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Whac-a-mole vs. Guacamole
Status: Weird rumor
I came across an interesting question asked to a reporter in the Charlotte Observer. Actually, I initially thought it was a really stupid question, but part of the answer surprised me. The question was: Q. Is the name of the carnival game Whac-a-Mole derived from the word "guacamole"?
Like I said, I thought it was a stupid question. Just because the two words end in "mole," that doesn't mean they have anything to do with each other. And sure enough, the reporter, Jeff Elder, confirmed that the name "Whac-a-mole" is not, in any way, derived from the word guacamole. He called up Michael Lane, chief financial officer of Bob's Space Racers of Daytona Beach, Fla., makers of Whac-a-Mole. Lane said, "The name origin in English is a short way to describe the action of play."But the weird part of the answer is that Guaca-mole is a trademarked name for the game in Spain, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries. "The reason for this name, Lane says, is that pronunciation in Spanish is very similar for Whac-a-Mole and Guaca-Mole." So the two words are linked, in a roundabout way.
I say Whac-a-mole with three syllables and Guacamole with four syllables (pronouncing the "e" on the end), but I'm guessing Spanish speakers must pronounce Whac-a-mole with four syllables. And if you say it in this way, it can sound a lot like Guacamole.
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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Whack-a-mole is one of my favorite games 
Posted by oppiejoe in Haslett, Michigan - USA on Fri May 25, 2007 at 01:43 PM
It seems some people out there have given this waaaaaay too much thought 
Posted by Nettie in Perth, Western Australia on Fri May 25, 2007 at 08:54 PM
I horrified the people at my local game place by my enthusiasm playing Whac-a-mole. Me armed with a pair of mallets is a fearsome thing, it seems.
I'll have to listen to some of the migrants here if I can get them to talk about the game and see how they say it. Personally, I say the "whac" part in a much different way than the "guac" part of guacamole.
Posted by Accipiter in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. on Sat May 26, 2007 at 10:22 PM
I'll have to listen to some of the migrants here if I can get them to talk about the game and see how they say it. Personally, I say the "whac" part in a much different way than the "guac" part of guacamole.
OK, I've been trying (and not succeeding) to learn Spanish for damn near fifty years. If I remember right, the initial "g" in guacamole is pronounced something like "wh" in English, and all other letters are pronounced. Thus Tucson in Spanish is "Took-son" and in English is "Two-son" for example. But other than the pronounciation, I can see no connection between moles and avicadoes. (Is that how avicadoes is spelled?)
Posted by Christopher Cole in Tucson, AZ on Sun May 27, 2007 at 02:54 PM
I'm having trouble even thinking of a spanish word that starts with "w"...
Posted by Lina on Tue May 29, 2007 at 01:11 PM
Spanish words do not begin with w unless they are borrowed from other languages.
The sound at the beginning of guacamole should be 'gwa'. Spanish speakers simply say it so quickly that it often sounds as if there is no 'g' in the word. Softening the 'g' is something that people who learn Spanish must practice in order to minimize their accent.
I am going to use this story in my classroom. It is amusing.
Posted by Spanish Teacher in Wichita on Tue May 29, 2007 at 08:27 PM
The sound at the beginning of guacamole should be 'gwa'. Spanish speakers simply say it so quickly that it often sounds as if there is no 'g' in the word. Softening the 'g' is something that people who learn Spanish must practice in order to minimize their accent.
I am going to use this story in my classroom. It is amusing.
This is a great story, thanks. I think we are going to use that with some of our Spanish students.
Posted by Learn Spanish in Mexico in Mexico on Sun Jul 13, 2008 at 05:00 AM
Yeep! They do say Guacamoe here in Spain where I tried to find the game for my son. When I said Whac-a-mole noone knew what I was looking for.
Posted by Europegirl in Europe on Mon Jan 12, 2009 at 01:39 PM
Well, I am french, and to me guacamole and whack-a-mole seem very similar. I would pronounce it with 3 syllabes for both:
whack-a-mol
guac-a-mol
But maybe it's because in french we don't pronounce the "e" at the end.
Anyway, I ended up here taping "whack-a-mole guacamole" in google search, so it may be a stupid question, but maybe lot of people are asking it ^_^
And Oh you answered it !! :-D
Posted by jenny gray in france on Sat Mar 07, 2009 at 04:30 AM
whack-a-mol
guac-a-mol
But maybe it's because in french we don't pronounce the "e" at the end.
Anyway, I ended up here taping "whack-a-mole guacamole" in google search, so it may be a stupid question, but maybe lot of people are asking it ^_^
And Oh you answered it !! :-D
also in italian they're so similar
Posted by Looka in Italy on Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 09:57 PM
Hi, I'm from Spain and I was also intrigued about the coincidence of this two words, but after reading a little bit, I've arrived to the conclusion that this fonetic coincidence is only that, a coincidence, an extraodinary coincidence though...
The words guacamole and whack a mole are pronunced exactly the same way in spanish, but only if you don't take into account that whac a mole is a foreing word. Because in spanish, we usually read the words like they are written, so the word mole, is pronounced mole, and not moul(English.)
Posted by Adrián in Spain, Valencia on Tue Jun 09, 2009 at 11:01 AM
The words guacamole and whack a mole are pronunced exactly the same way in spanish, but only if you don't take into account that whac a mole is a foreing word. Because in spanish, we usually read the words like they are written, so the word mole, is pronounced mole, and not moul(English.)
people say it both ways! tex-mex people say hwa-ka-mo-lay! yankees, guak-a-mo-lee!
Posted by garth in texas on Thu Jun 18, 2009 at 04:00 PM
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