# Spelling of "whinging" and "chocking" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698 "2003-05-27T04:04:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/1 "2003-05-27T04:04:00Z")
There is a word I would spell “whining” but now and then I see it spelled “whinging.” Is this the proper spelling in Britain or elsewhere? Same thing for choking/chocking. The first few times I saw it, I assumed it was a misspelling of “choking,” but I’ve seen it so often that I wonder. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/2 "2003-05-27T04:12:58Z")
[Whinging](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=whinge) is a synonym for whining, but is a valid word on its own, not a misspelling. [Chocking](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=chock) properly has nothing to do with choking. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/3 "2003-05-27T04:13:53Z")
“Can” being typed when “can’t” was intended is another error that seems to have become commonplace only recently. Chalk it up to rampant illiteracy spreading across the Internet like a plague…or at least evidence that proof reading is becoming a lost art. D ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/4 "2003-05-27T04:22:13Z")
Ah, but the question becomes whether “whingeing” or “whinging” is the proper way to spell it – WAG is that 30% of Brits use the “extra e” spelling (not much different from the split on, say, “judgment” vs. “judgement,” I’d guess). ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/5 "2003-05-27T04:24:54Z")
Isn’t chocking something you do to an airplane’s wheels? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/6 "2003-05-27T07:44:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\*Isn’t chocking something you do to an airplane’s wheels? \*\* I think you’ll find the correct speling to be _ **aeroplane** _ : d&r : [sub]Hi Gaudere![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/7 "2003-05-27T10:31:21Z")
You do no you spelt “spelling” wrong don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/8 "2003-05-27T10:32:42Z")
Yes, I do it all teh time. ---
**Author:** ![refusal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@refusal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/refusal)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/9 "2003-05-27T11:10:08Z")
Whinging isn’t exactly a synonym for whining, but a specific sort of whining: it refers to (generally verbal) high-pitched nagging and complaining produced by humans, and not to a high-pitched buzz or continuous tone produced by a mosquito or machine. Writing a moaning letter to a newspaper is whinging, as is a kid with a high-pitched voice saying it wants to go to the park over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Satisfying\_Andy\_Licious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satisfying_Andy_Licious)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/10 "2003-05-28T04:34:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tengu \* > \*\*[Whinging](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=whinge) is a synonym for whining, but is a valid word on its own, not a misspelling. > > [Chocking](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=chock) properly has nothing to do with choking. \*\* Thanks to all who replied. So is “whinge” pronounced like “hinge”? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/11 "2003-05-28T08:23:57Z")
Yes ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-of-whinging-and-chocking/177698/12 "2003-05-28T10:54:06Z")
I use the “whingeing” spelling. To me, the word has a connotation of unjustified complaint; someone who prefers to complain than work to resolve their situation or accept that it can’t be changed. For instance: someone who moans for hours about having a headache but won’t take an aspirin. Or someone who misses a bus, and instead of just saying “Damn” and waiting for the next one, complains about the bus service to everyone who subsequently arrives at the stop.