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How to properly pronounce and use the words 'caramel' and 'carmel.'

Fall is the season of sweet and crisp caramel apples, and as the treat becomes popular again, so does the longstanding debate about how to pronounces the sweet treat's delicious coating. Is it carmel (car-mel) or caramel (car-a-mel)?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "caramel" is "a usually firm to brittle, golden-brown to dark brown substance that has a sweet, nutty, buttery, or bitter flavor, is obtained by heating sugar at high temperature, and used especially as a coloring and flavoring agent."

"Carmel" is a proper noun that denotes a town or place. As Professor Paul Brians at Washington State University and author of Common Errors in English Usage explains, "Take Highway 1 south from Monterey to reach the charming seaside town of Carmel, of which Clint Eastwood was formerly mayor. Dissolve sugar in a little water and cook it down until the sugar turns brown to create caramel."

@mythical

Cara-mel or car-mel?

So how do you properly pronounce caramel? Whichever way you pronounce it is technically right. June Casagrande, author of The Joy of Syntax: A Simple Guide to All the Grammar You Know You Should Know, writes: "The pronunciation 'carmel,' with two syllables, is every bit as acceptable as the three-syllable pronunciation. In fact, the two-syllable option comes first in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, which may indicate it’s more standard."

Different dialects across the United States have led to the difference in pronunciations in the United States. Back in 2013, Joshua Katz, then a doctoral student in linguistics at NC State University, created a map based on research from a Harvard Dialect Survey by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder that showed which regions pronounced caramel with three syllables or two syllables.

carmel, caramel, caramel pronunciation, how to say caramel, how to say carmel How people in the United States pronounce caramel.Image via Reddit/sauihdik

Regional preferences are clearly laid out. "Car-a-mel" was more commonly used along the East Coast and South, while "car-mel" dominated in the Midwest and West.

Many people online discussed the different ways they pronounce it in the Reddit thread r/words. "The letters are there for a reason," one commented. "There are three syllables. Pronounce them! :)"

caramel, caramel gif, caramel vs carmel, carmel or caramel, caramel sauce life will GIF Giphy

Others were passionate about the two-syllable caramel pronunciation. "Cahr-mel, but I’m also in the midwest. I’ve never heard a person say 'cah-rah-mel apples' or 'cah-rah-mel corn' but I have heard people say, when talking about them on their own, 'cah-rah-mels.' I admit I probably say it wrong and I don’t care, cah-rah-mel sounds stupid to me."

And some admitted to saying both, and being confused. "For me it's context dependent. CAHRmul sauce, but ice cream topped with CAR a mel. So, depends if it's in use as an adjective or a noun," one wrote. Another quipped, "I'm from the Midwest and use them both but it's context sensitive. Car-a-mels are candy, Carmel is sauce or flavoring. Why? I don't know, it just sounds right to me." Another shared, "But what about if you caramelize onions for cooking. 'Carmelized' sounds better to me than 'caramelized'. Googling seems to agree."

And one summarized the debate with a sweet story: "The debate on this is so relentless between my husband and me that it was literally included in our wedding vows. I say carmel, he says caramel," they wrote.

Wheel of Fortune/Youtube

A woman's iconic, $50,000 puzzle solve on 'Wheel of Fortune' is going viral.

Still talking about your great Wordle guess from the other day? You might want to take a seat and watch how a truly great puzzle solver does it.

Listen, while we all love a hilarious Wheel of Fortune fail, watching an epic win can be just as entertaining. And that’s exactly what recently happened on The Wheel when a contestant named Traci Demus-Gamble made a winning puzzle solve so out-of-nowhere that it made host Ryan Seacrest jokingly check her for a hidden earpiece.

In a clip posted to the show’s YouTube account Friday, Jan. 17, Demus-Gamble waved to her husband who was standing on the sidelines before going up to the stage for her next challenge: guess a four-word “phrase.”

Wheel of fortune, gameshow, tv, tv game show, puzzles, word games, word puzzles, viral videos, live tv, ryan seacrest Step right up and take a spin on the Wheel of Fortune! Giphy

Demus-Gamble wasn’t off to a great start, as only two of her given letters (“T” and “E”) made it to the board. And the odds didn’t improve much after Demus-Gamble, admittedly “nervous,” gave the letters “M,” “C,” “D,” and “O” and only two of those letters showed up once on the board.

