# People who cannot spell **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 24, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731 "2005-02-24T17:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![7\_up\_yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/919ad9/32.png) [@7\_up\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7_up_yours)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/1 "2005-02-24T17:18:33Z")
I’m not talking about the people who make occasional typos, but rather the ones who never learned how to spell simple words properly. Maybe our public education system failed them. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the SDMB. Maybe it’s too much to ask that when you don’t know how to spell something, you look it up. Maybe it’s just a personal issue that I get so irritated with people who manage to spell “seizure” as “seasure”. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/2 "2005-02-24T17:21:40Z")
Definately! (My personal favorite.) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/3 "2005-02-24T17:44:29Z")
There’s one common misspelling that has cropped up a lot in the recent passed. It’s amazing that the people who make the mistake could have ever past English. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/4 "2005-02-24T17:53:16Z")
Independantly. You know, inside of a dangling necklace. How many variations of “restaurant” are there? You’d be amazed! Seperate. No, sorry, try again. I know there are a lot of e’s and a’s, but there is only one combination that’s right. (Hint - two e’s, two a’s.) Alot. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY, “A LOT” IS TWO SEPARATE WORDS!!!A lot. A whole bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/5 "2005-02-24T17:56:06Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Alot. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY, “A LOT” IS TWO SEPARATE WORDS!!!A lot. A whole bunch. I consider myself an excellent speller, yet I always write “alot”. I KNOW it’s wrong, and yet I do it anyway. I don’t know why. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/6 "2005-02-24T17:57:08Z")
The one that gets me is “loose” when they mean “lose” - as in “I hope the Pirates don’t loose tomorrow’s game.” I think that spellchecks are the problem - people assume that if the spellcheck doesn’t flag it, then it must be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/7 "2005-02-24T18:02:24Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Alot. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY, “A LOT” IS TWO SEPARATE WORDS!!!A lot. A whole bunch. That’s “a wholebuncha”. Same etymology as “a wholenother”. You know, youanI ate a wholebuncha hotdogs with alotta ketchup, and then I had a wholenother one. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/8 "2005-02-24T18:12:19Z")
I play a lot of the fantasy MMORPGs. It’s amazing how popular the “Rouge” class is. I guess it’s the healthful red glow that makes them so attractive. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/9 "2005-02-24T18:16:30Z")
> [@trublmakr](#): > > I consider myself an excellent speller, yet I always write “alot”. I KNOW it’s wrong, and yet I do it anyway. I don’t know why. Sorry. Bah, you can’t even spell your name right. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Big-Ole-Steve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Big-Ole-Steve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big-Ole-Steve)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/10 "2005-02-24T18:26:50Z")
I am a shitty speller. I often do not know how to spell the word I’m typing, and whatever I come up with is almost 99% totally wrong. However, I’m also able to see spelling mistakes rather quickly. So I’m constantly looking at my posts (or emails, or chat windows) and getting pissed off at how ignorant I end up looking. Bahh, too dumb to spell right, smart enough to know how dumb I look. Steve ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/11 "2005-02-24T18:32:24Z")
> [@Lightnin'](#): > > I play a lot of the fantasy MMORPGs. > > It’s amazing how popular the “Rouge” class is. I guess it’s the healthful red glow that makes them so attractive. Hehe. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/12 "2005-02-24T18:41:09Z")
> [@Lightnin'](#): > > I play a lot of the fantasy MMORPGs. > > It’s amazing how popular the “Rouge” class is. I guess it’s the healthful red glow that makes them so attractive. Don’t like it? Stick your tounge out a those people. ---
**Author:** ![Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@Phedre\_no\_Delaunay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phedre_no_Delaunay)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/13 "2005-02-24T18:50:53Z")
The one I hate is tounge. The word is tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/14 "2005-02-24T18:52:29Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Don’t like it? Stick your tounge out a those people. It probably won’t phase them a bit. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/15 "2005-02-24T18:53:13Z")
What bugs me is misspelling something that you should be familiar with, like an auto mechanic spelling motor as moter. I wish I had a nickel every time someone typed “Steven King is my favorite writer.” Do some people remember words phonetically or what? ---
**Author:** ![Hoodoo\_Ulove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58956e/32.png) [@Hoodoo\_Ulove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoodoo_Ulove)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/16 "2005-02-24T18:54:40Z")
Alot of the bad spellers are athiests who don’t believe in a diety. ---
**Author:** ![7\_up\_yours](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/7/919ad9/32.png) [@7\_up\_yours](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/7_up_yours)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/17 "2005-02-24T18:57:58Z")
> [@Big-Ole-Steve](#): > > I am a shitty speller. I often do not know how to spell the word I’m typing, and whatever I come up with is almost 99% totally wrong. > > However, I’m also able to see spelling mistakes rather quickly. So I’m constantly looking at my posts (or emails, or chat windows) and getting pissed off at how ignorant I end up looking. > > Bahh, too dumb to spell right, smart enough to know how dumb I look. > > Steve Lazy too? Look, I know not everyone is a walking dictionary, and many people don’t know complicated words, especially ones they never learned. Still, that’s why websites like [dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com) exists! I was a nerd, and I checked; it took me all of 21 seconds to open a window, type up the web address, close a pop up window, type the word “seasure” into the search box, and discover that’s not actually a word, and I was really looking for “seizure”. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/18 "2005-02-24T19:03:48Z")
Separate is one I can never get right. (the hint above will help, I think). I mean, its rediculous. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/19 "2005-02-24T19:09:09Z")
I’m a poor speller as well. I usually add a disclaimer if I’m not sure if I spelled a word correctly. As for “[dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com)”, if I don’t know how to spell a word, how the hell can I enter it correctly? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![NotMrKnowItAll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/20 "2005-02-24T19:11:53Z")
I hate threads like this. I just spent five minutes recovering my ability to spell “rogue.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731.md?page=2)