# Ever just lose the spelling of a word? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703 "2010-08-27T18:18:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/1 "2010-08-27T18:18:53Z")
Have you ever been typing (or writing), and the spelling of a very basic word suddenly eludes you? Like it should be really easy, but for some reason it just looks wrong? And you try a few variations, and it just looks wrongier and wrongier? Hey Brad, Sorry I couldn’t meet with you this morning. We’ll meet at the same time tomorrow, I promis. Promis Prommis? Promiss? Promice? Guarantee it. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/2 "2010-08-27T18:20:42Z")
Yes, it has happened to me with the word ‘why’. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/3 "2010-08-27T20:42:01Z")
Now I depend entirely on spell check and Google to correct me. I have also learned to proofread everything because a spell checker can make one look stupid. ---
**Author:** ![qsecofr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/13edae/32.png) [@qsecofr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qsecofr)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/4 "2010-08-29T03:51:28Z")
Yes. usually on simple words. And, I don’t mean to brag, but I’m a very good speller as tests have shown. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/5 "2010-08-29T03:53:17Z")
Recently, I have been mixing up principle and principal. I know the difference. I’m an English teacher. It just exscapes me. ☹ excscapes was a joke. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/6 "2010-08-29T04:07:17Z")
Seventh grade writing assignment. It took me a good five minutes and tons of frustration to figure out why “ove” looked so wrong and remember the correct spelling, “of”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/7 "2010-08-29T04:13:08Z")
I got the flu when I was in sixth grade. For about a week after that, I forgot how to spell the simplest words, like “white.” None of my other mental faculties were affected. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/8 "2010-08-29T16:53:19Z")
I remember one fall day in high school - after just having enjoyed summer vacation - I could not remember if, when writing, you capitalize just the first letter of every sentence, or the first letter of every word. You Know, Like This. Yeah, I’m a genius. 😃 mmm ---
**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:** [August 29, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/9 "2010-08-29T16:59:32Z")
Every now and then. But becoming more frequent, unfortunately. Much and such want to come out _mutch_ and _sutch._ Double letters creep in or show up missing one of the duo. Ays and Ees switch places. It’s rediculous! ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/10 "2010-08-29T17:56:20Z")
It’s enough to make you loose your mind! I just realized that a couple of days ago I wrote “pronounciation” in a post; I know it’s “pronunciation” but it seems exposure to incorrect spellings in my indecent and infinite internet interactions has caused me to pick up bad spelling habits\* – like the fact that I’ve started substituting “your” for “you’re” when I know better. - Plus unnecessary alliteration. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/11 "2010-08-29T18:58:07Z")
It’s becoming more frequent for me as I get older. And it makes me very [del]anoyyed[/del] [del]anoid[/del] [del]annoid[/del] irritated. ---
**Author:** ![ramel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@ramel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ramel)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/12 "2010-08-30T03:55:07Z")
I remember when I was a kid, I wrote the word “going”, and it looked so wrong I couldn’t believe it was right. It looked like it was supposed to be pronounced in one syllable like “boing” but with a g. I spent a few minutes trying to figure out the correct way to spell it, not believing that “going” was correct. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/13 "2010-08-30T05:19:44Z")
I remember two very vividly. Third grade, writing out a sentence in class, and I can’t seem to remember how to spell the word “who.” Hoo? No. I know there’s a “w” in there somewhere. “How”? No you idiot, that spells “how”. I had to ask the kid next to me and he, justifiably, looked at me like I was an idiot. Then a couple years ago I was at a Chargers game against Kansas City and the scoreboard (during the pregame) said we were playing the “Cheifs”. I was just about to turn to my buddy and point it out… but then I got scared. Surely it’s “I before E”. Of course it is!.. isn’t it? What if I’m wrong? I had to look it up on my ticket. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/14 "2010-08-30T06:34:48Z")
I once failed a spelling test in High School by one point, because I forgot how to spell “lying”. I wrote “lieing” and I knew it was wrong, but couldn’t for the life of me figure out why, because it clearly and logically extended from “lie”. Never forgotten that, so I’ve not made that mistake ever again. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/15 "2010-08-30T07:01:53Z")
This has been happening to me more and more, lately. And I used to be a really great speller; won spelling bees all the time when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/16 "2010-08-30T13:48:41Z")
> [@Silver\_Fire](#): > > Seventh grade writing assignment. It took me a good five minutes and tons of frustration to figure out why “ove” looked so wrong and remember the correct spelling, “of”. > > :rolleyes: I had that problem with the same word. I was in elementary school- maybe 4th grade. We were writing something in class and I got to the word and was thinking “ov”? “uv”? Neither of them looked right but for the life of me I couldn’t remember how to write it. I had to look at the page on the desk of the kid next to me and hope I didn’t get pinched for cheating- wasn’t cheating really, since it wasn’t as if it was a spelling test for that word. I managed to find the word on her paper and was like “oh- right! Duh!- ‘of’”! ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/17 "2010-08-30T14:16:24Z")
After composing my first memo to the Chairman of my Board of Directors, I sent the draft to several members of senior management for approval. They all responded with a thumbs up. Just prior to my sending the e-mail, I asked my our assistant to make a hard copy for our records. She then ran back into my office screaming for me not to send it. Luckily I hadn’t pressed the send button. She noticed that I had spelled his first name incorrectly. I’m guessing that Arth **e** r probably would have noticed this mistake. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/18 "2010-08-30T14:17:40Z")
Every single day. That’s what it means to be a really bad speller. I will stumble on any number of random words on any given day. Usually I just rephrase or use a spell checker (like there) if there is time. Sometimes the correct spelling just looks so wrong I can’t bring myself to use it. Sometimes I am so far off the checker can’t figure out what I’m talking about so rephrasing is easiest. I think it helps my vocabulary because I need lots of alternatives. This doesn’t happen to everyone all the time? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/19 "2010-08-30T14:23:31Z")
> [@ramel](#): > > I remember when I was a kid, I wrote the word “going”, and it looked so wrong I couldn’t believe it was right. Slightly off-topic, but in the past week I’ve typed “gonig” an embarassing number of times. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703/20 "2010-08-30T16:43:49Z")
My trouble is more with similar words in English and French, and I consider myself to be bilingual! Is it enveloppe or envelope? Apartment or appartement? When I speak, I’ve even mixed up “same” and “même” which annoyingly enough mean the same thing and sound the same. I also have trouble with “pronunciation” (pronounciation?!) and mentioned (I always want to spell it mentionned). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-just-lose-the-spelling-of-a-word/551703.md?page=2)