“Again, not too much more, but who knows, you’ve had a lot of good luck tonight,” Seacrest said. “Maybe it’ll strike you.”

Demus-Gamble had almost nothing to go off of. No category, no lucky words that were already filled in.

Then, all in under ten seconds (more like in 1.5 seconds), Demus-Gamble correctly guessed, “They go way back” like it was nothing. She was right, to the amazement of everyone watching.

Watch the incredible moment below:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"How in the world did you solve that last one?" Seacrest asked.

"I just dug deep, I dug deep," Demus-Gamble said.

Yeah, you dug real deep," Seacrest replied. "Congratulations, great, great work."

The clip racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, where commenters couldn't believe their eyes:

“Now THAT was an amazing solve.”

“Wow! That was impressive!”

“I couldn't solve that one to save my life, but Demus-Gamble got it like it was nothing.”

“There's only one way to describe this to me: 😦”

"One of the most impressive bonus round solves I've seen for this season"

"I’m happy for her, that was not an easy puzzle to solve and she got it right away. So amazing! I definitely had no idea what it was and I’m pretty good solving the puzzles."

Demus-Gamble's solve was absolutely incredible, but it might fall just short of being the best of all time.

In 2020, a woman named Taya solved a lengthy five-letter phrase with just two letters given: "A Place Like No Other." Another man guessed "Championship Match" with only the letter T present.

Demus-Gamble's epic solve definitely earns her a spot in the Wheel of Fortune Hall of Fame, however.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Solving word puzzles like this one might seem like pure luck, but there's definitely a strong element of skill involved. Keen watchers of the show will be familiar with patterns and will quickly be able to identify likely choices. For example, in the clip above, the first word is shown at "T_E_." It could be a lot of different words, but it's highly probable that it's "They." It takes a lot of practice and quick thinking to recognize that in just a fraction of a second.

According to her LinkedIn, Demus-Gamble has worked as an English teacher and as a self-employed author, which totally checks out.

At the end of the clip, Seacrest opened the envelope to reveal that Demus-Gamble’s puzzle solve won her $50,000, earning her a total win of $78,650. Certainly not chump change.

As for her winning strategy—Demus-Gamble assured no cheating was involved. “I just dug deep," she told Seacrest. We’ll say.

This article originally appeared in January. It has been updated.

Image via Canva

People discuss the most commonly misused words in the English language.

English is a confusing language. Not only are English words hard to spell, but many words frequently get mispronounced. Nailing proper English grammar, especially when technology and social media continue to change linguistics, is getting harder.

A 2024 study on the impacts of grammar and language on over 300 million English comments left online noted that social media has created "a consistent trend of decreasing text length and lexical richness." Translation: our smart phones are making it harder to nail the correct use and meaning of certain words.

It's a trend people in an Reddit grammar forum discussed by highlighting the words they hear and see most commonly misused by people—and the ones that irk them the most. These are 34 of the most misused words of 2025:

"I hear a whole lot of people saying 'weary' when they mean 'wary'." — alejo699

"I guess this is more spelling, but using 'loose' instead of 'lose'. — jd_9220


@englishlikeanative

What's the difference between 'lose', 'loose' and 'loss'? #esl #learnenglish #englishlikeanative #pronunciation #speakenglish #annaenglish

"Also 'breathe' and 'breath'." —Lanky-County2481

"With all the ICE stuff happening lately, I’ve been seeing a ton of people mention the 'boarder' [when they mean 'border'] in their comments. Aww/awe irks me a bit, like when someone writes, 'Awe, that pic of your dog is so cute!' Lately I’ve seen a horrifying amount of newspapers and news outlets report on 'grizzly' [when they mean 'grisly'] murders. Either proofreaders are no longer being employed by them, or there are a whole lot of bear maulings going on." — anosmia1974

