# Are we spelling it "barbeque" now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 22, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931 "2014-02-22T03:00:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/1 "2014-02-22T03:00:37Z")
I know I know, language evolves and if enough illiterate cretins do something, then it becomes “correct”. I was doing a crossword puzzle the other day and the answer to one of the clues was clearly “barbecue”, which then made the crossing answer “Cueen Anne.” So I guess I was supposed to spell it barbeque. On the other hand, the same crossword puzzle had “lesser than” spelled with three s’s. So maybe it’s just the author that’s an illiterate cretin. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/2 "2014-02-22T03:27:07Z")
Yes. Sometimes. [QUOTE=[Barbecue vs. barbeque](http://grammarist.com/spelling/barbecue-barbeque/)] In today’s English, barbecue is the usual spelling of the word with several senses related to the cooking of food over open fire. It’s the spelling that tends to appear in edited writing, and it’s the one that dictionaries note first, for what that’s worth (and some don’t note any other spellings). Barbeque is a secondary spelling that appears especially often in the names of restaurants and products. It has steadily gained ground over the last few decades, but it is still far less common than barbecue overall. [/QUOTE] And that’s all I’ll say about that. I’m still reeling from the grilled cheese debate. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/3 "2014-02-22T03:32:37Z")
On the other hand, BBQ is standard, and BBC virtually non-existent. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/4 "2014-02-22T03:51:20Z")
I have a mug from the “South Carolina Barbeque Association.” It’s always bugged the shit out of me, but I assumed it was just a SC thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/5 "2014-02-22T03:55:03Z")
Good thing they aren’t going all fancy and adding an accent: “barbèque”. Because that would be pronounced “bar-BECK”, which would clearly be silly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/6 "2014-02-22T04:23:33Z")
That is how I’ve always spelled it. “q” ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/7 "2014-02-22T04:26:48Z")
Bar-be-kweh. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/8 "2014-02-22T04:32:22Z")
We are _not_! /Carson from Downtown Abbey ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/9 "2014-02-22T04:42:14Z")
I always pronounce it the Spanish way. Bar-be-what? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/10 "2014-02-22T04:53:59Z")
I thought it was another one of these US vs. British spelling things. I’ve always spelled it with the “que” ending. Although I see that this is now an acceptable spelling, it is in fact not the original and preferred “cue” ending, which is derived from the Spanish-American _barbacoa_. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/11 "2014-02-22T04:57:27Z")
English has always had many alternate spellings that are generally accepted, so it’s not a question of “language evolving,” and I don’t know why anyone who’s literate would suddenly be upset by this particular one. A search of the Corpus of Contemporary American English will show publications such as _USA Today, Popular Science, People, Money, Field and Streem, The Saturday Evening Post_ and _Inc_–going back at least 20 years–using this spelling, and a stroll down your local grocery store condiment aisle will show that [it’s used on labels](http://s1.postimg.org/xwgf92a1r/BBQ_sauces.jpg), too, as well as the proper names of businesses. All of this would make the spelling perfectly acceptable for a crossword puzzle. It makes sense, really, because of the common abbreviation _BBQ_. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/12 "2014-02-22T04:58:45Z")
Yes. Cheque, please. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/13 "2014-02-22T05:57:24Z")
I’ve heard it both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/14 "2014-02-22T07:01:08Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > On the other hand, BBQ is standard, and BBC virtually non-existent. So who do I pay my TV licence fee to? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/15 "2014-02-22T07:19:05Z")
You can spell barbeque with a “c”?! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/16 "2014-02-22T07:26:18Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Good thing they aren’t going all fancy and adding an accent: “barbèque”. Because that would be pronounced “bar-BECK”, which would clearly be silly. 🙂 This. That is how I would be inqlined to pronounce it if it were spelled that way, even absent the aqcent grave. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/17 "2014-02-22T08:33:54Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > You can spell barbeque with a “c”?! +1 ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/18 "2014-02-22T09:34:32Z")
In Australia we have always spelled if barbeque . ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/19 "2014-02-22T09:37:50Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Good thing they aren’t going all fancy and adding an accent: “barbèque”. Because that would be pronounced “bar-BECK”, which would clearly be silly. 🙂 I think I’m going to say it like that from now on. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/20 "2014-02-22T12:34:44Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > In Australia we have always spelled if barbeque . I thought y’all said Barbie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931.md?page=2)