# Consistently misspelled, non-complex words. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083 "2012-10-18T00:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/41 "2012-10-18T04:16:41Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > True but such measures are only temporary; if the wound isn’t cleaned and treated soon after, the blood, pus and bacteria will build up and one will find themselves with a staunch stanch stench. _clap_ That was pretty epic sir! Thanks for a good laugh 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/42 "2012-10-18T04:19:11Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Another is “hampster” for hamster. Of the main offenders I’ve seen, the majority seem to be hamster owners, oddly enough. What about us poor [hampsters?](http://www.hampsterdance.com/meetngreet.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/43 "2012-10-18T05:08:41Z")
_Your_ not doing _you’re_ best! I can’t believe no one has mentioned this horror yet. Did you all block it from memory? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/44 "2012-10-18T05:37:50Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > I love “wierd” myself. I’ll admit it. The majority of times when I spell believe I misspell it as beleive and have to correct it. A minor one that I always notice is when people write Edgar Allen Poe. His middle name was Allan not Allen. Edgar Poe was orphaned when he was young and he was taken in by family friends named John and Frances Allan. Edgar subsequently added the name Allan to his birth name. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/45 "2012-10-18T05:53:44Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I just found out that “adviser” is an acceptable alternative to “advisor”. It still looks wrong to me, though. (Maybe that’s because I learned some Latin back in high school.) Somebody should alert Firefox. Firefox marks “advisor” as misspelled and wants me to change it to adviser every place I type it online. In fact, Firefox is underlining it in red in this very text box. What makes it especially annoying is that “advisor” is part of my job title and every time I use it in an email it’s underlined in red. It doesn’t happen in IE. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/46 "2012-10-18T08:46:12Z")
I see alot a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/47 "2012-10-18T09:33:56Z")
I agree with all the irritants already posted. I also really hate “should of”, “would of”, or similar. “of” and “have” are totally different words! ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/48 "2012-10-18T10:37:05Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > I agree with all the irritants already posted. I also really hate “should of”, “would of”, or similar. “of” and “have” are totally different words! Heartily agree. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/49 "2012-10-18T10:48:14Z")
all right / alright lead when it should be led ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/50 "2012-10-18T11:55:36Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > seperately instead of separately. (Remember: separate has A RAT in it.) So does “seperate.” “Separate” has a PAR in it. 😛 “Rediculous.” Why, people? WHY? Also, “congradulations.” For some reason, that one makes me especially twitchy. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/51 "2012-10-18T12:17:04Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > seperately instead of separately. (Remember: separate has A RAT in it.) > [@DianaG](#): > > So does “seperate.” “Separate” has a PAR in it. 😛 “Seperate” doesn’t have A RAT in it - it has E RAT. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/52 "2012-10-18T12:21:26Z")
:smack: That’s what I get for thinking I’m clever with only half a cup of coffee in me. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/53 "2012-10-18T12:41:05Z")
“Should of” isn’t a typo for “should have”; it’s a typo for “should’ve”. Which is, after all, pronounced the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/54 "2012-10-18T12:49:07Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Ummm… Did it ever occur to anyone that people who write DEFIANTLY this way, might, y’know, actually know what they’re writing and MEAN it? :eek: I’m pretty sure “defiantly” is a spellcheck spelling error, caused by typing “definately” and choosing the wrong suggestion. Maybe not always directly - in cases like Facebook, where people probably aren’t using spellcheck, maybe they just learnt from their spellchecker in the past that it’s not “definately”, it’s “defiantly”! I think some people must have a real disconnect between what they see and what they hear in their head. How can you get “definitely” from “defiantly”? Either that or people don’t make any connection between related words. Define. Definition. Definite. Definitive. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/55 "2012-10-18T13:01:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I feel obliged to point out that “discreet” and “discrete” are both correct spellings, but for two different words. To be fair, so did the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/56 "2012-10-18T13:05:55Z")
Due and do. I find, although probably not fitting the OP’s definition of non-complex, the consistent misspelling and mispronunciation of _ **diphtheria** _, even in the media and occasionally by people who should really know better, to be truly annoying. Less annoying but equally common is the misspelling and mispronunciation of _ **ophthalmologist/ophthalmic** _, I think people have a blindness to the _phth_ bit of both words. ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/57 "2012-10-18T13:08:39Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > I used to spell weird _wierd_ on purpose. I guess I thought w-e-i-r-d should spell “wired.” I could never remember the correct spelling until a coworker pointed out how her parents taught her: WE are WEIRD. I was 29. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/58 "2012-10-18T13:37:22Z")
I’ve noticed more and more, “women” being used for singular as well as plural for some damn reason. Quite often by women. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/59 "2012-10-18T13:41:12Z")
I saw this recently: “we no longer except checks” ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/60 "2012-10-18T13:53:59Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > For a physics course, one of our big giant lab write-ups that was worth a huge portion of our grade was about electric _ **impedance** _. > > I was very proud of my report… until I got it back and saw that I had typed \*\*\*impudence \*\*\*THE ENTIRE WAY THROUGH. Circled in red EVERY, SINGLE, TIME. > > I never felt so ashamed in my life. I actually went to the professor and personally apologized and swore up and down I knew the difference. She laughed, but seriously reminded me to read things out loud. That’s not bad. What was bad was the essay I got about God and Satin. You see, God and Satin used to be best friends, but then Satin got jealous. Satin wanted God to share His power with Satin, but God wouldn’t, because God thought Satin was immature. So Satin and God had a fight, and then Satin left and went to Hell where Satin could be the boss. I swear, I laughed so hard I cried, and yes, I did red circle every single instance of Satin. I wanted to print out a picture of satin, the fabric, and one of Satan, the adversary and attach it to the essay, but I figured that would just crush my poor student. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083.md?page=4)