Annoyed bloggers refer this consumer friendly chain as "Tarbutt", you can see this reference at many consumer sites including: http://targetfiling.blogspot.com - said site will send you an autographed QSL type post card if you email them your snail mail address at 'targetsucks@live.com This site was the subject of a 23 month civil suit costing Tarbutt about 250K and it was tossed out of Federal Court July 16, 2008.
Sincerely yours,
John Doe and please remember "Target Sucks!"

I first heard a "french" pronunciation for JC Penney's on _Good_Times_ (yes, I'm dating myself now :-).... In our house, that was easily translated to Target--since it was closer, less expensive, and about all we could afford.

I've been loyal to K-Mart and Target for nearly 35 years---and NEVER shop WallyWorld. Not even for toothpicks.

Oprah has used the Frenchy pronunciation on her show several times. Not sure when she first used it though.

In our house we call Target "Wal-mart-light". They manage to keep the dirt in house.

Puh-leeeezzz...Has everybody forgotten that Target (aka Tar-zhay) is owned by a French corporation? That is the reason for the so-called French accent put on the pronunciation of the store's name. Fashion savvy? High-end boutiques? Give me a break! I go there to buy cat litter and TP and other such essentials--certainly not to clothe my body!

I first heard the 'French' pronunciation back in the early 80s, by teens in Southern California.

C'mon -- I remember friends calling it tar-zhay in the mid-70s. Any kid who took French in high school can see the joke. It was a joking way to make a store full of cheap stuff sound hoity-toity.

We used to call the one in the high-end neighborhood "Tar-zhay Boutique," and the one in the not-so-good neighborhood "Targhetto."

As I recall it, Target received the nickname Tarzhay in direct correlation with the high-end and very popular department store chain named the Bon Marche. This chain was the end-all of high fashion inthe Seattle area where I was residing at the time. I do not know how large the chain was or iof it was confined to the NW Region. I just know we named it the Tar-zhay in a tongue-in-cheek manner as some of us would never be able to shop at the Bon Marche and yet we felt like we had when affording the trendy things that Target was marketing. At the time there was very little available to the lower income woman that had any sense of fashion at what we would undoutedly now refer to as 'WalMart Pricing'!!

Hey Kathleen,

Are you an idiot??!?!?! Show me where Target is owned by a French Corp.??? Target is 100% American and is headquartered 45 minutes from my house in Minneapolis, MN!

French owned... pfft.

I don't want to pay from 50 cents to over a $1.00 more for the same item I can buy at Wal-Mart just to shop in a clean,shinny Target store. There is a lot of peace and quiet there because there aren't manypeople shopping there . I've checked this out many times and stand by my comment! RoudMan

Where has Brian White been last 5 years ? Target has been called the funky Frenchy sounding name for years. You are a bit late to the game son. You have no credibility in even making this blog post. Get out and talk to people for change.

TargetSucks, my God dude, its time to let it go. I'm sorry you were fired by Target, and it looks like, WalMart too, but you obviously are one anal retentive piece of work. You don't work, do you? No one with this kind of gris-gris bag full of charms could possibly have time to also put in at least 20 hours to a part-time job. I would hate for you to have to be a responsible adult and be objective, but I guess your firing and failed lawsuit against Target has tainted your reality. F***ing grow up ass****.

The first time that nickname was used was by Tyra Banks when she came on Oprah as a guest more than 5 years ago

First heard it pronounced that way in the mid-1980s in Northern California, but said by people from Southern California.

I am from NJ and had never even heard of Target until a few years ago when one opened in Pennsylvania. Now they are building more of them here in NJ. Never had them here until now. Don't care if the prices are higher by a little. Our only choice now is War--Mart. It sucks. I will not shop anymore at the big W. We have no choice by where I live . Walmart drove the others out years ago. We have a choice now. I think Target will do OK here.....

In my 'first' post I referred to Tarbutt as 'customer friendly' that is a type on my part, it should read 'customer un-friendly' due in part to their extremely restrictive return policy which makes the blanket assumption that anyone wanting to make a return or exchange without a receipt must have stolen the item. That is only one reason why TARGET SUCKS!