter I saved from the New Scientist magazine many years ago.

Ftrange goingf on

I fuppofe it'f all part of fome feditiouf fcheme to ftop ftruggling aftronomerf feeking fhooting ftarf in the fmall hourf of Faturday moring (Thif Week, "Meteor ftandby", 11 Auguft, p393). Feekerf of fmall fuicidic ftonef fhould, of courfe, fcan the conftallation Perfeuf for the radiant of the aforefaid fhower. But furely, flightly flighted fouth-bank fcientiftf ftate, that'f what we faid in the firft place? Either that, funfhine, or your typefetting machine'f sucked. . . .