Pronunciation: The intrusive /r/

[@user-qv7rw7dq1d]

As an American, I distinctly remember recognizing this sound that Brits would often make, but had no name for it. And I would call it out, and everyone would look at me like I was crazy. I can die in peace now.

[@janaaj1an889]

Yank here. I miss all those /r/'s you leave out (most finals). One hears these in non-rhotic parts of New England, as well.

[@mattbailey7049]

lol

[@blakegillpuente3904]

I remember watching X Factor videos where it sounded like Simon Cowell called Leona Lewis "Leoner" because he had followed her name with another word beginning with a vowel. 😂

[@Greenplastics]

@@user-qv7rw7dq1d italian here, I had the same problem and the same reaction

[@icyzoneinfo]

there was a floor in the argument

[@frankpichardo5299]

Yordan Grigorov 😂

[@gamingchannel-on4rt]

I love British accent😍

[@ElijahRakotoarivony]

That's the reason why I never speak like these people.

[@itstheadhdforme1449]

Now this one is just ... 😅🤣

[@amalmohammad2244]

😂😂👍

[@johnlabus7359]

As an American, I can't force myself to pronounce an r sound, when the letter isn't there. I do, however, have no issue pronouncing the r's that are there!

[@AFord1981]

No problem then. It just makes it easier for certain people with certain accents.

[@niCop411]

Hhahahahaa this explains very much

[@bokkie2650]

well, this is what English is all about. pronouncing sounds that are not there. you write one thing and read another. And I find the American accent even worse. Bob becomes "Baab" for example.

[@sharonb537]

@@bokkie2650 you really must not like the American pronunciation of 'coffee' then

[@sexorcismo]

in cases like this, i prefer the american way

[@HaNguyen-mx1il]

Tbh this video and the series of pronunciation save my life. I've struggled with listening tests despite my attempts. Thank you so much.

[@espeodorii8571]

The ultimate example of the intrusive r which everyone says is the phrase: So, the idea(r) is...

[@divxxx]

Omg I heard this a lot and I couldn't understand why it was pronounced like that.

[@DataLog]

@@divxxx Because some people don't speak properly...

[@kevin-theheartbreakingbull9830]

Also Australia(r) is

[@caue09]

uhhhh i'm not a native and for me it sounds so weird and annoying..

[@jafrinsultana4073]

I think it's mostly used in Irish accent, right?

[@caue09]

Thank you! I was intrigued with it... "Saw(r)" e "Idea(r)" are two words that pierce my brain whenever I hear it... I reckon the Irish does that too and very noticeably

[@stayaway9999]

The Irish absolutely do NOT do it

[@MukYJ]

As an American, and native Washingtonian, intrusive Rs are one of my pet peeves. There are no Rs in the word “wash”.

[@seunghoonoh121]

Agreed. British English alone is one of my pet peeves. It is hard for non-native speakers of English to understand the accent.

[@michellerogers5505]

I was studying for a spelling test in elementary school and one of the words was Washington. My father was born and raised in the south so he pronouced it Worshington. I spelled the word how I heard it but he became very upset because I kept spelling it with the or. The only lesson I remember hearing that night was not to correct your parent's pronouncation because by doing so I ended up with a spanking.

[@keaton11477]

As an American English speaker I have never said the intrusive R BUT my grandmother says "warsh" and warshing machine all the time.

[@christopher3386]

As an American living in the UK, "Intrusive R" has been driving me bonkers! Although we do have it in the USA as well...

[@ephemera2]

Yeah we have it in the USA too. when the British come over.

[@JustMe-ef7xv]

@@ephemera2 Intrusive R was very common among people with a NY or Boston non-rhotic accent until fairly recently. You'll still sometimes hear older people use it. But regional accents are mocked. Apparently,everyone in America should have the exact same accent

[@NZR-23]

@@christopher3386 like many accent, I find some parts of it great and some parts terrible. The intrusive R is terrible. In USA and and British English. I hate it. Sounds like you’re making a mistake. “We went to FloridER last year” what ? FLORIDER? My ex’s family were Brit’s and they were so terribly critical about everything American and said they had no accent. Until I pointed out where intrusive R. Boy did that make them uncomfortable. If you’re gonna dish it out, be prepared to get it back.

