Inchoate

I would like to think my expensive secondary school and university education would lead to a large vocabulary -- or to put it another way, knowing lots of words.  Unfortunately, with me it's an uphill battle.

I used to think the word was pronounced "in-chote" and meant deeply ingrained.  I guess that's just what I thought it ought to sound like and guessed it meant.  Then I was listening to "Left Right and Center" a favorite political program on KCRW, and the conservative guy (a British-y douchebag) pronounced it "in-ko-ayte."  I thought to myself, what kind of elitist, ridiculous, pompous pronunciation is that?

Then, sitting at my computer later, I remembered my feeling of superiority and looked it up on dictionary.com.  There I experienced a moment of private humiliation, similar to crying at home while watching "Pretty Woman."  The conservative douche's pronunciation is of course correct (although "in-ko-et" is also acceptable).  And it doesn't even mean what I thought it meant!  It means beginning, or incipient.  Don't know what incipient means?  Too bad.

Reminds me of the time I asked my Dad what ubiquitous meant.  He smiled at me and answered, "ineluctable."