Say It Ain’t So: Turns Out Nobody Knows How To Pronounce ‘Blink-182’

Blink-182 may have been around since 1992, but it turns out we’re still at square one when it comes to the basics. Over the last few days, the internet has been tearing itself apart over the correct pronunciation of the band’s name. War is coming, dear readers, and you must pick a side.

Embers were first stoked by US comedian Ian Karmel, who tweeted out an innocent, observational joke: Americans seem to say ‘Blink One Eighty Two’, while Brits tend to stick towards ‘Blink One Eight Two’.

The British call Blink-182 “Blink One Eight Two” and I’m not saying that’s WHY they lost the Revolutionary War, but…

— Karmitzvah (@IanKarmel) November 19, 2018

The tweet sent people into a frenzy. Judging by the response, Karmel’s tweet pretty much hit the nail on the head: The pronunciation divide seems to be positioned across the Atlantic, the truth assumedly lost at sea.

Passionate British word-nerd Ed Perchard pointed out that the difference shouldn’t be whether it’s “one eighty-two” or “one eight two”, as the former is a bastardisation. The true question is whether Blink view the 182 as a number or figure: if the former, it should be ‘Blink One Hundred And Eighty Two’; the latter, ‘One Eight Two’.

If it’s a number it’s one hundred and eighty two, if it’s figures it’s one eight two.

One eighty two just doesn’t exist as an entity in the English language, fam.

— Ed Perchard (@ed_perch) November 19, 2018

And so goes on a linguistic battle, with some dogged Americans (incorrectly) arguing that ‘one eighty-two’ isn’t that dumb, because that’s how you’d pronounce $1.82. But it is not ‘Blink $1.82″.

I get that this is a stretch, but when something costs $1.82, I’d say “one eighty-two”, so it’s not entirely non existent

— Jared Firstbroo? (@jedijared182) November 19, 2018

Honestly, the whole thing just kind of spirals out. Lots of people are offering their .82 cents. Then someone had to bring the added complication of other languages into the mix, saying that it’s ‘one hundred and eighty two’ in Spanish.

When I speak English I say "Blink one eighty-two". When I speak Spanish, I say "Blink ciento ochenta y dos" (one hundred eighty two) ??

— kaals?mse (@kaalsomse) November 19, 2018

Wild! Then James Corden, Brit-ex pat and very successful man who ruined Ocean’s 8, rides on in to say that both of his countries are wrong, and proceeds down the contrarian ‘Blink One Hundred And Eighty Two’ path, which is true madness.

Now that a celeb has weighed in, the band finally came aware of the looming war. But turns out not even they can agree : Tom DeLonge reckons it’s “blink eighteen-two”, while Mark Hoppus says it’s irrelevant, ignoring that the real issue is that the ‘B’ in ‘Blink-182’ should always be lower case.

Which we would argue is a question for each publication’s style guide (let alone our style guides as individuals), but the point is that there is no end in sight.

Thank you James. Some say one eighty two. Some say one eight two. But in all of this, I feel like we’ve lost sight of the fact that the B in blink-182 should be lower-case. https://t.co/d3Gi2Ezmhu

— stuffing and marked potatoes ?️‍? (@markhoppus) November 19, 2018

It’s actually— Blink eighteen-two. People have all gotten this wrong for years. Sometimes this can happen with very complex, thoughtful and elevated art. https://t.co/jmsfv401KF

— Tom DeLonge (@tomdelonge) November 19, 2018

We can’t believe this is how it all ends.