Question about Yoyodyne

[Allen Ruch]

Thank you to everyone who responded to my question. There’s actually a reason I asked… I was corresponding with a German musician who told me that a Pynchon “pseudo-expert” told him it was pronounced “Jojodyne.” He had his reservations, but already committed the song to vinyl, so to speak, with the “jojo” pronunciation. I just wanted to make sure *I* wasn’t being the “pseudo-expert!” You know, suddenly I realized I had rarely heard the word pronounced out-loud? Maybe all this time….?

Like that scene in “Tremors”…. “Oh sure, Earl, everybody knows about the giant worms, we just didn’t tell you.”

—Quail

From: David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com>
Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at 8:58 PM
To: Allen Ruch <quail at shipwrecklibrary.com>
Cc: The Whole Sick Crew <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Subject: Re: Question about Yoyodyne

Yo-yo (like the toy)
Dine (as in wine & dine)

Some might say “deemed”
But probably only if they were British.

On Tue, Dec 14, 2021 at 8:39 PM Allen Ruch <quail at shipwrecklibrary.com<mailto:quail at shipwrecklibrary.com>> wrote:
So, yeah, this is gonna sound weird…but:

You all pronounce it Yoyodyne, right? Like a yoyo, and a dyne. Right? Not…not Jojodyne, or Hohodyne, right?

—Quail
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