Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

"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.

[5] The sheet music has the tempo marking of "Brightly".

[7] The song is most famous for its "You like to-may-to /təˈmeɪtə/ / And I like to-mah-to /təˈmɑːtə/" and other verses comparing British and American English pronunciations of tomato and other words.

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.

[8] 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.