Habits and Hyperbole

When I first saw the word 'Hyperbole', I read it as any sixth grader would: hy-per-bowl.

"Is that like the super bowl but better?"

"Is that like the super fast cousin of the common mole? Like he digs really super fast?"

"Wait... what does it even mean?"

It wasn't until a few years later that I came across it again and learned what it actually meant, and yes, how to say it properly. Hy-per-buh-lee for those that doubt my pronunciation skills :P

However, even though I know how to properly pronounce the word, and really like what it means (I myself hyperbolize all the time), whenever I see it written I always say or think it the same way I did when I was 11. It's like those intervening years from when I first saw it to when I first truly understood it have cemented the incorrect pronunciation in my subconscious.

I have to work actively against it.

'Hy-per-bow-'
'NO! It's hy-per-buh-lee.'
'Oh, right.'

Now, this is only when I read it. My brain has managed to work around that bit of faulty wiring when I need to use the word in conversation, thank goodness. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever break this trivial habit of mine. I'm sure most people have something similar. A habit or something like it from childhood that still manifests itself from time to time.