# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**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 24, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/61 "2014-02-24T09:47:03Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > Coles also has 6 products listed as “sherbert” in the description, but where you can read the word on the packaging it’s clearly “sherbet”. Let’s not pretend they are an authority on spelling. They are a supermarket chain. I just re read your post and finally understand what you were saying. Let’s not pretend I’m an expert in reading comprehension. I’m clearly an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/62 "2014-02-24T14:02:44Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > In Australia we have always spelled if barbeque . > [@Cyros](#): > > Well, except for the summer of '84. What a crazy time, but I’ve already said too much. Ah, the Noodle Incident? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/63 "2014-02-24T15:20:30Z")
I’ve seen “barbeque” on signage in Texas for the last 40 years. BBQ is from barbeque, not the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/64 "2014-02-24T15:39:03Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > I just re read your post and finally understand what you were saying. Let’s not pretend I’m an expert in reading comprehension. I’m clearly an idiot. That’s okay. I have the same brain farts here all the time. To clarify to others, as it may be confusing: On the official packaging of the products in question, there are two ways the word is spelled: “Barbecue” or “BBQ,” including Cole’s own brand. The only “barbeque” I could find on the website is in some of the text descriptions of the product, written by I assume a Coles employee or contractor. ETA: Actually, now that I look at it again, I should correct myself: There is one “barbeque” on the packaging: that is on the rice crisps. The sauces , seasonings, and other snacks otherwise all have “barbecue” or “BBQ.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/65 "2014-02-24T15:41:45Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I’ve seen “barbeque” on signage in Texas for the last 40 years. BBQ is from barbeque, not the other way around. That doesn’t necessarily prove anything definitively. The term “BBQ” dates back almost 60 years to at least [1956](http://etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=bbq&searchmode=none). Unfortunately, “barbeque” doesn’t have a listing in that etymological dictionary. Maybe **samclem** has some resources that can help. ETA: :smack: Ah, I see in his last post that he does have cites from 1850-1900, and it’s in the 1950s where the “barbeque” spelling picked up steam because of “BBQ.” So it seems clear to me that it’s “BBQ” that influenced the increasing popularity of the spelling “barbeque.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/66 "2014-02-24T15:50:00Z")
Using Google Ngram Viewer, I see that “barbeque” is used frequently throughout the twentieth century, and is recorded as early as 1872. “Barbecue” seems a little more common, and goes back to at least 1833. “Bar-B-Q” doesn’t start until 1920, and “BBQ” about 1940. (A lot of uses of “BBQ”, especially early ones, appear to have nothing to do with a style of cooking.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/67 "2014-02-25T05:42:24Z")
> [@Karen\_Lingel](#): > > So maybe it’s just the author \*\*\*that’s \*\*\*an illiterate cretin. Don’t you mean “who’s”? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/68 "2014-02-25T13:57:53Z")
My experience seems to be that “barbecue” more often refers to outdoor cooking on a grill while “barbeque” refers to a flavoring that in some magical way is supposed to remind one of barbecue. E.g., barbeque potato chips. Like the way they’re “Froot Loops” and not “Fruit Loops”. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/69 "2014-02-25T14:33:55Z")
Just so long as they use the Cueens English. ---
**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 25, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/70 "2014-02-25T18:33:59Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Don’t you mean “who’s”? I would need some evidence beyond the severely misspelled crossword puzzle to make that determination. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931/71 "2014-02-26T13:55:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > One point of data: I did find an Australian style guide online from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and [they cast a vote in favor of “barbecue”](http://style.radionational.net.au/glossary/b): > > ETA: [Guardian and Observer](http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-b) also vote “barbecue.” > > ETA2: [As does the Telegraph.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/about-us/style-book/1435308/Telegraph-style-book-Bb.html) “barbecue: not barbeque.” Yes, those who are saying “barbeque” is the English spelling are wrong. It’s “barbecue” over here too, except in some trade names etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-spelling-it-barbeque-now/681931.md?page=3)