# People Can't Spell! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 26, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255 "2008-06-26T00:35:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/21 "2008-06-26T12:41:44Z")
[QUOTE=phil417] "ALVACODOS (sic) $.98 ea. (I joked to a friend that they must be from NJ, from the Edison farms.) [/QUOTE] And next to it in the grocery store is “Aspargus.” I’ve seen that one more times than I care to remember. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/22 "2008-06-26T14:03:22Z")
And next to those, in the Asian grocery store in Wheaton, Maryland, the delightful handwritten sign, “Remon Gress.” Whoever does the captioning for the local NBC news station either can’t spell or doesn’t proofread. There’s at least one howler on their broadcast practically every day. I’ve given up getting annoyed by it; that horse has been dead for far too long. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/23 "2008-06-26T14:55:39Z")
A sign made by a signwriter in a pub near to me reads: “The best beers your likely to find for miles” ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/24 "2008-06-26T15:02:14Z")
[QUOTE=Sunrazor] In fact, those studies are a major piece of the background to my master’s thesis, which I’m starting to work on this summer. [/QUOTE] Wow, **Sunrazor** , can I read your thesis when you’re done? Excellent cool. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/25 "2008-06-26T15:23:27Z")
Oh what the hell. “If you have any questions, see John or I.” \> twitch \< ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/26 "2008-06-26T15:32:36Z")
I can see all the letters written to the UK Department for Transport. The number of times I see “driving _license_” instead of _licence_ - sometimes written by Members of Parliament. I bet not one of them is an American. It’s a disgrace. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/27 "2008-06-26T15:50:03Z")
> [@](#): > > I can see all the letters written to the UK Department for Transport. The number of times I see “driving license” instead of licence - sometimes written by Members of Parliament. I bet not one of them is an American. It’s a disgrace. I’m amused that the first James Bond novel that John Gardner wrote was **License Renewed** , but that his novelization of the second Dalton Bond film was **Licence to Kill** (following the film title spelling) [http://www.klast.net/bond/nov\_gard.html](http://www.klast.net/bond/nov_gard.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/28 "2008-06-26T16:45:30Z")
I think I’ve posted this before, but apparently St. Louis County got a good deal on road signage. There are _several_ stop signs in the area that have an additional sign underneath which helpfully informs “on coming traffic does not stop”. Now, I know that while it _seems_ as though the world stops when you have an orgasm, it really does not. I’m just curious why they thought it necessary to point this out to me, when I should be worried about _oncoming_ traffic. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/29 "2008-06-26T16:45:51Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I’m amused that the first James Bond novel that John Gardner wrote was **License Renewed** , but that his novelization of the second Dalton Bond film was **Licence to Kill** (following the film title spelling) [http://www.klast.net/bond/nov\_gard.html](http://www.klast.net/bond/nov_gard.html) [/QUOTE] While the site you linked to says “license”, the cover image pretty clearly says “licence”… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/30 "2008-06-26T17:01:11Z")
> [@](#): > > While the site you linked to says “license”, the cover image pretty clearly says “licence”… Might be a British edition or something. I know that my copies at home have the different spellings ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/31 "2008-06-26T17:14:29Z")
I think it must be down to people not reading as much as they used to. If you read a lot, correctly spelt\* words just look right, and mistakes just look wrong. Misspelt words just leap off the page (or screen) at me, and it amazes me how people fail to spot them. Edit: I suppose another reason might be the decline in teaching of Latin and Greek, from which so many English words are derived. - Don’t even think about it, Yankees! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/32 "2008-06-26T17:17:06Z")
I’m horrified to admit that I did one of these once. We had a beautiful display printed up for my school (the school I ran, as well as attended) so I could attend expos and conferences and college days to hand out pamphlets and tell people about our school. This thing really was gorgeous, and I swear it was proofread by at least half a dozen people. Nonetheless, I was forced to stand in front of a sign advertising schooling for COMPLIMENTARY MEDICINE for weeks until we could get a new, very expensive, corrected sign. I ended up laughing about it with people, even using it as an attraction. “Hey, how are you? You look great today, I love that sweater! Feel better?” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/33 "2008-06-26T17:29:17Z")
Did you have to treat people for free? ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/34 "2008-06-26T17:46:06Z")
Back in the 90’s when there was more crack in town, there was a gas station that sold cheap plastic roses in galss tubes that could be used for pipes. Next to one box of them was a handwritten sign proclaiming: Rose Bokays $1.00 ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/35 "2008-06-26T18:00:08Z")
The cafeteria where I used to work occasionally served “Cream of Brocioli” soup. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/36 "2008-06-26T18:03:57Z")
You mean you have to look beyond this message board to find horrible misspellings? I’m going to spare the writers by not providing links, but in only the past couple of days I’ve seen “Leonardo Davinchi”, “habbits”, and the ever popular apostrophic plural, in this case “American’s”. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/37 "2008-06-26T18:07:27Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] One of my most annoying mannerisms is to point out every typo or spelling error I see on TV. During the local news, it gets ridiculous. (I have to commend my husband for not holding a pillow over my face). But didn’t somebody type that out knowing it was going to be shown on TV? If a person like me can find the error with a glance, couldn’t they just have somebody _glance_ at it before they put it on screen? [/QUOTE] Are you me? [QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] “If you have any questions, see John or I.” \> twitch \< [/QUOTE] I got an email today from a coworker which started: _Myself and \_\_\_\_\_ and \_\_\_\_\_\_ were discussing…_ ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/38 "2008-06-26T18:09:20Z")
What bugs me is some people’s inability to differentiate between verbs and nouns So you get “advise” when the writer means “advice”. Other people can’t tell the difference between “loose” and “lose”. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/39 "2008-06-26T18:13:58Z")
[QUOTE=Rayne Man] What bugs me is some people’s inability to differentiate between verbs and either nouns or adjectives. So you get “advise” when the writer means “advice”, and “loose” when they mean “lose”. [/QUOTE] Yes! I am so, so sick of people who want to _loose weight_. I have plans to have brunch with my family this weekend but, when I went to the restaurants website, they had a section marked **menu’s**. Now I don’t think I can go there. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255/40 "2008-06-26T18:16:00Z")
My husband and I own an apartment building in a small (and boy do I mean small) WV town. Last week, we got a reminder for the water bill for the building. It said: “Service will be terminated if your account is **fourty-five** days past due” This was a _printed_ reminder, from City freakin’ Hall! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-cant-spell/454255.md?page=3)