# What spelling "sentance" you still use as an adult ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 20, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070 "2015-11-20T12:41:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/1 "2015-11-20T12:41:36Z")
What word did you learn to spell years ago with a tricky sentence that you still use in your adult years? For me it is geography, which I just used a few minutes ago. Geography = George Eliots old grandfather rode a pig home yesterday. Must have learned that when i was 8 or 9 years old. To this day when I have to spell geography I always say that little sentence to myself. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/2 "2015-11-20T13:17:05Z")
“Sentance” = Some Enormous Nasty Tigers Are Negating Christmas Entertainments. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/3 "2015-11-20T15:10:32Z")
I do not recall learning any spelling sentences in school. I do recall one teacher helping us to spell restaurant by pronouncing it: REST-AH-U-RANT To this day, decades later, I still pronounce it that way to myself. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/4 "2015-11-21T00:40:33Z")
Geography-George eats old gray rats and paints houses yellow. Arithmetic-A rat in the house may eat the ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/5 "2015-11-21T00:45:37Z")
I didn’t have any such spelling sentences as a child. I used them as other things, such as the spectral sequence: Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/6 "2015-11-21T00:50:05Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > I do not recall learning any spelling sentences in school. > I do recall one teacher helping us to spell restaurant by pronouncing it: > > REST-AH-U-RANT > > To this day, decades later, I still pronounce it that way to myself. I still, today and all days, pronounce “government” with a strongly pronounced “n”, due to losing a spelling bee on it in 5th grade, and the teacher said “goverNNNment” to the other finalist. People look at me weirdly, but I don’t care. If I ever run into that Dutch girl again, she’ll know what it’s about. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/7 "2015-11-21T00:50:32Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > I do not recall learning any spelling sentences in school. > I do recall one teacher helping us to spell restaurant by pronouncing it: > > REST-AH-U-RANT > > To this day, decades later, I still pronounce it that way to myself. Yeah, I do similarly. I mostly remember spellings mostly based on mispronunciations based on phonics. Though I do remember stuff like “The principal is your PAL” and such. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/8 "2015-11-21T00:55:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yeah, I do similarly. I mostly remember spellings mostly based on mispronunciations based on phonics. Though I do remember stuff like “The principal is your PAL” and such. Same here, I don’t ever remember learning mnemonics like this for spellings of words, but more for lists of stuff, like the planets and colors of light and whatnot. For spelling, we did get that “principal is your pal” thing, and “separate has A RAT in it” (since a lot of people were spelling it “seperate”) and “minuscule has MINUS” and stuff like that. Those do still run through my head frequently when I spell those words. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/9 "2015-11-21T02:26:37Z")
It is KILLING me that “sentence” is wrong in the title. I remember “weird” because WE are all WEird. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/10 "2015-11-21T04:20:03Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > What word did you learn to spell years ago with a tricky sentence that you still use in your adult years? For me it is geography, which I just used a few minutes ago. > > Geography = George Eliots old grandfather rode a pig home yesterday. > > Must have learned that when i was 8 or 9 years old. To this day when I have to spell geography I always say that little sentence to myself. Shit, that’s a lot of work to remember the spelling of geo+graph+y. (I see that there are two mnemonics for that word in this thread. I’m wondering how people misspell that word. I just don’t see the tricky part there.) I usually memorize spellings by over-pronouncing the word in my head. Or for “weird,” I just remember that “weird” is weird in relation to the “i before e” rule. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/11 "2015-11-21T07:28:50Z")
Not exactly on point, but my late wife helped me deal with the word “significant”. Does it end in “cant” or “gant”? She said to remember “sign if I can’t”. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/12 "2015-11-21T09:23:13Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > “Sentance” = Some Enormous Nasty Tigers Are Negating Christmas Entertainments. Now I’ve gotten over laughing at this and at the OP, here’s mine from when I was about 10: Secretary Secret 'Ary He’s a cockney gangster called Harry who helps with the paperwork. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/13 "2015-11-21T10:57:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I usually memorize spellings by over-pronouncing the word in my head. Or for “weird,” I just remember that “weird” is weird in relation to the “i before e” rule. I just remember that “weird is not wired”. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/14 "2015-11-21T11:26:51Z")
Canada’s Governors-General; Clowns love haircuts, so should Lee Marvin’s valet. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/15 "2015-11-21T11:27:50Z")
Not a sentence, but a key to remembering the order of color in the spectrum. It’s a man’s name, Roy G. Biv. Red, orange yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/16 "2015-11-21T13:18:35Z")
No sentences but my seventh-grade math teacher taught us a nifty mnemonic for the order of the Roman numerals for 50, 100, 500 and 1000: Laryngitis, Call Dr. Merrit (LCDM). ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/17 "2015-11-21T23:08:54Z")
Not sure if I remember it correctly: Those Girls Can Flirt, And Other Queer Things Can Do Talc Gypsum Calcite Fluorite Apatite Orthoclase Quartz Topaz Corundum Diamond The Mohs Scale of mineral hardness, except I can get them straight. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/18 "2015-11-22T16:00:44Z")
Dessert has the extra “s” because you want more cake. Not spelling, but I still use “soh cah toa.” ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/19 "2015-11-22T16:02:50Z")
just the musical scale whatever those were Every good boy something or other Otherwise nothing in school, course that was a hint that was supplied if we wanted to use it Isnt there a term for this kind of thing? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070/20 "2015-11-22T16:23:03Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Dessert has the extra “s” because you want more cake. Conversely, I rember “desert” lacks an extra S because it’s too desolate to grow an extra one. > [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > Every good boy something or other That’s “Every Good Boy Does Fine.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-spelling-sentance-you-still-use-as-an-adult/738070.md?page=2)