"Or people asking for 'advise'." — growing_fatties

"Weary/wary, hardy/hearty, averse/adverse, compliment/complement, discreet/discrete, phased/fazed, diffuse/defuse…" — nemmalur

"Averse/adverse. I can't get my wife to stop saying 'I'm not adverse to it' and she's an editor. I can only conclude she's doing it to f*ck with me now." —alejo699

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Affect/effect." —Go_time_24

"Of.' As in 'should of'." — DrinkAllTheAbsinthe

"Gaslighting." — Parking_War_4100

"Infer. People use it when they mean imply. Infer is when you’re picking up the clue. Imply is when you’re suggesting it. Acronym. People use it a lot to mean initialism. If it’s read like a word - it’s an acronym. If you say the letters, it’s an initialism. Honorable mention to jealous/envious mix up." —HungaJungaESQ

" Less'. Because about 1/2 the time the word you mean is 'fewer'. 'Nauseous.' That means something that makes you nauseated. The correct word 'nauseated'. 'Jealous' is the fear of losing something you do already have, while 'envious' means wanting something you don't have. Most of these things have shifted meaning, so they fit how we use them because that's how language works, but these ones strike me a lot." —sgbenoit

"Using ironic when it's actually coincidental. I especially hate it in TV shows and movies when writers should know better." —shaft_of_lite

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Intensive, like the 'purposes'." —Reasonable-Truck-874

"I don't have any idea why it bothers me so much, but I hate when people say 'hung' in reference to an execution rather than 'hanged'." — RepresentativeKey178

"Non-plussed. It means shocked by something into silence/an inability to respond, not to be unmoved by something." —CinemaDork

"Irregardless." —mystrymaster

@quick_english_tips

Regardless > irregardless #english #grammar #vocabulary #englishgrammar #englishvocabulary #englishlesson

"Seen. 'I seen it'." — Antique_Noise_8863

"Moreso. It’s more so, two words internet. I will die on this hill." — Rocketeli2

"Satire, honestly. I see it in comment sections on videos that are intended to be comedic, even ones with simple puns or dad jokes. Yes, satire is comedic, but not every joke on the internet is satire." — bitterlemonboy

"'This is an everyday thing' vs 'I do this every day'." —dumbass_777

@iamthatenglishteacher

In this short and practical grammar lesson, you’ll learn the difference between “everyday” (one word) and “every day” (two words)—a common mistake even seasoned writers make! Discover the simple trick: if you can say “every single day,” then it should be two words. Otherwise, it’s an adjective describing something ordinary or routine. This quick tip comes straight from my grammar guide and is perfect for ESL learners, students, and anyone looking to sharpen their writing skills. #EverydayVsEveryDay #GrammarTips #WritingMistakes #EnglishGrammarLesson #ESLLesson #DailyGrammar #LearnEnglish #GrammarMatters #GrammarGuide #StudyEnglish #AdjectiveVsAdverb #QuickGrammarTip #EverySingleDayTest

"I've seen 'redundant' get misused a lot. People treat it like it means 'useless' or 'inferior to other options'. It's supposed to mean something that duplicates the function of something else, and can be a positive feature, like a failsafe or additional oversight." —TheGrumpyre

"You don’t do diligence. You do your due diligence." — Ill_Pressure3893

"'Phase' instead of 'faze' grinds my gears." — matcha0atmilklatte

Images via Canva

People share commonly mispronounced words that annoy them.

Mispronouncing words happens to all of us. Even for the most diction and grammar literate, words can come out scrambled. But in the English language, some words are commonly mispronounced more than others—somehow becoming commonplace in our everyday language.

Mispronouncing words or phrases irks many people, and in a popular online forum, member @Wonderful-Economy762 posed this question about mispronounced words: "What is one word that people wrongly pronounce that makes your brain just wanna jump a cliff?" And its fellow members did not hold back.

Many shared their feelings about how it feels when they hear people mispronouncing them:

"My rage bubbled up faster than expected reading this," one wrote.

Another added, "Oh man, nails on a chalkboard. I instantly make unfair assumptions about the person who says this."

And another quipped, "Does it count if I do it on purpose to be obnoxious sometimes?"

