# Spelling tricks your teachers taught you **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278 "2011-04-21T20:11:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/21 "2011-04-22T02:53:15Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > A desert is barren and empty - not enough s’s > > A dessert makes you full - full of s’s I learned that desert just has one s and you’d only want to go there once and that dessert has two s’s because dessert is good and you want two of them. ---
**Author:** ![Jilaad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jilaad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jilaad)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/22 "2011-04-22T03:09:21Z")
Connecticut = “Connect” “I” “Cut” Together = “To” “Get” “Her” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/23 "2011-04-22T03:19:39Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > Sep-a-rate it out for separate; I’m weird not wired Separate – Caught like a rat in a trap (from the Alice and Jerry books). My favorite was not in school, but from an old AP style book: burro – an ass burrow – a hole in the ground As a reporter, you’re supposed to know the difference. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/24 "2011-04-22T03:33:32Z")
tomorrow = tom or row beautiful = be a utiful (whatever, it works for me) ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/25 "2011-04-22T04:29:42Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > I don’t have anything to contribute, but I really could use one for ‘necessary.’ how about, re_cess_ is ne_cess_ary for hungry pupils. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/26 "2011-04-22T04:38:56Z")
A rat in the house might eat the ice cream. arithmetic ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/27 "2011-04-22T04:39:32Z")
> [@Damfino](#): > > “i” before “e” except after “c” ? I am 31 years old and I admit I still use this sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/28 "2011-04-22T04:52:15Z")
Needscoffee, the phosphorus one is because the kids always want to spell it “phosphorous”- they don’t seem to have any problems with the ph parts, but they always try to spell it -ous. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/29 "2011-04-22T05:09:07Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](#): > > …except for eight exceptions. Weird height, foreign leisure, neither seize nor forfeit, either. Cool. I never heard of the eight exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/30 "2011-04-22T05:30:39Z")
My Very Engenious Mother Just Served Us Nine Pumpkins. That one got blown out of the water a couple of years ago. I cried. (planets) ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/31 "2011-04-22T05:36:36Z")
what’s ‘Engenious’? anyway, you could have her serve nuggets instead. Naughty Elephants Splash Water (compass points) ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/32 "2011-04-22T06:18:01Z")
Cat and beer helped spelling. I’ll remember the Naughty Elephants one for my nephew. Very cool. Will also change that to Nuggets for nephew, thank you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/33 "2011-04-22T06:45:37Z")
> [@](#): > > My Very Engenious Mother Just Served Us Nine Pumpkins. > > That one got blown out of the water a couple of years ago. I cried. > > (planets) > [@](#): > > what’s ‘Engenious’? > [@flatlined](#): > > Cat and beer helped spelling. I’ll remember the Naughty Elephants one for my nephew. Very cool. > > Will also change that to Nuggets for nephew, thank you 🙂 How will fixing the spelling help? Mercury, Venus, Irth? I’m confused. ---
**Author:** ![Molotok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Molotok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molotok)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/34 "2011-04-22T09:30:58Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > My Very Engenious Mother Just Served Us Nine Pumpkins. > > That one got blown out of the water a couple of years ago. I cried. > > (planets) I learnt this as “My Very Easy Memory Jingle Seems Useful Naming Planets”. Maybe you could tweak it to "My very easy memory jingle seems useful, Nigel (or whatever name starting with ‘N’). And awkward sentence, but it sticks in the brain surprisingly well. ---
**Author:** ![wickky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@wickky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wickky)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/35 "2011-04-22T11:53:27Z")
You might scream EEEK when you walk through a c **E** m **E** t **E** ry A Red Indian Thought He Might Eat Turnips In Church - Arithmetic ---
**Author:** ![Sven\_Lauren\_Erikson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Sven\_Lauren\_Erikson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sven_Lauren_Erikson)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/36 "2011-04-22T12:33:10Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > I don’t have anything to contribute, but I really could use one for ‘necessary.’ I just signed in for the first time in god knows how long to tell you I like… One **c** offee with two **s** ugars. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/37 "2011-04-22T13:03:17Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > My Very Engenious Mother Just Served Us Nine Pumpkins. My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizza-pies. I learned that at a planetarium when I was little. I still remember the tune. I suppose I could change it to My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizza-pies, Eggplant Chorizo. Kuiper. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/38 "2011-04-22T13:15:36Z")
hmm, how about - My Very Excitable Mother Just Screamed ‘Ugh! No!’. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/39 "2011-04-22T15:03:46Z")
> [@Jilaad](#): > > Connecticut = “Connect” “I” “Cut” Em-eye-crooked letter, crooked letter-eye-crooked letter, crooked letter-eye-hunchback, hunchback-eye! Much more fun to chant than to actually help remembering how to spell it. (And the related riddle/joke; Mississippi is a hard word to spell: spell it.) ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278/40 "2011-04-22T15:14:07Z")
Wait, isn’t Phosphorous pertaining to Phosphorus? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spelling-tricks-your-teachers-taught-you/579278.md?page=3)