# "Thru" is not a word **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 12, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734 "2013-11-12T17:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/21 "2013-11-12T18:31:48Z")
What about the road signs that say “Not a thru street”? ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/22 "2013-11-12T18:34:43Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > You’ve been on a message board where every word was spelled correctly? Now you’re just making stuff up. If message boards were a lawn, there’d be brown splotches and crab grass everywhere, and gophers coming up out of their holes to moon the gardener. Luv it! ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/23 "2013-11-12T18:35:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It’s been a word longer then you’ve been a person. First used **1839**. I’m not so sure. This is a person who insists on \*spelt \*being the past participle of _spell_. My guess for a birthdate is right in that range. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/24 "2013-11-12T18:37:24Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I’m not so sure. This is a person who insists on \*spelt \*being the past participle of _spell_. My guess for a birthdate is right in that range. Common usage in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/25 "2013-11-12T18:38:05Z")
> [@edwards\_beard](#): > > What about the road signs that say “Not a thru street”? They’re OK. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/26 "2013-11-12T18:39:26Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I’ll try to quit using it soon. Is tonite early enough? Yes, that’ll be alrite. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/27 "2013-11-12T18:40:28Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Common usage in the UK. Oh. Well, I just thru it out there. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/28 "2013-11-12T18:42:39Z")
The question is, who decides what is or isn’t a word, and what its meaning is? I’m a big one for popular consensus on such things. At any rate, I haven’t figured out what a reasonable alternative is, other than letting the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary make the call. Popular consensus may give us abominable alternate spellings such as ‘barbeque,’ but it’s a price I’m willing to pay. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/29 "2013-11-12T18:50:56Z")
You’re rgument seams too bee that cause somewon “mispelt” one word in anotherwise flawless sentence - there is a problem and it shows up as a shiny turd on perfect lawn. Isn’t this like complaining that a museum has 4,999 beautiful pieces of art, and one piece of crap? Some would argue that means the one piece of crap isn’t crap - and that the observer needs to change their opinion. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/30 "2013-11-12T19:15:30Z")
Thru-out my adult life, I have always thot that all the words that start with _t_ and contain _ough_ ought to be spelled otherwise, tho I am aware that it would be tuff to get people to change. I can fill the troff of progress but I cannot make anyone feed at it. I had a terrible time as a kid learning all the _t_ough\*\* words, and even today I can be tripped up if I’m not reading carefully. The _ough_ sequence is fairly useless in general, but I don’t feel the need to get rid of _ought_ or _enough_ because there is no possibility of confusing those words with anything else. For whatever reason, I don’t have any trouble distinguishing _bought_ and _brought_ and _borough_ and _bough_. I might confuse _chough_ for _cough_ but the former comes up so rarely that I wouldn’t bother to change either. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/31 "2013-11-12T19:18:28Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Yes, that’ll be alrite. > > Regards, > Shodan Alot of these jokes are really bad. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/32 "2013-11-12T19:29:43Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > I had a terrible time as a kid learning all the _t_ough\*\* words, and even today I can be tripped up if I’m not reading carefully. I remember when I first bumped into the word “colonel”. Then wondered how an “el” could change it so dramatically from “colon”. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/33 "2013-11-12T19:35:37Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I’m not so sure. This is a person who insists on \*spelt \*being the past participle of _spell_. My guess for a birthdate is right in that range. > [@Leaffan](#): > > Common usage in the UK. Not just common, but standard. > [@edwards\_beard](#): > > What about the road signs that say “Not a thru street”? No problem with that. It makes sense. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I explained in post #13, and it’s **NOT** a misspelling. It’s a \*alternate \*spelling, and a good one as it has a purpose. It’s been a word for almost 200 years, what more do you want? > > So when I write “He went thru the house…” I am not misspelling “through”. