On Wed, 27 Feb 2019 10:09:25 +1100, Bruce >
wrote:

> >> Lee!
> >Oh good! I get a pass then as that's how I do it!
> Round 2: how does one pronounce "sea"? Round 3: "pea". Round 4: "tea".

In the run-up the the War of 1812 (or the "American War of 1812" as
the Brits call it because they were rather busier with Napoleon at the
time) the British navy was in the habit of stopping vessels flying the
US flag to search for British sailors who had deserted to the US navy.
One of the "tests" used to distinguish between Left- and
Right-pondians was to show a quantity of dried (I suppose, fresh being
hard to find in the middle of the Atlantic most times of the year)
peas. (And there's your food reference.) One group would call them
"pees" and the other "pays". I forget which was the "British"
pronunciation at the time but those who used it were arrested and
taken ("impressed" they called it in those days) into the British
navy. (I have in mind a Drunk History sketch in which a cheeky tar
says "I 'aint impressed, guv" and the officer in charge says "Oh yes
you are.")

--
Bob
St Francis would have done better to preach to the cats