Do you say 'wash' or 'warsh?' Here's where the pronunciation comes from

Washing hands in a sink in 1937 Fox Photos//Hulton Archive hide caption toggle caption Fox Photos//Hulton Archive Kevin Warsh is President Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve . And for some, the sound of his name holds a particular meaning — specifically, his last name. "My grandmother was the real tyrant about cleanliness," said Patricia T. O'Conner, an author and language commentator. "She would say, 'show me your hands … I don't think you warshed those hands.'" That's right: "warshed," not "washed." O'Conner, who grew up in Iowa, writes a grammar blog with her husband, Stewart Kellerman. The pronunciation is part of an American dialect that is losing steam, linguists told NPR. You may also hear it in "Warshington D.C." Warsh's name may have even been "Wash or Walsh" at some point, said Paul E. Reed, associate professor of phonetics and phonology at the University of Alabama. But then again, he said, names are tricky. For this installment of NPR's Word of the Week , we break down this particular pronunciation of "wash," starting with the immigration of Scotch-Irish people to North America to its gradual decline across the United States. Kevin Warsh testifies during his nomination hearing to be a member and chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington Tuesday, April 21, 2026. …