“ ‘paczki’ ” — Heard in the bakery line

Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is the day of indulgence before the Christian fast known as Lent. For urban centers with large Polish and Polish-American populations, including Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Chicago, indulgence often means a paczki. Or, like, 12.

Proper pronunciation of this sinful jelly- or creme-filled donut, at least among non-Polish speakers, incites a debate only rivaled by the fight over which bakery does them best. Most people land somewhere around “POONCH-key.” But add in local dialect, or the effects of other Fat Tuesday imbibing, and “POWNCH-key” or “PAUNCH-key” sometimes emerges.