Err....To air is human?

The purpose of this blog is to bring a BOFA to the Shabbat table. Please breathe in, breathe out, and share.
 

Continuing last week's nod to our English heritage, this morning, my chavruta and I had an argument.

That's what chavrusas are for.

No, we were not arguing over the pronunciation of "חברותא".

We were arguing over the pronunciation of "err", as in "To err is human."

He is sure that "err" rhymes with "air".

He has two proofs:

1. The noun form is "error". Everyone agrees that this is pronounced "air-or".
2. Everyone he knows pronounces it "air".

I say "err" rhymes with "her".

I also have proofs:

1. That's how Brits say it, and they speak English propally.
2. If you say it like "air", then "To err is human" sounds like you're saying "to breathe is human," which is silly.
3. Someone on Stackexchange points out that Gilbert and Sullivan's 19th C lyrics prove me right:

If I had been so lucky as to have a steady brother
Who could talk to me as we are talking now to one another —
Who could give me good advice when he discovered I was erring
(Which is just the very favour which on you I am conferring)....

4. Let's say you're camping and a child asks you if they should air out their sleeping bag while you take today's hike. But it might rain. If you say, "I'd rather err (rhyme it with her) on the side of caution," you will be clearly understood not to risk leaving it out. But if you say, "I'd rather err (rhyme it with air) on the side of caution," they may understand that you mean to go ahead and leave it outside. You're sowing confusion by rhyming err with air.

OK, let's turn this over to your table for Question 1 - Who's right?

Let's go deeper for Question 2 - What's the difference between an error and a mistake?

And for Question 3, in the spirit of words and interpretation, here's a puzzle for your table.

A man fell off a smuggling boat into deep water. He could not swim and he was not wearing anything to keep him afloat, nor was there anything floating in the water for him to hold onto. It took 30 minutes for the people on the boat to realize someone was missing. The missing man was rescued two hours later on the return trip. Why didn't he drown?

The solution is purely logical, no trickiness needed.


Shabbat Shalom
 

PS - Scroll down for the solution...

PPS - If you enjoy words and interesting etymologies, click on the pic above.

PPPS - Do you know how many days until Rosh Hashana?

PPPPS - barmitzvahalbum.com.

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