I just had to add "amidst" to my spell checker's dictionary

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Holy cow. I mean, I could understand something like “nanostructured” or “Siddiq”. But amidst? Am I the only person who uses this term?

2

Amidst the teeming millions? I think not. :wink:

3

I once had to add the word “beer” to a spell checker.

The programmers obviously hated life and all things beautiful.

4

FWIW, Chicago discourages the use of “amidst.” I can’t find a cite, but I believe that it’s more of a British usage. SImilarly for “amongst” vs. “among.”

5

That’s why I don’t use spell checkers. I’m more accurate than a spell checker. Spell checkers are contribiting to the downfall of culture.

6

[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
That’s why I don’t use spell checkers. I’m more accurate than a spell checker. Spell checkers are contribiting to the downfall of culture.
[/QUOTE]

Spellcheckers are OK. It’s the stupid autocorrect that I hate. You can ignore or add that red squiggly line, but if you don’t catch the autocorrect, you don’t even notice that you misspelled a word.

I gradually empty the autocorrect dictionary and use it as macros for lazy shortcuts. At least I empty it until the next time that they decide to upgrade and it’s teach the spell checker, empty the autocorrect time again.

7

[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
That’s why I don’t use spell checkers. I’m more accurate than a spell checker. Spell checkers are contribiting to the downfall of culture.
[/QUOTE]

Maybe you should reconsider :stuck_out_tongue:

8

[QUOTE=Manduck]
Maybe you should reconsider :stuck_out_tongue:
[/QUOTE]

You beat me to it. Lord knows I’m not the world’s best speller, but that was just too funny not to point out.

9

That was a typo not a spelling mistake.

10

[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]
That was a typo not a spelling mistake.
[/QUOTE]

But a spell checker would have caught it.

11

[QUOTE=Q.E.D.]
But a spell checker would have caught it.
[/QUOTE]

And likely mangled two other words in the process. :wink:

Seriously though, I work as an editor and proofreader and I do use a spellchecker, but only after I’ve already thoroughly edited a piece. When used in this way, as a final check for any typos that the brain somehow misses*, they can be a godsend. Relying on them as a replacement for proofreading is stupid, though.

  • Usually missing or repeated letters in the middle of a word, especially rs, ms, ns or ls for some reason.