[@mouthwaterofficial]

Old people from Georgia (US) seem to do something similar: Tampar, Alaskar, etc.. but with an American R at the end

[@ToanPhan-rs8mp]

I also hear an English speaker intruding “r” in a middle of a word. He pronounced “outlawing” as “outloring” which I find quite weird.

[@eirini98]

In Northern Ireland, (where we sort of speak real English) we say 'lawnd order '. That is easier to say than 'law and order' too

[@Mutantcy1992]

In a lot of places in America, we'd say "lawn order"

[@EstebanPoque]

hahaha you fighting for who speaks real English and we, foreigners, trying to decide which accent to speak. It is easier to pronounce "lawnd order", sorry Tim hahaha

[@cyanmanta]

American here. Try to resist the temptation to develop a superiority complex about the way you speak English. It's bad enough that the English do it; we don't need to lower ourselves to their level.

[@bsanaee]

Interesting, I never realized this phenomenon had a name. I guess the level of intrusion varies by speaker? For instance "flaw(r) in the argument" was painfully obvious, but the fellow asking if you can "draw a circle ...", I've listened to it several times and can't detect the phantom 'r' at all.

[@soturac]

Very cool video. As an American English speaker from California, I never understood why British people use an intrusive “R”. It always seemed like an unnecessary sound to my ears. But, it actually demonstrates the beauty, diversity, and many nuances of the English language. Great video! Thank you BBC.

[@Brigister]

It doesn't only happen with that /ɔː/ sound. it happens with a lot of other vowels at the end of a word and it happens because they make the exact same sound of a vowel followed by and actual R at the end of a word in british english. for example law and war rhyme in BE, same goes for deer and idea. if you pay close attention, even if brits don't normally pronounce their Rs at the end of a word, they do in fact pronounce it when it's followed by a word beginning with a vowel.

[@treatstar5671]

They do pronounce the /r/ at the end of a word that has an r in spelling if the next word starts with a vowel sound. You're correct on that. But the point of the video is the presence of a /r/ sound when there is no r in the spelling and the next word starts with a vowel sound (for example, "the idea(r) of...", and "America(r) is...").

[@Brigister]

yep i was just furthering the point. i'm adding my own personal hypothesis which is that they do it because in the mind of a BE speaker (unconsciously) the vowel at the end of a word is perceived just like a vowel+R ... hard point to explain but i hope you understand what i'm trying to say :)

[@treatstar5671]

Yes, I got you. It's an interesting observation and could potentially be another explanation to the phenomena.

[@juanschneider6514]

intrusive R ≠ linking R

[@nanayang3736]

I think what you are saying is linking~?

[@poftim7773]

Pamela Anderson is always the example I use to demonstrate this in my lessons, but her cousin Laura Norder works just as well.

[@mazharabbasbukhari7390]

all these years i was confuse ,but now finally BBC helped me out.

[@mattbailey7049]

This video was awe-r inspiring. I’m so glad I saw-r it.

[@JustMe-ef7xv]

There are a few non-rhotic American accents, Boston+NYC most notable. These accents also are known for adding an intrusive R (Canada = CanadER). But, local, regional accents in America are mocked and are fading. Many young people especially middle class and up, speak with what's called a Standard American Accent (Rhotic , often a strong R pronunciation).

[@tracybeckham5122]

It's just annoying to hear the intrusive R. It's akin to hearing "li-BER-ry" instead of "li-BRAR-ee". I've been following several episodes of shows from BBC America, and that intrusive R is a spelling mistake to my ear. Thank you, however, for explaining why the extra consonant is there.

[@millennialfalcon8958]

Also common in the American northeast. My friend Linda(r) and I saw(r) a movie about Canada(r) yestah-day.

[@checkpointcovid8021]

It gets very interesting when Laura discusses Lawr and order.

[@evieearley7341]

I think this is mostly a British dialect thing. I have zero issues with not adding an “r” sound at the end of words in all of these phrases.

[@coskuntoktamis]

excellent! I have always puzzled with this intrusive(r) or any other sounds during a conversation;that`s why I sometimes hesitate to speak back for a second or two.!

[@hanphuong457]

Beside learning English, I'm totally fallen in love with the teacher. He's so cute 😍

[@DataLog]

I'm not British and when I speak I don't use intrusive r. You should be able to avoid it too... It's amazingly annoying.

