Scone (bread)

Scone

Scones with jam and clotted cream as commonly eaten in a cream tea
Type	Cake or quick bread
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Main ingredients	Wheat, barley, or oatmeal

A scone is a single-serving quick bread/cake, usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often lightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea. It differs from teacakes and other sweet buns that are made with yeast.

The pronunciation of the word within the English-speaking world varies. According to one academic study, two-thirds of the British population pronounce it /ˈskɒn/ (rhymes with gone) with the preference rising to 99% in the Scottish population. This is also the pronunciation of Australians and Canadians. Others, including natives of Ireland and the United States, pronounce the word as /ˈskoʊn/ (rhymes with tone). British dictionaries usually show the /ˈskɒn/ form as the preferred pronunciation, while recognising the /ˈskoʊn/ form.

The Oxford Dictionaries explain that there are also regional and class differences in England connected with the different pronunciations:

There are two possible pronunciations of the word scone: the first rhymes with gone and the second rhymes with tone. In US English, the pronunciation rhyming with tone is more common. In British English, the two pronunciations traditionally have different regional and class associations, with the first pronunciation associated with the north of England, while the second is associated with the south.