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Show WAS SIMPLE WHEN EXPLAINED. But Phonetic Spelling of Name Puzzled Puz-zled Hotel Clerk. The man walked up to the hotel register and signed his name, with a flourish, "E. K. Phtholognyrrh." "Look here. Turner," said the clerk, who knew him very well, "is somebody on your track? Where did you get that outlandish name?" ,. "My boy, you're slow," replied Turner, Tur-ner, airily. "That's my same old name written in plain English and pronounced pro-nounced as it is written just Turner. Look at it. Of course I do it just to make people guess. They wonder about my nationality and the pronunciation pronun-ciation of my name. I can hear them talB KJout it But, as I said before, It's English spelling." "Will yon kindly explain?" asked the clerk. " 'Phth,' there is the sound of t' in phthisis,' " began Turner; " 'olo,' there is the sound of 'ur' in 'colonel;' j'gn,' there is the 'n' in 'gnat;' 'yrrh' is the sound of 'er' in 'myrrh.' Now if that does not spell Turner what does It spell?" "Well," said the clerk, "it is lucky for me that the majority of men don't register their names phonetically." |