I really like octopi. Octopuses. OED says both are correct, but neither seems right to me. Here is an inept, Ogden Nash style poem about it:
The octopus must suffer shame
Related to his tricky name.
Perhaps it makes him rather shy –
Is it octopususes or octopi?
Anyway. They are one of my favorite animals, regardless of how they're pluralized.
Here are some octopus links!
I watched the video on this page of an octopus walking on two legs about five billion times. This octopus looks like a coconut! I had no idea any octopi looked like coconuts.
Apparently there's a healthy selection of enormous, enormous octopus kites out there! Wouldn't you love to see that? This New Zealand kite artist has also made a gigantic trilobite kite, which is more euphonious, but less neat-looking, I think.
This balloon sculptor made a gigantic sculpture of an octopus wearing a nautical cap and actually rode on it! The story involves the phrase "Preparing for octopus drop!"
This Blue-ringed octopus is much prettier than the one walking on two legs. But clearly less althletic, as it is not walking. On two legs. It's identified as "provoked" blue-ring octopus, because it only changes to yellow and blue when startled. Normally it's brown and yellow.
Japanese Cephalopod manhole cover.
The octopus must suffer shame
Related to his tricky name.
Perhaps it makes him rather shy –
Is it octopususes or octopi?
Anyway. They are one of my favorite animals, regardless of how they're pluralized.
Here are some octopus links!
I watched the video on this page of an octopus walking on two legs about five billion times. This octopus looks like a coconut! I had no idea any octopi looked like coconuts.
Apparently there's a healthy selection of enormous, enormous octopus kites out there! Wouldn't you love to see that? This New Zealand kite artist has also made a gigantic trilobite kite, which is more euphonious, but less neat-looking, I think.
This balloon sculptor made a gigantic sculpture of an octopus wearing a nautical cap and actually rode on it! The story involves the phrase "Preparing for octopus drop!"
This Blue-ringed octopus is much prettier than the one walking on two legs. But clearly less althletic, as it is not walking. On two legs. It's identified as "provoked" blue-ring octopus, because it only changes to yellow and blue when startled. Normally it's brown and yellow.
Japanese Cephalopod manhole cover.
greetings!
I feel as you do about the plurals 'octopi' and 'octopuses' - they just don't seem right.
This article http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000813.html
discusses the various possible plurals of octopus.
Its gives a completely alternate plural form, which I like but have yet to use (partially because I am unsure of the pronunciation).
-A.