# Is it ever incorrect to \[I\]not\[/I\] abbreviate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223 "2003-06-02T21:23:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Extraneous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/0ea827/32.png) [@Extraneous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extraneous)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/21 "2003-06-03T07:20:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruby \* > \*\* > Anyone that would alphabetize “The Blob” under “T” needs a lesson in proper alphabetation…heh heh. 😉 \*\* Ah, time to introduce another generation to the concepts of “sort names” vs. “print names” - two different fields, used for different purposes - kinda of like how “Rubble, Betty” is the phone book entry, but the address label reads “Betty Rubble”. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/22 "2003-06-03T10:25:42Z")
Saint Louis University (my alma mater…1982), you’ll notice, makes a point of spelling out the Saint in the university’s name even though they, of course, give their address as St. Louis, MO. As though they had named the university not after the city they’re in but after King Louis IX of France (who the city is named for). ---
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/23 "2003-06-03T15:43:25Z")
my point in regards to the spelling correction is that within the bounds of formal correspondence I use a speel checker, and type more carefully to begin with. in an informal note, or a post on a message board I am more likely to cut some corners. does spellign exist for a reason, obviously or we wouldn’t be able to understand one another’s written communication, but informally as long as the point is clear (and admittedly thats a judgement call, but no-one here struggled) its hardly worth the effort to point out. nor is it worth the effort to continue this discussion, but that’s just the type of mood i’m in this week ---
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/24 "2003-06-03T15:53:10Z")
> [@](#): > > s though they had named the university not after the city they’re in but after King Louis IX of France **Jomo Mojo** isn’t Saint Louis Univ. a Jesuit school, and therefore most likely, in fact, named for the the sain and not the city? the fact that its in St. Louis, Mo. just giving them the idea in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/25 "2003-06-03T16:31:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pfbob \* > \*\*yeah, yeah, yeah > > and my biggest pet peave is people correcting spelling mistakes on message boards \*\* You might at least try to get the spelling correct on your curse words. There aren’t that many of them, so that should be fairly easy to do. ---
**Author:** ![NotMrKnowItAll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/26 "2003-06-03T17:46:10Z")
Am I alone in thinking that “recap” sounds better than “recapitulate?” The former is much short than the later and the later contains the word “capitulate,” which can mean surrender, and thus colors the word with that idea. All MIHO. ---
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/27 "2003-06-03T18:50:10Z")
> [@](#): > > ## quote: > > Originally posted by pfbob > yeah, yeah, yeah > > ## and my biggest pet peave is people correcting spelling mistakes on message boards > > You might at least try to get the spelling correct on your curse words. > > There aren’t that many of them, so that should be fairly easy to do. actually, **st-bonham@scc.netd** , there a quite a few, and I’m thinking of many of them right now. that said, where precisely in my above post is there a mis-spelled curse word. additionally, why should their proper spelling warrant greater concern? considering they are generally “slang” to begin with, spelling is pretty open to interpretation, don’t ya think? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/28 "2003-06-03T19:15:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pfbob \* > \*\*damnit \*\* I’ve generally seen this spelled as **dammit**. And a quick check with the online versions of the American Heritage Dictionary and the Cambridge English Dictionary seemed to confirm this. Both found this, but did not find the other spelling. But I don’t think they ‘deserve’ any more spelling attention than other words. I’m just suggesting that there is a restricted subset of them, and since they are usually emotion-loaded words (which literacy studies show are more easily learned & retained than neutral words), they might be a good place to start in working on spelling. But it’s entirely up to you. Spell words whatever way makes you happy! ---
**Author:** ![Br\_er\_Lapin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Br\_er\_Lapin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Br_er_Lapin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/29 "2003-06-03T19:24:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pfbob \* > \*\*But, for example, I am often criticized because in my correspondence I like to write out Street or Seventh or Suite as opposed to their abbreviations, I just think it looks better, on the few occurances where I need to write a letter because an email isn’t formal enough I want it to look God-damned formal. How about in these occurances, am I wrong, or just stubborn? \*\* Moving slightly away from GQ, I do this, but for different reasons. I live on #### west \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ road. There is a west _and_ east \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **road** , as well as a west _and_ east \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ **avenue** , and just plain \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ avenue within a mile or two of my house. As you can probably tell, often my mail gets delivered to the wrong adress, so I write the “west” and “road” out fully in the hopes that people writing back will do the same, and do it with other people’s addresses out of habit. I write the numbers as numbers though, because otherwise the whole thing wouldn’t fit on the envelope. ---
**Author:** ![1000monkeys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/7cd45c/32.png) [@1000monkeys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1000monkeys)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/30 "2003-06-03T19:31:05Z")
from: > **[Definition of dammit | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/dammit)** > > Definition of dammit from Dictionary.com, the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more. > [@](#): > > [Alteration of damn it.] seems to me damnit makes more sense, and it makes me happy so as you suggested I will continue to use my version. now, IANA linguist, but I can’t even figure out where/why “dammit” comes from. and i happen to be a great speller, but a lazy typist, and the owner of a laptop with no word processor, thus no spell-checker. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/31 "2003-06-03T19:34:58Z")
www ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/32 "2003-06-03T20:59:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruby \* > \*\*Good point, **commasense**. This just happened to be the second post I read tonight where you were “correcting” someone so perhaps I jumped to a snarky conclusion. \*\* Well aren’t we supposed to be fighting ignorance around here? Anyway, sometimes I just can’t help being snarky. (You can call me Mr. Boojum, if you want.) I correct people for a living. As my handle suggests, I’m an editor, and misspellings and incorrect punctuation leap off the page and screen at me. Much like ex-smokers, dieters, and religious zealots, those of us obsessed (yes, I admit it) with language, spelling, and punctuation see others who do not share our passion as intellectually and _morally_ inferior. “What do a few misspellings matter, as long as you understood what I meant? When it’s important, I use spell checker.” These are the words of a sinner who has not seen the light. But brother, you can be saved! To be a truly free and moral being you must know, down deep in your heart, without recourse to a machine, that it’s “minuscule” not “miniscule;” that truly virtuous writers don’t use non-words like “ongoing” and “upcoming;” and that it’s “different from,” not [“different than”](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010316.html). And don’t forget, the computer will not correct “casual” when you meant “causal,” “manger” when you meant “manager,” or “lay” when you should have written “lie.” We logophiles strive like missionaries to save these poor souls, and what do we get in return? Disdain, hostility, and ridicule. Fortunately we know we have right and justice on our side, even as we sit in the boiling cauldron, awaiting dinner. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruby \* > \*\*Anyone that would alphabetize “The Blob” under “T” needs a lesson in proper alphabetation…heh heh. 😉 \*\* I suggest you offer some instruction to [Fandango](http://www.fandango.com/) and most other movie sites (except of course, the greatest of them all: [IMDB](http://us.imdb.com)). Oh, BTW, you meant “anyone who,” not “anyone that.” > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pfbob \* > **and i happen to be a great speller, but a lazy typist, and the owner of a laptop with no word processor, thus no spell-checker.** You mean you’re not willing to preview and revise each message five or six times to make sure it’s perfect before submitting? I suppose you’re going to tell us you actually have a life? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223/33 "2003-06-03T21:21:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pfbob \* > \*\ ***Jomo Mojo** isn’t Saint Louis Univ. a Jesuit school, and therefore most likely, in fact, named for the the sain and not the city? the fact that its in St. Louis, Mo. just giving them the idea in the first place? \*\* Precisely my point. You took the words right out of my modem. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ever-incorrect-to-i-not-i-abbreviate/179223.md?page=1)