[@jessiada]

That's really sad that you can't handle other people speaking differently.. dialects are a natural part of every language, and the idea that anyone who speaks differently is making "mistakes" is ignorance and arrogance.

[@nickkellie]

I think its lazy speak. I used to do it and dropped it after moving to the USA as it used to confuse people no end. I didn’t know I was doing it until people pointed it out. Now when i hear people do the intrusive R it goes right through me. Especially when brits fake a US accent and add in the intrusive R where americans do not. The Beatles singing: "I saw-r-a film today, oh boy" in the song "A Day in the Life", from their 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, in the song "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis: "supa-nova-r-in the sky", at the Sanctus in the Catholic Mass: "Hosanna-r-in the highest

[@dingo137]

Nick Kellie Not lazy, just an accent feature. I find people who complain about intrusive r often happily use intrusive y, e.g. "me (y)and you", or intrusive w, e.g. "do (w)it".

[@yusufgta4341]

I have a heavy Brooklyn NY accent and I drop my Rs and I'm not lazy. Its a feature of our accent. I'm proud of my accent.

[@cjlittl2]

Can't be lazy if it's not a conscious decision but I'd say from a linguistic standpoint that it developed from that very thing. The carry over of the consonant sound into the speech pattern is, between people speaking the same native language, not an issue. But, it can be confusing in very specific circumstances.

[@eltraductorfsclub]

@Nick Kellie your comment helped me to pronunce the (r). Because I began to see the sound like something lazy, as you said haha it was useful. Thank you 😊

[@mr.trombley4321]

I know how you feel as I have to do it myself even as someone born and raised in the US. My regional dialect can confuse people at times were I live (western US) when I slip up sometimes on some words. Tim even admitted himself that is is much harder to say "Law AND Order" as it "flows" better. I have an U.S inland north accent and have a hard time injecting an R into law AND order, so for me not injecting a "r" is FAR easier... but I can't roll my r's to save my life :). On the flip side, I do have to mentally pause when I pronounce "roof", "crayon", or "root" so I don't say "ruff", "cran", and "rut" instead.

[@RandyNesbit]

This doesnt explain why english people pronounce the words with Rs at the end of them when there is no word starting with a vowel afterwards. They pronounce the R at the end of words when they are at the end of a sentence. Like the word idea they say idear

[@olgayaresko4925]

Thank you very much for your interesting pronounciation workshops. They are very useful for me!

[@Docosi]

The intrusive r is also present in many New England American region accents

[@dl2417]

What about the word, when spoken alone, “norrr” aka “no”.

[@matguy1000]

maybe it implicates the person stopped before saying another word starting with an ah sound. interesting

[@RussellBeranrd]

I was looking for why the "r" is there for words ending in a like "Champagne Supernoverrrr"

[@anrick1362]

Friggin Australians. I can’t listen to them speak because of this.

[@노인성-g1s]

you are very good teacher for my British English Learning

[@SergioGarcia-my2zi]

I acquired a British accent thanks to a lot of English radio and TV news and I am funnily surprised to listen to me and see that I do those "rs" sometimes without ever knowing anything about it.

[@keybladesrus]

I'm a native speaker of American English, though I don't know quite how to describe my accent. Just stating the region I'm from doesn't help because it doesn't sound like what people typically think of from that area. I guess it's like a radio accent, where the accent is as clear and featureless as possible for clarity, though it's just my natural accent rather than an intentional way of speaking. Anyway, the point of this is that for someone with my accent, the idea of intrusive letters is deeply confusing. If I'm speaking quickly, some sounds can sneak their way in like a y or w, but r is such a weird on to me. It's an incredibly noticeable sound, and it just sounds wrong. It's in some American accents too. Words like "wash" being said as "warsh", or "idea" being "idear". It drives me nuts. It even kind of ruins a song I like where the singer says "fast" as "farst". I understand sounds sneaking into spoken words to make linking them easier, but I just don't get why a letter as noticeable as r would be one of them. It stands out too much, and it's really annoying, and I hate it.

[@OttoEmil10]

I went to Americar and met with Amandar in august.

