Mumsnet Talk

lunatic you could be me. The other day I refused to put one in her hot chocolate until she said it properly. She's 3

Yes to all the above irritation.

What about mischievous then? Why do so many people put another i in that word? Makes me very tutty.

OK, Mr Yahoo says that originally the sap of the Marsh Mallow root was used as a thickening agent, later replaced by gelatin.

I know I really should learn to lighten up but I get irrationally irritated by things like this. What's the matter with people? Why can't they just learn to open their lugholes so they can be right, like me?

Yes Grimma, that's exactly what I was going to say. the Marsh Mallow is a plant. The sweet is named after the plant.

Its a real bugbear of mine and I have to bite my lip when people say marshmellow .....apart from once when FIL (a real stickler for language and someone who is always right, or at least he likes to think he is ) said it wrongly and I just barked "Its marshmallow!" at him. He looked quite stunned by my reprimand!

I think 'marshmellow' is an Americanism. Unlike some such, this one is plain wrong - it is definitely 'marshmallow' because originally they were a medicinal remedy for sore throats made with Althaea officinalis, the marshmallow plant.

If you search for 'marshmellow' in wikipedia it redirects you to the entry for marshmallow which is surely proof that the former does not exist

I say mallow. But dh says mellow. And now dd1 has picked it up and is doing it too. I hate it. It sounds so bloody affected. Trouble is dh's family have form for being posh so he thinks it's better. Grrrr.

This really annoys me too. Years ago, I had an American boyfriend who used to say marshmellow - that was the first time I'd heard it. Is it possibly American in origin?

This annoys me to an irrational level too!

The presenter was Jane Horrocks but my husband is a southerner and I don't know anyone else around here who says 'Marshmellow'. I've managed to beat his habit of saying 'haitch' for 'H' out of him so will now work on marshmallow.

It's mallow. Marshmellow is said by people who just don't speak properly.

Definitely should be marshmAllow. MarshmEllow is really irritating, and irritatingly common.

Is it not simply down to a regional accent? What accent does the presenter have?

Always been a mallow in my house. marshmallow! Is it a chilled out version perhaps?

I've just heard a children's TV presenter talk about 'Marshmellows'. Surely this is not correct? Ever. Or am I mistaken and it is correct in some regions? Need to know as have just threatened dh with a big fork if he ever says marshmellow again.

This link would appear to concur.