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > The question is, who decides what is or isn’t a word, and what its meaning is? I’m a big one for popular consensus on such things. > > At any rate, I haven’t figured out what a reasonable alternative is, other than letting the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary make the call. Popular consensus may give us abominable alternate spellings such as ‘barbeque,’ but it’s a price I’m willing to pay. Yes, when it comes to English, what is and isn’t a correct word or spelling is difficult to say. I’ll admit claiming it’s “not a word” is a bit of an exaggeration in that the very fact that someone has used it makes it a word in some sense. But there obviously has to be some point where, although something has been used, it is still not a “correct” spelling to use. “Thru” might have been used for 200 years but that doesn’t mean it has been correct to use it for 200 years. Again, what _is_ correct when it comes to the English language? We can probably all agree “tomato’s” is incorrect, despite the fact that many people use it. I think the best test I can come up with when deciding on what makes a good spelling is whether or not you would use it in an essay, but it’s by no means a perfect way to measure it. If I were judging an essay and saw the “thru” spelling used, it would affect my opinion of the essay negatively, and I would expect the same if someone else were judging my own essay. **DrDeth** , I read your explanation for your usage of “through” and “thru”, but it seems to me that it’s the same word being used with the same literal meaning, the difference being that when you write “through”, the word is being used metaphorically. > [@DataX](#): > > You’re rgument seams too bee that cause somewon “mispelt” one word in anotherwise flawless sentence - there is a problem and it shows up as a shiny turd on perfect lawn. > > Isn’t this like complaining that a museum has 4,999 beautiful pieces of art, and one piece of crap? Some would argue that means the one piece of crap isn’t crap - and that the observer needs to change their opinion. No, I don’t think so. In some sense English is like art and subjective judgement is all we have, but for practical reasons we do need rules and standards, even if they’re unofficial. So, to me it’s more like a museum that has 4,999 beautiful pieces of art and one piece that the vast majority of critics agree is actually a failed barbecue pit, despite their acknowledgement that some might argue that the very fact that one person calls it art makes it so. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/34 "2013-11-12T19:59:46Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Agreed. Also rite and valu. I’m pretty sure that “rite” is a perfectly good and non-controversial word. (Yes, I know what you mean. Just saying.) ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/35 "2013-11-12T20:11:57Z")
Bozuit - your points are well taken - and as far as your essay test goes - I have no problem with it - in general - and probably wouldn’t use it for an essay. Plenty of people don’t write essays and that test seems a elitist. Language changes and it shouldn’t be left up to the people in elite positions of academia to decide when that is. I write different when writing stuff for science usage (I wouldn’t use “stuff” for example). Same with court documents, text messages, email - it depends on the audience. I don’t think thru is in the same league as (and I don’t think you are claiming it is) people who write “to” for “too” and then claim - well you understood it. To me - it is very common - and it doesn’t mess up the meaning - and as some have argued - almost has its own connotation which in some cases makes it worth using instead of through. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/36 "2013-11-12T20:27:56Z")
Doughnut or Donut? Hiccough or Hiccup? Through or Thru? I’m down with all three latter versions, yo! ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/37 "2013-11-12T21:07:28Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Doughnut or Donut? Hiccough or Hiccup? Through or Thru? > > I’m down with all three latter versions, yo! Yepper. I’m not prepared to accept _thru_ to mean _finished_, but to go thru a door is usage evolving in the right direction. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/38 "2013-11-12T21:13:03Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The question is, who decides what is or isn’t a word, and what its meaning is? I’m a big one for popular consensus on such things. > > At any rate, I haven’t figured out what a reasonable alternative is, other than letting the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary make the call. Popular consensus may give us abominable alternate spellings such as ‘barbeque,’ but it’s a price I’m willing to pay. I like usage, but it should be leavened with understandability and usefulness. “Thru” meets all three tests. It is commonly used. It is easily understandable. It is useful as in differentiating “being finished’ and ‘going thru”. It also has less letters, important for signs. Easier to spell. Just apply these three tests and you’re golden. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/39 "2013-11-12T21:14:38Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Yepper. I’m not prepared to accept _thru_ to mean _finished_, but to go thru a door is usage evolving in the right direction. Right.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734/40 "2013-11-12T21:25:40Z")
Blame it on the Chicago _Tribune_. Starting in 1934, they were a proponent of simplified spelling. Some of their offerings stuck and are with us today: analog, canceled and catalog. Others like jaz, frate (freight) and etiquet didn’t exactly win fans with the public. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thru-is-not-a-word/673734.md?page=3)