Meaning of chees and chaws | Babel Free

Definitions

The sounds made in Italianate pronunciation of Latin.

dated, derogatory, plural, plural-only

Examples

“[…] a quite recent notice⟳ in The Times of a Bach performance at the Albert Hall by a famous society regretted that, at this time of day, the “chees and chaws” of Italian pronunciation should be offered to an audience.”

“The Italian pronunciation of Latin with ch instead of c, benedichere for benedicere, became fashionable and was mocked by conservative Catholics as chees and chaws.”

““[…] Wouldn’t you think⟳ they’d get⟳ the Latin right first. The inflexion one sometimes hears is deplorable. All chees and chaws like⟳ an ice-cream vendor out of Napoli.””

CEFR level