I have a special grudge against the Scottish Gaelic word "fliuch," meaning "wet." As in, "tha i fliuch an-diugh," "it's wet (outside) today."
Seems like a simple enough word, right? How do you reckon it's pronounced? (If you're at all familiar with Gaelic languages, you know this is a trap. :B)
It's not "flee-ooch," since that I is one of those extra silent vowels that makes Gaelic a pain in the butt to read sometimes. It's not "flooch," like "hootch" would sound if it had an "fl" at the beginning. It's also not "fluh(kh)," where (kh) stands for the Gaelic "ch" as in "och" or "ach," which is pronounced in the back of the throat. No, if it was ANY of those, I could pronounce it easily.
It's "floo(kh)."
UGH.
I feel like I'm listening to someone hock up mucus from their throat every time. And I cannot pronounce it. ^^;
It's not out of sheer "augh, Gaelic" either! I can rattle off "tha mi ag iarraidh cupa tì gun bainne, mas e ur toil e" and other such phrases with absolutely no problems whatsoever. It's just.... fliuch. Ugh. Fliuch.