As proofreaders, we run into the “open mike” or “open mic” question pretty regularly. And there are some strong opinions out there:
Open Mike
Who is this Mike guy?
And what does he have to do with a microphone?
Open Mic
Is that like, “open sesame?”
How exactly does one pronounce “mic”? Rhymes with “tic”?
Some people hate “open mike” because, in theory, microphone would get shortened to “mic.”
And yet, most dictionaries maintain that “open mike” is the correct usage. Wonder why?
Some words in the English language that are shortened in unexpected ways:
- Microphone, Mike
- Bicycle, Bike
- Cocaine, Coke
- Nuclear, Nuke
- Tricycle, Trike
- Cucumber, Cuke
- Jacob, Jake
- Michael, Mike
This post does a great job of explaining how English got to be so nutty when it comes to shortening our words. Some people continue to prefer “open mic” over “open mike” as a matter of personal preference.
QUESTION: Which do you like better? “Open mike” or “open mic”?
Personally, I like “open mic;” if I spell it the other way, I feel like I’m playing operation or something.
I always spelled it “mic” & pronounced it as “mike,” but I never realized there was actually a debate over it? Writer’s Relief always teaches me new things
I prefer open mic. To me, Mike is Michael – not a microphone!
Note the other excellent examples of variations, folks. Cucumber-cuke, etc. To the non-musician, I guarantee they are reading it ‘mick’ and not with a long ‘i’ pronunciation. I will always use the mike spelling.