[@thujvpc4831]

It's not easy but very interesting and I love British accent. I like Tim's workshop too. :-)

[@Mellun-P]

Who is Lauren Order?

[@mar2186]

Note for the assignments 🙏 ⚫︎intrusion : r sound added between w and following vowel.

[@LearnEnglishWithShimul]

Out standing video.

[@bbclearningenglish]

Hi Learn English With Shimul Sir. We are glad you find our video useful.

[@starlighttears9072]

Sorry, could I ask some questions? In the Video Tim says if a word ends in an /ɔː/ sound, like law and the next word begins in an /ə/, you'll often hear a /r/ sound linking them together. However, according to examples, I see some words dont begin in an /ə/, so what do you mean, Tim? We can link the word which ends in an /ɔː/ with any word begins with vowel? I'm really confused. Thank you, Tim. This is really geart video.

[@bbclearningenglish]

Thanks Starlight Tears. Often in British English, words that end in the /ɔː/ sound use the /r/ sound to link to the next word if that word begins with a vowel sound. In the video, Tim used the /ə/ as an example of a vowel sound.

[@alaaalaa4516]

thank you very much bbc I am actually sign in your website and I am trying to follow all your activities they are really useful thank you again ....you are the best

[@LiaAnggraini1]

Thank you Tim :D

[@luisdrag12]

In Canada and the States there's also an intrusive r and Canada doesn't end with a /o/ sound.

[@kevin-theheartbreakingbull9830]

Never heard it here in Canada. I know there is some in the northeastern us though

[@bykegetter478]

As someone who is studying the RP accent. Should I use this on my diary speech? To me it's easier to say "law and order" than "law(r) and order"

[@johnoconnell531]

To my (Irish) ears the insertion of an "r" in this way by speakers in some parts of England has always sounded awful. "Indier and Africa", for example. I came to this channel having just heard Prince Andrew in his Newsnight interview referring to "Pizzer Express". This is particularly disappointing because he went to school in Scotland!

[@JustMe-ef7xv]

I can well remember people with Boston accent adding R to Canada (CanadER), etc

[@demonschnauzer1555]

Me: Lol who is this random guy implying that standard British English is the "real" English, who posted this video? The poster: Official BBC Learning English TM Checkmark Me: Actually that makes sense.

[@tumagia6983]

It's so difficult for me to pronunce

[@mounireaddevil]

It is just like a funny game of dropping and adding sounds or even changing them in connected speech which make english fun !

[@bbclearningenglish]

Hi モウナHezbri. We are glad you enjoy watching our videos. We have more useful videos here: www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation

[@ayahamdalla2351]

thsnks so much ever.I need this series .I 'm looking forward more videos about linked speech

[@MjkL1337]

my best example to this is formula(r) 1

[@hageryosfyosf8690]

thanks alot tim

[@emilyr8323]

wait hes trying to teach people how to add in the extra letter and not how to leave it out instead?

[@ayahamdalla2351]

as for intrusion, It confused me so much.I won't be able to understand speech if I hear a sound /r/in the mid

[@VanLe-mh2vz]

On the way looking for how to blend sounds to teach my niece I found this, but actually I've got hang of it and been saying it for long time. Don't know why. Thanks for great videos.

[@KateSuhrgirlPlays]

I also hear an a sound like 'uh' at the end of order.

[@ЛіліяШарая]

Timmm, who`s the author of your grammar sketches ?! It`s amazing! So cute. Could you answer me, please? I`m keen on your films. You are my English teaching hero.

[@bbclearningenglish]

Hello. Tim is happy you like his videos - and so are all of us, the BBC Learning English team. We work hard to make learning fun. You’ll find many more lessons on our website: www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish

[@ЛіліяШарая]

With great pleasure !

[@0cmpe9x47]

U explain so so good i love it i learn so much whit you

[@bbclearningenglish]

Hi Hwh Hwh. We are glad you like our content. Visit our website for more videos, guides and quizzes to help you improve your English: www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/

[@romanyyousef5958]

You are amazing Tim :)

[@jcr1138]

Very interesting! Thank for the tip, Tim.

