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Quinn's avatar

This sounds DELIGHTFUL. I am a New Englander transplanted to California, and have been kicking myself for *months* that I did not grab the Thomcord grapes (apparently a Thompson-Concord hybrid) they had at Whole Foods exactly one time I walked in. There were apparently-wild Concord-esque grapes growing in a blueberry patch and along a stone wall up the road from me growing up, which feels like such a distillation of the idea of New Hampshire it could be a caricature.

Thanks to your comment about the post title my partner and I had an extensive silly exchange about pronunciation. They have never set foot in New England, but they have auditory processing issues and so supplement their hearing with lip-reading; after I repeated "Concord" and "conquered" for them a number of times they proclaimed that I do in fact say them differently, in the sense that the shape of my mouth is different, but that they still sound identical. So there's that.

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Suzan Eraslan's avatar

I've never had a Thomcord grape before, but I've seen them in the grocery store in the halcyon, pre-mask days and they *smelled* right, though I've never tasted them. And yes, that is the most New Hampshire thing I have ever heard, to the point that it should somehow be a Currier and Ives Christmas card!

But the bit about your partner hearing the word the same but seeing that you said it different is fascinating! I wish I were a better linguist, because I would absolutely love for someone who understands these things to explain how the different combinations of lip/teeth/tongue movements and placements result in a word that sounds the same. Thank you for sharing this story with me!

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