# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/161 "2012-10-24T09:49:32Z")
More than three pages and nobody has mentioned: weiner/wiener yet. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/162 "2012-10-24T10:13:27Z")
your all weiners, not loosers. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/163 "2012-10-24T13:08:17Z")
What’s a heat _sync_ (the [thing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_sink) you have on your computer’s CPU)? Also, not so much a misspelling\* but using the wrong word (as in the OP): _e_ffect and _a_ffect. \*Of course, they are the same except one has an “a” and the other an “e”, but I see people consistently reversing them (“What affect will this have?”, “This won’t effect me”). Some others, like impo_s_ible, where a double letter is replaced with one. Also, isn’t diarrhoea supposed to be spelled diarrhea (Firefox underlines the former spelling), same for words like aluminium (aluminum)? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/164 "2012-10-24T15:15:30Z")
These are more often usage errors, rather than spelling errors. For example, using “bazaar” when “bizarre” is meant. Both are correctly spelled; however, they are misused. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/165 "2012-10-24T15:48:19Z")
phase/faze ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/166 "2012-10-24T15:57:49Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Also, isn’t diarrhoea supposed to be spelled diarrhea (Firefox underlines the former spelling), same for words like aluminium (aluminum)? 😉 Not if you’re British. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/167 "2012-10-24T16:12:51Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > I’m dieing to see how this thread turns out. Tie-dyed, I hope. I’m in need of something colorful, after three straight days of mist. Y’all is a contraction of “you” and “all”. The apostrophe means “some letters have been taken out”. When you go from “you all” to “yall”, the apostrophe does not go after the a. Unless ye’re one of those wierdos who write you as ya and have an assassin in your makeup bag, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_of\_the\_Dark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Fear\_of\_the\_Dark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_of_the_Dark)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/168 "2012-10-24T17:28:40Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’m no spelling/grammar nazi but some words just stick out to me for their seemingly consistent inability to be spelled correctly by those who use them. Now this is just for starters, and can (and should) be added to, but the one I notice more than others is “discreet”. Every-damn-time I see a poster (on any forum or board) use this word, it is spelled “discrete”. Arghh! Why?? It’s not a particularly difficult word to wrap one’s brain around; so why the chronic misspelling? Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for now. > ETA: Actually, both spellings are correct but mean different things. I should have made the point that people seem to use “discrete” when they really mean “discreet”. Thread fail. :smack: My bad people. I would blame English. And it is unfair to judge English speakers severely because some languages are spell-friendly but English is not. Moreover I don’t understand why you are angry at people’s mistake. Let them know they are misspelling and leave it there. If they correct it and improve themselves, it is their benefit. If they don’t do so, that’s their loss. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/169 "2012-10-24T18:06:56Z")
> [@Fear\_of\_the\_Dark](#): > > I would blame English. And it is unfair to judge English speakers severely because some languages are spell-friendly but English is not. > > Moreover I don’t understand why you are angry at people’s mistake. Let them know they are misspelling and leave it there. If they correct it and improve themselves, it is their benefit. If they don’t do so, that’s their loss. Thanks for that. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/170 "2012-10-25T01:03:39Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Y’all is a contraction of “you” and “all”. The apostrophe means “some letters have been taken out”. When you go from “you all” to “yall”, the apostrophe does not go after the a. Unless ye’re one of those wierdos who write you as ya and have an assassin in your makeup bag, that is. That’s what some people do, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/171 "2012-10-25T03:58:00Z")
nm. Just saw my example upthread. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/172 "2012-10-25T04:32:53Z")
I have two. One is “donut” for “doughnut”. I guess it’s an acceptable spelling, but it just strikes me as trashy, somehow. This is one I’ve seen lately - “Bokay” for “bouquet”. WTF. That’s horrible! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/173 "2012-10-25T05:48:02Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Oops. maybe. The more common word is _calendar_, a device for telling you what day it is. > > The less common word is _calender_ – you think you got it right maybe because the spell checker let you get away with it. But it’s a [different word altogether](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calander). > > ETA: Yes, I just discovered that myself. I never new that _calender_ was a real word before. And that’s the reason I wish Firefox had an easy way to delete words from its spelling dictionary (without having to go edit a text file as an administrator). I always try to delete words where the misspelling is more common than the esoteric word. I mean, if anyone is going to use the esoteric word, isn’t it quite likely that they know the correct spelling? ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/174 "2012-10-25T07:13:04Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Tie-dyed, I hope. I’m in need of something colorful, after three straight days of mist. > > Y’all is a contraction of “you” and “all”. The apostrophe means “some letters have been taken out”. When you go from “you all” to “yall”, the apostrophe does not go after the a. Unless ye’re one of those wierdos who write you as ya and have an assassin in your makeup bag, that is. I recently saw “ya’ll” on a local billboard. I also saw a sign advertising a local business (in Alabama) which said that the owner was “Bama born and Bama bread.” ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/175 "2012-10-25T20:30:25Z")
Another one that I occasionally see is “birth” instead of “berth”. Example: The team earned a birth in the championship game. The correct word in this instance would be “berth”. ---
**Author:** ![norvalnormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@norvalnormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norvalnormal)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/176 "2012-10-25T21:41:10Z")
Words in my experience (proofreader) go thru “spells” of misspelling, and sometimes all it takes is for the word to become more widely used for the misspelling to go away. I remember when “harrassment” was everywhere in the 1980s, until the word was common enough in print to almost always lose that extra “r.” But, sometimes, a misspelling of a popular word simply comes and goes and, more often than not, comes again, for no readily apparent reason (“cemetary,” " Edgar Allen Poe") ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/177 "2012-10-26T07:25:06Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > I have two. > > One is “donut” for “doughnut”. I guess it’s an acceptable spelling, but it just strikes me as trashy, somehow. I thought “donut” was the usual US spelling. Here in the UK (where “doughnut” is standard), that spelling is sometimes used to lend an American-style impression. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083/178 "2012-10-26T10:01:17Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > … “it’s” where the possessive is intended. > … “where” for “were” I notice a huge number of such homophone substitutions in my own writing, as well as sometimes in other Dopers’ posts. And I’m not a particularly poor speller – I even won(\*) spelling bees … 50+ years ago. (Just now, as I wrote “won”, I actually typed “o^Hwon”, that is, I started to type “one.” That I caught this homophonic error after only a single letter may be because it’s the topic of the post! I also wrote “thought” for “though,” caught on Preview.) I think that my brain has some poor circuitry between “audio vocabulary cortex” and “keyboard typing cortex.” I wonder if I’d have similar problems with _hand_-writing, but do far too little handwriting these days to check. > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > I love “wierd” myself. That one I can remember! _I before E Except after C (Or just to be Weird)_ 😉 > [@drewtwo99](#): > > There are a few words I almost always misspell, and it annoys me. I always want to spell amendments as “ammendments” or hilariously as “hillariously”. There are a few others that always cause me troubles… errggh. This applies to me. There are a few words where I seem to have memorized the fact that I misspell them. Even if I spell them correctly, a perverse imp will pop into my consciousness reminding me I “should” be spelling it incorrectly. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/consistently-misspelled-non-complex-words/638083.md?page=8)