In order for the following joke to work (incidentally, a classic example of true folk lore as you just change the names to make it contemporary) 'buoy' needs to be pronounced a la mode anglais:

Elton John fell off his yacht sailing across the Channel. Bernie Taupin shouts "Hold on Elton ... I'll throw you a buoy." Elton replies, "Not now you prat, I'm f**king drowning!"