I especially like the short-hand pronunciations. Take for example, Worchestershire. No one says "Wor-ches-ter-shire" .. but something more like "Warst-er-shur".

>.>
<.<
>.>

Not to thread-jack, but as Jebus pointed out , we don't really use "shire" any more except as a place-name. Before the Norman conquest, "shire" was used to describe what is now referred to as a county. Similarily, the word Sheriff is derived from "Shire Reeve" -- an official responsible for keeping the peace within the county. This is still effectively true, even here in the U.S. For example, I live in Sacramento, CA. The city police force is "Sac PD", wheras the police force for the remainder of the county is the Sacramento Sheriff's Department.