derryX Rant: Origin/Pronunciation of “derryX”
Growing up with the name “Jerry,” it was all too common for people to substitute the first letter to make new and fun words. Actually, I used to run a blog called “Nerrysoft” which was another play on this theme. “Derry” was one that was really common. Most normal people pronounced it like it rhymed with “berry.”
But that’s not the actual origin of the “derry” part of my online alias…
I actually challenged the world to guess the correct pronunciation of the “derry” part of my online alias.
Nobody guessed correctly…Nobody was even in the ballpark.
The true pronunciation actually comes from a cousin of mine who, when she was younger, had trouble saying “Jerry” and actually used to say it like Elmer Fudd from Looney Tunes, where the “J” became pronounced like a “d” and the “rr” became pronounced like a “w.” Imagine him saying “be very, very quiet…” and there’s how it’s supposed to sound, but with a “d” in the front.
The “X” in “derryX” is a fun story too. When I bought a Nintendo DS back in 2006, one of the first things it asks you is for your name. I didn’t like how “derry” lined up on the screen, so I looked into adding another character to the end of it. I picked an “Angry Face” font character that was an option on the Nintendo DS (See below for a screenshot). I thought it resembled an “X” pretty well, so when I registered that screen name elsewhere, it became “derryX” pronounced like Elmer Fudd would pronounce it.
But anyway, feel free to say “derryX” however you want, just don’t say “dairy.” That’s just wrong…
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