Hopefully, you said 3 or 4 syllables. 

I brought this up with a group of friends last weekend. I've always been a 4 syllable kind of guy with the word poinsettia. I mentioned with my group of friends and was immediately told I was wrong and that the 3 syllable pronunciation was the correct way to say it.

We went to the official arbiter of late-night arguments, the internet, for the final answer.

I was crushed:

Pointsettia
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Turns out I was wrong and the 4 syllable point-set-EEE-ya is the right way to say the Christmas time flower.

I'm not toally wrong however. It turns out that there's enouugh of us 4-syllable types out there to get our own official pronunciation.

Pronunciation
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It's a pyrhic victory at best for us 4 syllable users. Best case scenario for us is that we muddy the waters and make both acceptable because it seems that the 3-syllable pronuncation is the accepted saying. The fact that both pronuncations are acceptable feels a lot like the new definition of the word "literally" meaning also literally, figuratively. It's a weird time for words.

I specifically remember being taught at a young age that pointsettia had 3 syllables. Is this an example of the Mandela effect?

That's a whole different set of arguments. But for real, it was the BerenstAIN Bears right? Not the BerenstEIN Bears. That's a very specific memor of mine that basically proves alternate universes. Maybe this poinsettia debate proves it as well. We will just have to wait to find out.

 

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