# Common mispellings that seem to be taking over. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058 "2007-06-22T21:53:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/41 "2007-06-23T05:57:20Z")
What’s the rule for adding an “-able” suffix to words with a silent “e” at the end? 'Cuz a lot of spell-checkers I’ve seen lately seem to have it completely different than what I thought I remembered learning. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/42 "2007-06-23T06:00:00Z")
wierd _weeps_ ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/43 "2007-06-23T06:02:10Z")
“could of” “should of” “might of” NO NO NO NO ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/44 "2007-06-23T06:33:34Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] “could of” “should of” “might of” NO NO NO NO [/QUOTE] You mean “could have” instead of “might have” Noone instead of “no-one” Color instead of colour…and a few more 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/45 "2007-06-23T06:53:25Z")
“Independant”. Very common even here, that one. “Nevermind”. It is not a word. It is an album by Nirvana. Likewise, “everyday” is an adjective meaning “routine, humdrum”. It is not the same as “every day”. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Klutz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captain_klutz/32/4993_2.png) [@Captain\_Klutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Klutz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/46 "2007-06-23T07:24:33Z")
Not really misspellings, but: “Enormity” to mean “very large”. “Momentarily” to mean “in a moment”. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/47 "2007-06-23T07:39:23Z")
There was a sign posted today stating that “the break room is strickly for Company Name Employees.” I changed it to “strictly”. A new sign appeared today, “The break room is _exclusively_ for Company Name Employees.” Yes, exclusively was italicized. Intensive purposes drives me batty. Draws for drawers (which I found on a Target product discription) Cubbard for Cup Board Sorry, I’m guilty of misspelling weird. I confess. (Might as well confess I can not pronounce candelabra without thinking about it for a darn long time.) ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/48 "2007-06-23T07:39:30Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Noone instead of “no-one” [/QUOTE] ^ | :Points to username: Guilty as charged :o OTOH – I’ve never figured out why people “correct” me when I use the word “ **let’s** do it.” It’s a contraction of **let us** (not a nationality, in which case,if you can’t sing like Ella, at least have the decency to capitalize it (and add a ‘t’)) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/49 "2007-06-23T07:44:13Z")
The one that really bugs me is people substituting “then” for “than”. Makes me want to hit people with a dead trout. “Click” for “clique”; and the resultant “clicky”. Perhaps I can alleviate the stress of this one by throwing balls of rolled-up paper at the elderly. Now it’s mentioned, the “momentarily” thing pisses me off too, to the point of breaking glass in historic monuments. “Athiest”. This one makes me want to strangle puppies. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/50 "2007-06-23T07:49:58Z")
supercede ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/51 "2007-06-23T08:03:15Z")
“mute point” bugs the hell out of me (mostly because in my accent it’s not even a homophone) “Diety” and “Athiest”. (Do we have “Athy”? “Athier”? NO!) ---
**Author:** ![Heloise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@Heloise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heloise)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/52 "2007-06-23T11:28:26Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] “Just desserts” is correct. I’ve seen “For all intensive purposes” a few times lately, instead of “For all intents and purposes.” [/QUOTE] No, it’s not. > **[LANGUAGE CHECK: Just Deserts](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/just-deserts-meaning/)** > > Does a person who gets what he deserves receive his 'just desserts'? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/53 "2007-06-23T11:54:12Z")
I for one am going to start using “just deserts” a lot more, just so I can have the pleasure of correcting people who correct me. I didn’t know “supercede” was wrong, or at least not the preferred spelling. I thought it was related to _precede_ and _intercede_, which I see come from _cedere_, “to go”, when in fact it apparently comes from _sedere_, “to sit”. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/54 "2007-06-23T12:06:44Z")
How about hampster, and the one that drives me nuts… rediculous. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/55 "2007-06-23T12:08:40Z")
One I know has come up here (somewhere) before: The point is MOOT, not MUTE. **EDIT:** (Oops, I see I’ve been beaten to it.) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/56 "2007-06-23T12:17:49Z")
Similarly, DUE to the homonymity of _due_ and _do_ in American English, you quite often see “do to”. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/57 "2007-06-23T12:27:19Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] Gandhi is a transliteration from another language. I don’t know that there is a “correct” weah\* of spelling it. [/QUOTE] See [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=403664), especially its Post #46. ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/58 "2007-06-23T13:47:31Z")
judg **e** ment ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/59 "2007-06-23T14:19:10Z")
“Discrete” when “discreet” is meant and "choose’ instead of “chose.” A local hospital has huge billboards with the picture of someone swinging a child in the air and the caption reads “I choose spinal surgery at GreatHospital.” If you are swinging that kid, you already had the surgery and you **chose** to have it at GreatHospital. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058/60 "2007-06-23T15:31:56Z")
I would also like to complain about the prevalent use of “yay or nay.” It makes me want to hurt people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-mispellings-that-seem-to-be-taking-over/409058.md?page=4)