# "Thru" as an alternate spelling of through. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736 "2013-08-20T18:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/21 "2013-08-20T23:25:19Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > I’m not usually a fan of this sort of bastardization of a word, but I support this one. > > The ‘ough’ ending is such a pain to parse and this adds clairty. I find myself using it more and more, but for some reason I usually limit it to ‘directions’ (i.e. go thru the forest) rather than other uses (i.e. "I’m through with licorice!). I have no rational reason for this. I feel like thru has a special meaning in that it only works in what I’d call “definite” situations – where both the start and end points are listed. 12AM thru 3AM From the port thru the warehouse district Monday thru Friday I would never say going thru the woods, always through, because it’s “indefinite” (for lack of a better term), it doesn’t have a start and end point, just a vague region. I, too, have no real rational basis for this. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/22 "2013-08-20T23:43:47Z")
It won’t be quite so big an issue going forward, but think of all the trees that could have been saved if many of the words in our language didn’t have all those extraneous letters. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/23 "2013-08-21T00:12:00Z")
I first saw it as a child in the early 70’s (when I first learned to read) on certain traffic signs in Maryland where space was limited. “Thru” above “Lane” like: THRU LANE Was the usual culprit, trying to maximize the letters on the sign. Most often seen at tunnels and bridges with variable lane control. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/24 "2013-08-21T02:51:46Z")
Have you seen “thou” used as a short-form of “though”? Now THAT really throws me off. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/25 "2013-08-21T03:15:46Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > The ‘ough’ ending is such a pain to parse and this adds clairty. With what other word are you confusing “through”? I can accept that “busyness” started being used to avoid confusion with “business”, but there is only one “through”. “Donut” and “hiccup” also suck. But I will use any of these in Scrabble if I need to. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/26 "2013-08-21T03:17:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “Thru” is better in so many ways that it’s just superior. And it is now mostly listed simply as a 'varient" which makes it mostly legit. In what ways is it superior?! ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/27 "2013-08-21T03:26:45Z")
Quicker and easier to type? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/28 "2013-08-21T03:42:44Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > Quicker and easier to type? 😕 And easier to spell. How is it not superior? Let’s get rid of most the stupid “ough” endings. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/29 "2013-08-21T04:03:48Z")
> [@ryanl](#): > > I agri. Wy do we haf to constrain English to stagnation wen der are so many ways to improve the language with superior spellings? > > In all seriousness, spelling is a marker of literacy. When I see a writer using a non-orthodox spelling in non-informal writing, I (fair or not) assume certain things about their level of education/socioeconomic background. My late grandmother was a school teacher. Yet, her (handwritten) letters to my mom contained words like “thru”, “thot”, and “tho”. I don’t know if she simply had some objection to “ough”, or if she was simply using shorthand for informal writing. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/30 "2013-08-21T04:14:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And easier to spell. How is it not superior? Let’s get rid of most the stupid “ough” endings. What? :eek: And miss out on [the ending that has _ **ten** _ distinct pronunciations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ough_(orthography)#Full_list_of_pronunciations) ? :mad: ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/31 "2013-08-21T06:23:28Z")
> [@ryanl](#): > > I agri. Wy do we haf to constrain English to stagnation wen der are so many ways to improve the language with superior spellings? > > In all seriousness, spelling is a marker of literacy. When I see a writer using a non-orthodox spelling in non-informal writing, I (fair or not) assume certain things about their level of education/socioeconomic background. Part of the problem is that change wont be universal. A spelling revision that makes perfect sense to you may not make any sense at all to someone else who has a different dialect, even within the same country. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/32 "2013-08-21T07:05:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Let’s get rid of most the stupid “ough” endings. Which raises another question: just how did American English succeed in changing “plough” and “bough” to plow and bow? And if we managed to do it once, why won’t it happen again with “through”? (disclaimer : I hate “thru” . But I don’t mind “nite” for night. I don’t know why) (Eureka moment : After typing the above post, I just figured out why! “Thru” ends in a U–so it looks like a mistake, the way a child might write. Very few words in English end in a U, so “thru” just looks awkward and ugly.) (additional Eureka moment: the only word that I can think of which ends in a U is “impromptu”. But that looks okay, neither awkward nor ugly…because it’s a little rare and you don’t use it every day. It’s like a classic wine with a fancy name. ) ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/33 "2013-08-21T10:23:08Z")
Plough and bough never struck me as being non-American variants. Granted bough is an uncommon word at best and I’m not sure how often I’ve seen it at all. I’m definitely familiar with plow, but plough seems equally “good” to me – it’s not like color/colour which instantly gives someone away as being non-American (or someone who reads too many British books). Though I’m going to summon the irrational arbitrary distinction fairy again and say that I’d use “plough” as a verb, but “plow” as a noun (except when talking about sex, where the verb is plow). Edit: Huh… dictionaries all say plough is British. It may just be that the only place I’ve ever really encountered plough is in older works from Britain or something like that. I don’t exactly read about agriculture a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/34 "2013-08-21T10:46:01Z")
Most of these seem like suspensions or contractions for the sake of simple convenience. You can similarly use w/o for without and b/c and they aren’t what I’d call alternate spellings. As long as you know your audience (or don’t care about being judged based on your apparent literacy), most of these nonstandard forms are okay. I don’t like it in the OP’s example, tho. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2013, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/35 "2013-08-21T12:08:17Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Plough and bough never struck me as being non-American variants. Granted bough is an uncommon word at best and I’m not sure how often I’ve seen it at all. I’m definitely familiar with plow, but plough seems equally “good” to me – it’s not like color/colour which instantly gives someone away as being non-American (or someone who reads too many British books). > > Though I’m going to summon the irrational arbitrary distinction fairy again and say that I’d use “plough” as a verb, but “plow” as a noun (except when talking about sex, where the verb is plow). > > Edit: Huh… dictionaries all say plough is British. It may just be that the only place I’ve ever really encountered plough is in older works from Britain or something like that. I don’t exactly read about agriculture a lot. Plough is still current in Britain (verb and noun) - and it’s definitely the case that ‘plow’ stands out as American English from our point of view. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/36 "2013-08-21T12:11:30Z")
“Thru” is not standard. Standardizing usage serves to slow down the pace of language evolution; this in turn maximizes clarity of communication. The degree to which non-standard usage is acceptable depends on the context. Where non-standard usage is deployed inappropriately, the user risks being perceived as uneducated. George Bush and I are the deciders for when a given context allows for a departure from standard usage. Due to the incompetence of the vast majority of the polloi, we are usually too busy to respond to individual blunders. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/37 "2013-08-21T13:35:21Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > Quicker and easier to type? 😕 I guess I was flummoxed more by “better in so many ways” and was hoping for a long list. “U” is quicker and easier to type than “you” but doesn’t make it superior. Does anyone else have a synethesia thing going on where “thru” is this glaring goldenrod color because it’s so fake and manufactured and icky? “Through” is a a nice placid reliable color. Nope, just me? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/38 "2013-08-21T13:43:08Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Which raises another question: just how did American English succeed in changing “plough” and “bough” to plow and bow? It didn’t. Not as to the former anyway. A tree branch is a bough in AE as elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/39 "2013-08-21T13:46:58Z")
I’d only be comfortable with “thru” on roadsigns. Otherwise it looks like the writer is an idiot or a teenager, or both. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-as-an-alternate-spelling-of-through/666736/40 "2013-08-21T13:55:28Z")
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