# "Ridiculous", not "rEdiculous"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-not-rediculous/326443>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 16, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-not-rediculous/326443 "2005-10-16T05:23:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-not-rediculous/326443/1 "2005-10-16T05:23:43Z")

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It’s not a big deal at all, but I see very intelligent and educated people making this [mistake](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rediculous&r=f) all the time. The frequency even seems to be increasing lately, possibly suggesting that the misspelling is gaining ground due to common usage.

Are people doing really doing this intentionally, as claimed in the second definition of the above link?

I’m not _that pedant guy_, I promise. I’ve never started a thread like this before, I probably never will again, and I apologize in advance for doing so now.

It’s just a very slight pet peeve, nothing more, and this is meant as a public service announcement. 😛

Fighting ignorance and all that,  
Your friend,  
Eleusis  
_(cue **Gaudere’s Law** in 3…2…1…)_

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**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-not-rediculous/326443/2 "2005-10-16T05:28:10Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> doing really doing

:smack:

Foiled again!

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**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-not-rediculous/326443/3 "2005-10-16T05:50:34Z")

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If people would only think of the word “ridicule” and how they pronounce it, that should make it obvious that the second letter can’t be an ‘e’. This doesn’t seem to be happening, though.

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**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ridiculous-not-rediculous/326443/4 "2005-10-16T06:48:42Z")

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Definately.