The spelling of the phrase "wast long" may seem unusual to some, but it is actually an archaic form of the phrase "was long". In IPA phonetic transcription, "wast" would be pronounced /wɑst/, with the "a" sound similar to "ah" and the "t" at the end being a hard stop. "Long" would be pronounced /lɑŋ/ with the same "a" sound and a nasal "ng" at the end. This spelling is rarely used today, but appears in old texts and literature.