<P> "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates . The song is most famous for its "You like to - may - toes / təˈmeɪtoʊz / and I like to - mah - toes / təˈmɑːtoʊz /" and other verses comparing their different regional dialects . </P> <P> The differences in pronunciation are not simply regional, however, but serve more specifically to identify class differences . At the time, typical American pronunciations were considered less "refined" by the upper - class, and there was a specific emphasis on the "broader" a sound . This class distinction with respect to pronunciation has been retained in caricatures, especially in the theater, where the longer a pronunciation is most strongly associated with the word "darling ." </P>

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