A Son of the Rock

How do you pronounce the past tense of the verb “to eat?” (I mean you in particular, not you in the general sense.)

Like nearly everybody else where I grew up I have always followed the usual rules of English orthography in this instance and so pronounce the word the way it is spelled – in other words exactly as in the way I say the number 8. In any conversations I’ve had with others I have never failed to be understood when using ate in that way.

So why do others say “et?” How on Earth can the letter combination -ate be transmogrified in this way? And why do the same people not say, for example, I waited with betted breath, or my curiosity was setted, or he suffered a dreadful fet?

It’s nonsense. I never et a meal in my life. I ate quite a lot, though.