[@MsValeriaHeart]

This is so funny to me. I'm Californian but I used to be married to a Brit. He booted that intrusive r sound quick when he moved here at age 20 cuz he realised it was silly. He speaks proper English now. 😃

[@ChaplainAcosta]

Yeah, like, totally. Lol

[@ejaz5686]

The intrusivr r will be only in pronunciation or will it be in transciption as well

[@bbclearningenglish]

Only in pronunciation - it won't be written down. It might sound tricky, but it becomes easier with practice! And now you know about it, we're sure you'll begin to hear it frequently!

[@puheterapeuttileenamantyla4762]

What about the schwa-sound? The intrusive R can come between that and a vowel too, right? F. ex. "Linda__ is..."

[@bbclearningenglish]

That's right, Leena Mäntylä. If a word ends with /ɔː/ and the next one begins with a vowel sound, we have this linking or intrusive 'r'. We have two pages with activities on our website: www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/towards-advanced/unit-2/session-5 www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/towards-advanced/unit-5/session-5 Hope that helps!

[@puheterapeuttileenamantyla4762]

@@bbclearningenglish Thanks of replying :) But isn't the schwa a separate sound from /ɔː/, namely /ə/? :)

[@bbclearningenglish]

Yes that's right. The schwa is another vowel sound if you have a word ending in /ɔː/ and then a schwa, you will get the intrusive 'r'.

[@ethervagabond]

The first two people in your example didn't even have the r sound in there. You just think it's there because you expect it to be, and you're so used to hearing it that you don't really hear it in the first place.

[@trauzeur1]

A bit difficult to pronounce 😢😢😢😢😢

[@janetpoulsen2122]

How about drawring, sawring, pawring, thawring, cawring?

[@bokkie2650]

And this is how poor Bukayo Saka becomes "Sucker", in a commentator's "Sucker is flanking on the right wing"

[@jacoblangobard4640]

But they use it wayyy more not just in this W A rule. For example when they say "America is" they say, "americar is". They put it at the end of most words that end in an A it doesen't matter what the first letter of the next word is.

[@griffindrungilas]

It's harder to say law and order, but not law'n'order (Michigan)

[@RobatRobot]

Hi Tim. I came across this video and the one on the linking r, whilst looking for an answer to a question on accents. I grew up in the south of England and now live in the Midlands. Not a week goes by without someone criticising my use of the letter r where it is not spelt. My research thus far has not really helped me explain it to anyone's satisfaction. I would describe it as an elongated a, but there are too many exceptions to build any rule on. The best I can do is offer a sentence which uses the most noticeable words. Maybe you can explain what is going on in terms of Rhotic vs non-Rhotic speech etc.: "The path to the castle was covered in grass the last time I passed." If I say that round here it is bound to turn heads and I get accused of talking posh. The problem is that I do not notice it myself, and when pushed to explain it I cannot prove that it is all about elongating the a, since there are many words in which I use a short a: "Accept my apologies, cats and rats trashed my flat." What is going on here?

[@muyguapo1029]

How do i pronunciate 'i saw him' ? Is it [i so:rim] or [i so:him]?

[@ElijahRakotoarivony]

Pronounce is the right verb. And you pronounce it [i so:him].

[@rellman85]

This is common in some parts of the US, too. We have both r-dropping and intrusive r here, especially in the Northeast and in parts of the South. I was raised in the South and, for example, pronounce Benjamin as "Benjer-min" and sometimes pronounce wash as "worsh."

[@mooael3796]

I'm not sure if that's the same, the examples you listed dont have vowel sounds afterwards and the intrusive r is only after wards with an 'aw' sound like in 'saw' and it 'ah' sounds like 'idea'. It might exist in in the NYC accent since they are famous for pronouncing words without an r sound like the Brits and us Aussies, however the accent is dying out with the youth.

[@cindyj5522]

I have not heard upper class people from the UK use the intrusive or bridging "R" in that fashion.

[@what-uc]

The first two speakers DO NOT use intrusive R! Good on them. :D

[@JasonGambacort]

There was a floor in the argument? How does this improve communication? Perhaps there's a floor in my argument?

[@ElijahRakotoarivony]

I think this sooooooo wrong. I cannot speak this intrusive R because well, it's too intrusive so it had nothing to do there.

[@cooljoelguy]

Non British english speakers don't say this, so it is by no means necessary

[@saddamsidimouhamed3205]

I have a question please : why people of london say ("law and order is important") ? Shoud they not say ("law and order are important") ? thank you Tim. thanks people of london .

