Gotta Catch the Mall

[steepholm]

This weekend I found myself in Toys-R-Us at the local out-of-town mall for the first time in a few years, and it seemed to me that the savage division of its aisles into Pink and Blue that was such a feature not long ago is now far less noticeable, which I see as a shuffling step in the right direction. The name of the shop has lost none of its power to irritate, however.

Also, and by the way, a quick shout-out for Pokemon, which are still much in evidence. Pokemon is the only franchise I can think of that was loved equally by all my children at various times. Like Lego in the old days it was designed to appeal to every gender, but unlike Lego it's maintained that universality to this day. Battlers, collectors, ecologists, kawaii-ists, gamers and nerds are all catered for within the roomy fabric of its world.

By the way - and this I suppose is especially for UK people - do you pronounce "mall" to rhyme with

a) the road the queen takes on the way to Buck House
b) something that's done to you by an angry lion
c) something else?

I find I can't settle to any pronunciation.

Comments

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

I tend to pronounce it as similar to Pal, as in Pall Mall. Received pronunciation English would be closer to maul.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Angry lions for me!

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Angry lion!

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Surely the very special kind of street in which you go shopping and the road to Buck House (and Pall Mall too, as davesmusictank points out) are all in orgigin the same word?

I admit that my pronunciation of the place we go shopping may be influenced by American usage - where's the fun in going malling if you don't sound like a hungry lion? And I might slide into thinking of Her Majesty being on the maul, too. Pall Mall is protected by its internal rhyme, but for how long?

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Can Paul Maul be far behind?

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

In the US, so far as I know, the a) pronunciation is unknown, even for the brand of cigarettes originally named for the road in an attempt to cash in on its cachet. You would probably transcribe our pronunciation as Paul Maul.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Ha - I'd just replied to shewhomust when I read your comment...

[wosny.livejournal.com]

Me, it's the angry lion. :)

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

In our house we use the "maul" pronunciation because we both hate them and we feel that the crowds of people resemble a loose maul, as found on the rugby field.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Good point!

[gillo]

Usually like the angry lion. (Like 'ball', 'hall' and 'fall'.) The lift in Leamington talks about the "Upper Marl", though, and in Cov it seems there's a 'mal'.

On the whole I avoid them, though that's not always possible.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I go with maul.

[ashkitty.livejournal.com]

This led me into a swirling Youtube vortex trying to figure out if I'd been pronouncing Pall Mall wrong. (Answer: no.)

Anyway mall rhymes with ball.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I am inconsistent.

[gillpolack.livejournal.com]

It depends on the context for the pronunciation (for me). What's a lot more important is discovering I'm a kawaii-ist! I like this term a great deal.

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

I had forgotten, if I ever knew, that "Pall Mall" is not pronounced to rhyme with "wall ball" (a game my kids used to play in grade school).

[roselet.livejournal.com]

Angry lion in NZ!

[nightspore.livejournal.com]

Here in the US: Angry lion.

I always wonder what Kingler is called in Japanese. Maybe you know! I like the idea that the English name is some vague allusion to King Lear.