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Discussion » Questions » Education » Tomato, Potato, Backhoe. Why does "Backhoe" have an "E" at the end? All three words have two syllables, yet Backhoes aren't edible :(

Tomato, Potato, Backhoe. Why does "Backhoe" have an "E" at the end? All three words have two syllables, yet Backhoes aren't edible :(

Posted - September 16, 2016

Responses


  • It`s a Communist Mexican Muslim conspiracy to systematically destroy the American language.
      September 16, 2016 9:12 PM MDT
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  • 5835

    Magnets.

      September 16, 2016 9:31 PM MDT
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  • 13395
    Backhoe doesn't rhyme with the other words so...

    Why does rhyme have an h?
      September 17, 2016 1:47 AM MDT
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  • 270

    Those words are unrelated, so why should they conform to the same pattern of conventional spelling? Besides, "backhoe" looks OK with an "e". The other two look frightfully hideous with an "e".

      September 17, 2016 1:54 AM MDT
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  • 270

    I don't know.

      September 17, 2016 1:56 AM MDT
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  • 2465

    I beg to differ.  ALL ho's are edible.

      September 17, 2016 3:58 AM MDT
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  • Ha!

      September 17, 2016 6:51 AM MDT
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  • 5835

    hoe
    noun
       ...
    Origin
    Middle English: from Old French houe, of Germanic origin; related to German Haue, also to hew.

    po·ta·to
    noun
       ...
    Origin
    mid 16th century: from Spanish patata, variant of Taino batata ‘sweet potato.’ The English word originally denoted the sweet potato and gained its current sense in the late 16th century.

    to·ma·to
    noun
       ...
    Origin
    early 17th century: from French, Spanish, or Portuguese tomate, from Nahuatl tomatl .

      September 17, 2016 6:56 AM MDT
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  • we have to build grammar wall now. :( 

    I'm depressed

      September 17, 2016 9:50 AM MDT
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  • 46117

    Are you bored or what?  There are no rules to this in the English language or any language where every word follows any rule like this. 

      September 17, 2016 9:51 AM MDT
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  • I have no clue and I don't have the thyme to lok it up ;)

      September 17, 2016 9:53 AM MDT
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  • I beg to differ.  Un-ripe tomato's are yellow and so are many backhoes...

      September 17, 2016 9:54 AM MDT
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  •   September 17, 2016 9:56 AM MDT
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  • 3934

      September 17, 2016 9:58 AM MDT
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  • Potato, patata

    Tomato, tomatl

    You say eether and I say eyether

      September 17, 2016 10:01 AM MDT
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  • no more bored than anyone else sitting at their KB hanging out on the Mug :)

      September 17, 2016 10:42 AM MDT
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  • 5835

    They played the same joke on Hollywood Squares once. Sorry, no link. I really wish google had an option to search for "that guy".

      September 17, 2016 8:17 PM MDT
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  • See!
    I told you it was those Spanish speaking Mexicans.
      September 17, 2016 8:57 PM MDT
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