W

Wowel. World War II aside, the wowel may be the only example of German over thinking and Italian sheer gut arriving at the same conclusion. When Germans see the letter W they hear a V, when they see a V they hear an F, and though in theory they know the same does not hold true for other Latin based languages, in practicality nerves often get in the way of choosing the correct sound. In this case, modern Romans created a sixth vowel to express something foul by exclaiming all of the vowels at once and in proper order: AAEEIIOOUU!!! Basic wit would therefore have a Brit calling this offense a fowel, but the German misappropriation of the many vestments of V has given us a sister of a synonym that captures a foreigner's astonishment dead on: the Wowel!

Wow + vowel = Porco Dio! You didn’t really just do that did you?

-- Chris Leo