# AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO SPELL THE WORD "LOSING" PROPERLY ?!?!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2000, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323 "2000-08-06T13:04:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MadHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MadHatter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadHatter)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/1 "2000-08-06T13:04:29Z")
Why does everyone else spell it “loosing”. IT PISSES ME OFF!!! THERE IS ONLY ONE “o”. OK ??? JUST ONE !!! ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/2 "2000-08-06T13:15:01Z")
It appears that you are, and the only one who can type in all caps. ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/3 "2000-08-06T13:15:13Z")
Loosen up huh? ya loser 🙂 No… really. Is just an extra o. Just point your finger chant “naya naya naya naya na I’m smarter than You–oo” and leave it be. Maybe that will help you cope with the extra O. Osip ---
**Author:** ![Sealemon88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c68b51/32.png) [@Sealemon88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon88)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/4 "2000-08-06T13:30:17Z")
I’ve noticed it too. i’m not the best speller in the world. Not even close. But mixing up words is a bit much. My personal pet peeve is when someone mixes up **there, their, \*\* and \*\* they’re** , as well as **your** and **you’re**. Oh yeah, and excessive use of exclamation marks. I don’t use them much, but I’d still hate to have to ration them because of an “!” shortage. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/5 "2000-08-06T13:33:03Z")
I have not noticed the problem of which you shout. Maybe you just associate with a larger-than-average number of lossers. 😉 Seriously, I see certain misspellings that seem to be popularly epidemic sometimes, and not at others. For example, I have seen many, many people type **realise** instead of **realize** lately. So many, in fact, that I find myself double checking dictionaries even though I _know_ it’s a misspelling. ---
**Author:** ![MadHatter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MadHatter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadHatter)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/6 "2000-08-06T13:44:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by opus \* > \*\*I have not noticed the problem of which you shout. Maybe you just associate with a larger-than-average number of lossers. 😉 > > Seriously, I see certain misspellings that seem to be popularly epidemic sometimes, and not at others. For example, I have seen many, many people type **realise** instead of **realize** lately. So many, in fact, that I find myself double checking dictionaries even though I _know_ it’s a misspelling. \*\* Actually… If you picked up an Australian or English dictionary, you would it was you who was spelling it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Globe-trotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@Globe-trotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Globe-trotter)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/7 "2000-08-06T13:49:01Z")
Thanks for the lesson. :rolleyes: Now quit yelling. ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/8 "2000-08-06T14:33:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by If you picked up an Australian or English dictionary, you would it was you who was spelling it wrong. \*\* Is it just me, or does that look a grammar problem? Osip ---
**Author:** ![DavisMcDavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DavisMcDavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavisMcDavis)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/9 "2000-08-06T14:38:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sealemon88 \* > \*\*I’ve noticed it too. i’m not the best speller in the world. Not even close. But mixing up words is a bit much. My personal pet peeve is when someone mixes up **there, their, \*\* and \*\* they’re** , as well as **your** and **you’re**. > > \*\* While we’re complaining, how about **its** and \*\* it’s\*\*? Or those signs in the grocery store where people avoid the **tomatoes** vs. **tomatos** conundrum by spelling it **tomato’s** - that way, one is 100% wrong all the time, rather than that annoying 50/50 guess. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/10 "2000-08-06T15:28:39Z")
Oh pish posh, MH, look, they are doing it right too…Im going to buy you a dictionary 🙂 2loose verb loosed loos•ing (13c) verb transitive 1 a : to let loose : release b : to free from restraint 2 : to make loose : untie \ 3 : to cast loose : detach 4 : to let fly : discharge 5 : to make less rigid, tight, or strict : relax verb intransitive : to let fly a missile (as an arrow) : fire (C)1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. All rights reserved. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/11 "2000-08-06T15:29:04Z")
I’ve been semi-guilty of this spelling faux-pas. More of the “their-they’re-there variety”. But bear with me and I’ll explain. Generally speaking, when I see a thread to which I wish to respond, I click the respond button and just start whapping away at the keys. All the while I’m saying in my head what I’m typing. And yes I know the difference between all the words, but sometimes my fingers get ahead of me. I’ve also been guilty of screwing up my possesives (missing or adding unnecessary apostrophies) or mix-matching verbs and objects (most often by missing out on making the object plural). And while I am generally a pretty good speller, I throw a few juicy typos in for good measure. I do take the time to proof-read my post, but usually it’s just a quick once over. Sometimes you just want to get that post out there, damn the consequences. I don’t let it get the best of me. It’s not like I’m writing a term paper, fer Chrissakes. I’m not getting graded on this shit. If someone wants to then post and tell me I’m a moron because I put “I” before “E” after a “C”, eh, let them blow hot air. I’m secure enough in my intelligence not to get freaked out about it. As for this morning - I’m bored, this is the first thread I found and I just felt like rambling. You’re mission, should you choose to accept it: find all the spelling errors in my post, inform me of them, and then marvel at my appathy. ---
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/12 "2000-08-06T15:42:27Z")
handy: > [@](#): > > Oh pish posh Pish posh? Easy does it, you’ll pop a vein ranting like that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/13 "2000-08-06T15:52:48Z")
The ‘looser’ thing bugs me too, but I’m a chronic offender on the you’re/your and it’s/its, so I’ll keep my mouth shut … ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/14 "2000-08-06T21:51:58Z")
Know what pisses me off? Goddamn DOCTOR SEUSS, of all people, did it, too! One of the greatest geniuses of the 20th century! No fooling. Go get your old copy (or your kid’s new copy) of I HAD TROUBLE IN GETTING TO SOLLA SOLLEW. Great book, right? 1965. Now jump to about 2/3 of the way through the story. The scene where the protagonist has been impressed into military duty by General Genghis Kahn Schmitz (we’ll skip commentary on Seuss’s spelling of “Kahn.” Let’s assume he’s doing Yiddish schtick). Okay, so the army is marching on into Pompelmoose Pass, to destroy the Perilous Poozer. Got it? And they go in, and they’re immediately surrounded, and it turns out that “There was _more_ than one Poozer in Pompelmoose Pass!” Okay? So then we’re treated to these couplets from the General: “And Genghis Kahn Schmitz shouted out to his men ‘This happens in war every now and again. Some times you are winners. Some times you are loosers {sic}. We _never_ can win against so many Poozers…’” Man, this toasts my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/15 "2000-08-06T22:21:20Z")
So don’t leave me hanging, Ike. What was the result at Pompelmoose Pass? Did they loose to the Poozers? I think the double o you often see just happens to be one of the more common typos; I suspect that in almost all occurences, the generating poster _does_ know how to spell the word. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/16 "2000-08-06T22:24:13Z")
I casn spell losing! See, look! Grrr. Loosen up, man. ---
**Author:** ![Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/0ea827/32.png) [@Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaphod_Beeblebrox)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/17 "2000-08-06T22:32:54Z")
“its” and “it’s” tend to piss me off as well. But the worst: people who write “definAtely.” I definitely want to kill them all slowly and painfully. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2000, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/18 "2000-08-06T23:28:25Z")
Oh thats nothing. I can’t stand people who write ‘alot’… Its supposed to be ‘a lot’ although I assume either form is acceptable according to my Harvard educated friend, Tim. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2000, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/19 "2000-08-07T00:27:20Z")
Current pet peeve: “decent” as “descent.” ---
**Author:** ![Ted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ted)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2000, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323/20 "2000-08-07T00:46:58Z")
You do of course realize that if enough people spell it looses, then it’s a correct form, don’t you? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-knows-how-to-spell-the-word-losing-properly/28323.md?page=2)