These are 40 words that are commonly mispronounced that received a passionate mention–with many pointing out how to properly pronounce them.

"Supposably. When a grown adult says 'Supposably' to mean 'supposedly', they sound like a petulant infant who just threw their broccoli off of their high chair onto the ground." —@s7o0a0p

"Lie-berry." —@DixonHerbox

"Exspecially." —@iamhere-2

espresso, espresso shot, espresso cup, espresso drink, drink coffee Coffee Conan Obrien GIF by Team Coco Giphy

"eXpresso." —@Turbulent_Gene7017

"On accident. (You don’t say you did something on accident. You did something by accident." —@Throwaway7219017, @_incredigirl_

"'I could care less.' It's "I couldn't care less" which means you could NOT care less which means you DON'T CARE LOL." —@EmergencyPharmacy53

"Real-la-tor instead of real-tor." —@jajabibi67

"When people say Valentine’s Day as 'Valentimes day' 😭." —@Glittering_Pea5599

"Nuclear pronounced as 'New-queue-lur. Drives me bonkers!" —@Maleficent-Yam-5196

nuclear, nuclear bomb, nuclear test, nuclear boom, nuclear cloud Test Boom GIF Giphy

"Could of / should of / etc." —@Traditional_Goal6971

"Eggcetera." —@ufficient_Space8484

"Across. People here say 'acrost'. And I know it’s now accepted but it throws me when I hear people say 'axin' instead of 'asking'." —@UtahUtopia

"Irregardless." —@fineline3061

"For all INTENTS AND purposes." —@Doc308

mischief, mischievous, plotting, scheming, mischievous gif Youtube Evil Smile GIF by Best.Cover.Ever Giphy

"Mischievous. Miss-Chev-Us. But EVERYONE says Miss-Chee—VEE-us. I said it wrong for decades too." —@fleshvessel

"Amblance instead of Ambulance." —@katmcflame

"Pellow. Melk. Fustrated." —@KimboSliceChestHair

"Punkin instead of pumpkin." —@Geester43

italian, italy, italian gif, jersey shore, italian men Happy Italian GIF Giphy

"Italian. It's not Eyetalian." —@hairyairyolas

"Hot take…When did we start pronouncing the 'T' in 'often?' I was taught in school it was silent :)" —@SilentConstant2114

"Pacifically instead of specifically." —@PepsiMaxHoe

"Pitcher for picture." —@shnarfmaster3000

"'FentaNAHL'. It’s fentanyl." —@daveindo

champing, champing at the bit, mispronounced, mispronunciation, mispronounced word Get To The Point GIF by Aurora Consulting: Business, Insurance, Financing Experts Giphy

"I’m going to expose my middle-class here but it’s KEE-NWAH, not KIH-NOAH. And it’s ‘Champing at the bit’, not ‘chomping’." —@creator_chronicles

"Where people say 'seen' instead of 'saw'. 'I seen this car coming down the street...' My brain melts every time." —@Direct_Disaster9299

"Kindygarten, kiddygarden." —@NeverDidLearn

'Take for granite' u sound so dumb. Its GRANTED people." —@silly_creation650

strawberry, strawberries, berries, fruit, strawberry gif Strawberry GIF Giphy

"'Oh look! A strawbrery!'" —@WafflesTalbot

"'verbiage' as 'verb-uj'." —@valentinakontrabida

"Anyways. There is no 'S' in this." —@Zealousideal-Cook104

"Writing 'ect.' instead of 'etc.' and pronouncing it wrongly - 'eccetera' instead of 'et cetera'." —@KiwiFruit404

"Foyer. It's Foy-yay, not Foy-yer." —@hoosiergirl1962

birthday, birthday word, party, birthday party, birthday celebration What Is That Happy Birthday GIF by The Office Giphy

"There so many. Here are but a few. 'Burfday'. It’s birthday, damn it! 'Alls I know'. I want to rip my ears off. 'Ax' instead of 'ask'." —@mbc072558

"Poinsettia, people say it as pointsetta, it has irked me for years." —@dararie

"When people say 'pitcher' for 'picture'." —@Desperate_Holiday_78

This article originally appeared in May.