[@bbclearningenglish]

Hi Saddam. Thanks for your question. 'Law and order' is a set phrase here to refer to a situation in which the laws of society are obeyed. You can learn more about this phrase in a good online dictionary, such as this one: dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/law-and-order

[@saddamsidimouhamed3205]

thank you for that very helpful answer.It seems clearer to me now.Thank you so mutch again.

[@DilyanaLópez]

I came here after I relised I couldn't say 'GO FOR IT!' without saying 'r' after 'for'. I'm like....wow I have improved so much, this must be the intrusive 'r' and came here to check! :) P.S. I'm European, we try to speak British English here so it shouldn't be pronounced 'r' in the word 'for'.

[@Incognit0777]

Law and order ~ Lore and order ...if you add that "intrusive /r/".

[@bautista1480]

Laura Norder

[@germanv3523]

@@bautista1480 Hahaha

[@hofstb]

Not for Americans. If proper Americans. Not British immigrants. The intrusive R shows up in some accents. "Wash" becomes "Warsh" in border states between south and North.

[@pierfrancescopeperoni]

Lore and order is important.

[@FaunoDufaux]

listenah, and speakah

[@levy369_]

OR: Draw(r) all the flowers.

[@hoangkimviet8545]

What I learnt from this video: - Sound: Intrusive "r" - Verb: Priority - Adjective: Intrusive - Noun: Intrusion

[@NoChrReq]

(to) prioritize is the verb, priority is a noun. just a little correction :)

[@bruh-co8nf]

and that there is a floor in the argument

[@Mrmoe198]

I remember years ago I heard a BBC announcer say “Barack Obama(r) is…” had me in stitches for the rest of the day. Oh, I was not aware that we had a new airplane called the “Barack O Bomber” XD

[@Mr66sharingan]

I came for the "no" "nooo(r)"

[@iamcheck.thisout]

I really love this accent. !

[@stephenarias7695]

Welp, that explains it! I always wondered why that was the case with that “r” sound with Brits, BUT , what is interesting is that while some Americans don’t use that “r” sound, I do here it from some Americans, I believe from the south...hmmm, I will have to pay more attention to some Americans that speak this way to find out if this is regional

[@joseveiga1229]

very good...thanks

[@NoeliaSoledadRusso]

What is the difference between linking "r"? Thank you. Your videos are very useful.

[@H19H532]

Thanks alot

[@bbclearningenglish]

Most welcome

[@lubnakhan8333]

Well explained!

[@DDJas]

hmm yes yes FLOOR in the argument

[@heirrose1606]

How about drawRing instead of drawing? I hear the 'r' in the middle of words when speaking to British people very often.

[@MsObviousakaSara]

I'm not an expert and neither am I British 😂 but my two cents are they might do it so as to separate vowel sounds when they aren't in the same syllable. Two vowel sounds together in a syllable, that's a diphthong, two vowel sounds together but in different syllables - speakers with this accent will add an intrusive /r/ sound because they tend to avoid vowel sounds together that belong in different syllables. For the same reason, they also add intrusive 'semi-vowel' sounds like /w/ and /j/ for the same reasons but when other different sets of vowel sounds occur in a word, but in different syllables. I can't ensure all this 100%, it's only my theory. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. 👍

[@michaelgielkens4164]

Can someone please explain why "idea's" is often pronounced as "idears"? There is no reason to do this.

[@tgchan]

Thank you.

[@djangoapple8230]

Intrusive R? If you want law and order correct your damn pronunciation.

[@George_D777]

I'm no closer now to understanding this apparent _Rhotacism_ /speech impediment (how wikipedia defines it, not me) than I was before watching this or reading the wiki, both muddle it up further. At least the wiki mentions _Monte Python's "The Life of Brian"_ , used early in the "In popular culture" section. What Monte Python fan could ever forget Pilate's confrontation with _"Bwian"_ ? 😏

[@jorgech11]

there was a floor in the argument?????? what???

[@karyon1007]

The great irony of British, New England, and other accents is that y'all love putting r's where they're not and dropping r's where they exist.😆 I do love some things about British accents, but this drives my Midwestern American ears crazy (and occasionally genuinely confuses me).