So I asked my (US) wife to pick me up a soldering iron and some solder

(needed to fix our baby monitor... long story)

She got to the store and asked where to find them, and said it how I would say it... solder.

The guy asked a couple of times and then said, "oh, sawder".

She came back and said I messed her up!

This is new one on me... it's clearly spelt the same on both sides of the Atlantic.

Is this a herb/'erb type thing i.e. Americans skipping certain letters in words for no particular rhyme or reason??

First time I heard it pronounced over here I thought they were saying sodder.

I don't know the answer to your question, but I find U.S. hardware stores a hotbed of confusion at the best of times...

That's how I say it.

Go in to Lowes and ask for a plastering float and watch the emloyee shutdown from overheating brainage.

I thought they were talking about female buggery.

My husband should know better by now but apparently asked for a 'trolley' last time he went in to buy a few bits and pieces - the guy returned with some huge contraption which could have moved a house.

I'm trying to imagine how it sounds with the L pronounced... soul-der? Saul-der?

Good thing I'm the only one in the office right now...

LOL just like soldier but take the i out. Probably soul-der.

Soldier sounds like 'soljer' though - you'll confuse him

but that's only because of the i.

I live and learn. Thanks everyone!

Main Entry: 1sol·der
Pronunciation: \ˈsä-dər, British also ˈsäl-dər, ˈsōl-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English soudure, from Anglo-French, from souder to solder, from Latin solidare to make solid, from solidus solid
Date: 14th century
1 : a metal or metallic alloy used when melted to join metallic surfaces; especially : an alloy of lead and tin so used
2 : something that unites

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solder

Of course, I could have just googled it

I suspect that this is one of those instances where the current American pronunciation is the same as much earlier British pronunciation. First, the word was actually spelled without an "l" until the fifteenth century or so, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. It was spelled "sodder" and various and sundry variations. Second, A New Critical Pronouncing Dictionary of the English Language (1836) gives the american-style pronunciation (no "l") as the only option...

First time I heard the American pronunciation I was confused too. Did my FIL really just say he sodded something together? Really?