# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/41 "2005-02-24T21:55:57Z")
> [@Fat Bald Guy](#): > > **AuntiePam** , I have stared at this sentence for several minutes and I can’t see anything wrong with it (unless you are a Brit and don’t like the Americanized spelling of favourite). > > My pet peeve is people who can’t be bothered to learn the difference between sound-alike words, such as two/to/too, their/there/theyre, whether/weather, etc. His first name is Stephen, not Steven. Now, what drove me batty was someone I knew who pronounced it like “Stephanie,” with the “f” sound. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/42 "2005-02-24T22:00:41Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It’s supposed to be **Stephen** King. OK… I think I would be a little more tolerant of this kind of error because [ol] [li]Steven is a much more common spelling than Stephen (at least in recent years).[/li][li]I don’t consider names to be in the same category as basic vocabulary words which everyone should know.[/li][li]Hi, Opal ![/li][/ol] ---
**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, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/43 "2005-02-24T22:02:16Z")
Yes, but if you’re a big fan of King’s, I think you should at least be able to spell his first name. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/44 "2005-02-24T22:15:01Z")
I really hate people who spell it “licence” or “colour.” They think there so smart, just because their from England or Austria or something. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/45 "2005-02-24T22:15:28Z")
If no one beats me to it, consider WIERD, which I see every day. Usually here. Say it the way it’s spelled: wy - ered. Would that be positive or negative? 120 or 240? What’s the opening sound of the proper word? WE. How do you spell that? “w - e.” W-e-i-r-d. Please pass it on! ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/46 "2005-02-24T22:18:42Z")
Even though I’m a bit of a spelling Nazi in my own mind, I am trying to squelch it, because none of us (well, almost none of us) are exempt from making spelling mistakes. I do have my private “cringing” moments, though. (And by the way, Mac OS X’s [Sherlock](http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/sherlock) has a built-in dictionary, which I use frequently.) I’d just like to ask this: Have any of the rest of you noticed that more and more people are “blending” words together (not unlike “alot” instead of “a lot”)? I’m seeing more and more of this. I’m trying to think of some examples, but I can’t right now. Usually the two words are commonly used together anyway. I’m not the only one noticing this, am I? ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/47 "2005-02-24T22:26:50Z")
> [@Roland Orzabal](#): > > Same etymology as “a wholenother”. It’s \*three \* words: **a whole nother** (and it’s sacreligious to suggest otherwise). ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/48 "2005-02-24T22:28:17Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I really hate people who spell it “licence” or “colour.” They think there so smart, just because their from England or Austria or something. Look at my colourful aluminium flavoured licence. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/49 "2005-02-24T22:29:20Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I really hate people who spell it “licence” or “colour.” They think there so smart, just because their from England or Austria or something. Austria? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/50 "2005-02-24T22:40:12Z")
My husband is a terrible speller. He spells “when” with an “e” on the end. One day a lady named “Camille” came in to his office to see one of his cow-orkers. My husband left his cow-orker a note that said “Camel” was coming in. Yes, that’s right. He cannot search on the Internet if I am not around to spell what he wants to search for for him. But I love him anyway! ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/51 "2005-02-24T22:42:29Z")
I just finished reading a paper from a student who spelled the word “bibliography” “bibibb.” _Bibibb?_ He’s in college, by the way :rolleyes: :smack: > [@](#): > > I’d just like to ask this: Have any of the rest of you noticed that more and more people are “blending” words together (not unlike “alot” instead of “a lot”)? I’m seeing more and more of this. I’m trying to think of some examples, but I can’t right now. Usually the two words are commonly used together anyway. I’m not the only one noticing this, am I? Like “alright” and “incase”? Gah, I hate that. My other pet peeve is the missing final d: “My teacher is so prejudice.” “That story was cliche.” Arrghh, arrghh, AAARRRGHHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/52 "2005-02-24T22:45:55Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > His first name is Stephen, not Steven. Now, what drove me batty was someone I knew who pronounced it like “Stephanie,” with the “f” sound. Hey, why didn’t you respond to mine? It was the most cleaver. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/53 "2005-02-24T22:50:51Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Austria? :dubious: Yeah. You know, that big, funny-looking country down there where the blokes talk funny and put 'roos on the barbie. Austria. 😛 ---
**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, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/54 "2005-02-24T23:09:26Z")
Language errors have no affect on me, I mean like, they don’t effect me, you know what I’m sayin’? ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/55 "2005-02-24T23:11:19Z")
Occassionally sherrif personnel get me. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/56 "2005-02-24T23:37:36Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > 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.) When I was a kid and learning how to spell words that could be tricky, my parents used to teach me tricks to remember: “Would you like a PIEce of PIE?” “Who would beLIEve a LIE?” and There’s A RAT in sepARATe. Hey, it worked for me! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thewombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@thewombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thewombat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/57 "2005-02-25T00:14:38Z")
To the self-described bad spellers, do you read very often? I know while writing or typing, I recognize words as spelled right or wrong mostly because I’ve stared at them in print so often. And as for people writing (sp?) after a word they’ve spelled wrong, it drives me crazy! I know, I know, it shouldn’t; most people use it to mean “Hey, I’m not sure about the spelling on this, so apologies if it’s incorrect” but I always see it as “This is wrong but I can’t be arsed to look it up.” ---
**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 25, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/58 "2005-02-25T00:26:27Z")
That’s always my take, too, **Wombat**. Speaking of “fanglorious”, have you noticed how people are pronouncing “escalator” and “percolator”? Somewhere along the line they have become “esculator” and “perculator”. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/59 "2005-02-25T00:33:01Z")
> [@Fretful Porpentine](#): > > My other pet peeve is the missing final d: “My teacher is so prejudice.” “That story was cliche.” Arrghh, arrghh, AAARRRGHHH!!! “I was **suppose** to do the dishes” is another one I see a lot. ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731/60 "2005-02-25T00:37:24Z")
My brother, who is 54 and has a 16-yr-old son, is convinced that spellcheck, digital clocks, and velcro shoes are ruining today’s youth. They can’t spell, tell time, or tie their shoes. ``` I am really paranoid that I misspelled something in this post! ``` [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-cannot-spell/291731.md?page=4)