Salon, saloon

[Wannadriveaboat]

So what is that livingroom on a boat called????
I researched it, but did not come up with anything conclusive. The most confusing answer was this
Saloon = Living room
The social area of a larger boat is called the saloon. However, it is pronounced “salon.”

[Gregjo]

Haha,

We had the same question but decided that as we drink beer more than doing our nails we would stick with saloon!

Cheers Greg

[Pete7]

So which one is the more dangerous, a wild west saloon full of cowboys or a ladies hair dressers salon?

Pete

[Alan Mighty]

I've never heard of a thing called a "living room" on a boat or a ship.

We've found the weather deck, including the cockpit, a great place for living on all boats we've used including that that have been our liveaboard homes.

Perusing authoritative dictionaries, such as the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and Merriam-Webster, gives agreement with Wannadriveaboat on the orthography:

saloon.

OED records that word being in use for "a large cabin in a passenger-boat for the common use of passengers in general" since about 1835.

However authoritative dictionaries depart from Wannadriveaboat on pronunciation.

On pronunciation, both sides of the N Atlantic (the OED in the UK, the MW in the US) suggest that the final vowel is oo or u-umlaut.

[StuM]

On a cat, it's the saloon (rhymes with moon) except when the missus is doing her nails
On a monohull, it's the dungeon (d,rfc)

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Wannadriveaboat

So what is that livingroom on a boat called????
I researched it, but did not come up with anything conclusive. The most confusing answer was this
Saloon = Living room
The social area of a larger boat is called the saloon. However, it is pronounced “salon.”

More often, seen in print the other way around (salon) and properly pronounced saloon.

Ya have to ask the Brits why they pronounce some French words the way they do.

-Chris

[Attikos]

Everything has its downside. Universal schooling is no exception. As most people have become literate but not educated, the sometimes quirky spelling of words in written English has influenced the spoken tongue. "Salon" when used in this language is pronounced "sa-loon" just as "comptroller" is pronounced like "controller." The word "bowline" is similar; its pronunciation is "bo-lin," but due to its spelling many say "bough-line."

Of course, the obverse is also true. "Saloon" as a written word is a phonetic of the English pronunciation of the original spelling, "salon."

[danielamartindm]

Real men don't have "salons" on their vessels LOL

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Attikos

"Salon" when used in this language is pronounced "sa-loon" just as "comptroller" is pronounced like "controller."

Not anywhere I have lived. Salon rhymes with talon. The second syllable is pronounced as in moron.

[Attikos]

Originally Posted by StuM

Not anywhere I have lived. Salon rhymes with talon. The second syllable is pronounced as in moron.

You must know a lot of Frenchmen!

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by StuM

Not anywhere I have lived. Salon rhymes with talon. The second syllable is pronounced as in moron.

That word and pron is used in UK/Commonwealth countries for the "parlor / formal living room" in S&B homes as well.

[CaptTom]

Their being no consensus...

My boat isn't fancy enough to have a salon. It's much closer to a wild-West Saloon. Hence, I choose to use the original pronunciation with the long "o" sound.

I'm quite sure there are more refined yacht clubs (the ones I don't frequent) where "salon" is much more appropriate. And I'm OK with that.

[c.spots]

After 5, I call it the saloon.

[Outlaw7]

Salon = seating area
Saloon + seating area with dining facilities

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Outlaw7

Salon = seating area
Saloon + seating area with dining facilities

Correction: saloon is a seating area with dining facilities besides the engine and one step from the toilet.

...and whadya call the benches in the saloon? Settees for peat sake.