# Words that seem like they are spelled wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797 "2024-07-25T22:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/121 "2024-08-14T18:08:05Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > Paraphernalia. > > I know it’s correct, but pronouncing that second “R” hard enough to hear sounds hick-ish. (to my ear anyway) I agree. “Par-a-pha-nay-lee-a” sounds more standard to my ears. But then I’m out of step with the (I think) majority of Americans, who say “pher-TOG-ruff-ee” and “pher-TOG-ruff-er”. Which I hate, but which seems near-universal. (These same people do say “PHOH-tah-graph” not “PHER-tah-graph.” Something to do with the accented syllable, I suppose.) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/122 "2024-08-14T19:06:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But trying to use the pluralization rules of the language of origin and getting it wrong is just pretentious. Totally agree. I (used to) in an area of mathematics called topos theory and there is a disagreement over the plural of topos. At first the pretentious among us tried topi. Finally they discovered that the correct Greek plural is topoi. My argument is that if you use the Greek plural then you should really use all the correct cases and I wrote a paper in which the preprint (but not the published version) did use the correct case for each usage. But I always use the plural toposes. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/123 "2024-08-14T19:09:59Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > “Par-a-pha-nay-lee-a” sounds more standard to my ears. Pair-a-pha-nail-ya, for me ---
**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:** [August 15, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/124 "2024-08-15T03:12:08Z")
Pair-uh-fer-neelia for me. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/125 "2024-08-15T12:07:40Z")
I just call it “my stuff”. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/126 "2024-08-15T14:22:51Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I wonder how Canadians spell/pronounce it? Well, [Peoples Jewellers](https://www.peoplesjewellers.com/) advertises itself as “Canada’s #1 Diamond Store”, but [Melanie Auld](https://www.melanieauld.com/pages/about), who has boutiques in Toronto and Vancouver, proclaims herself a “lover of jewelry”. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/127 "2024-08-15T19:43:51Z")
“Behold!” ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/128 "2024-08-15T22:11:04Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Pair-a-pha-nail-ya, for me > [@pulykamell](#): > > Pair-uh-fer-neelia for me. I don’t believe either one of you. > [@kayaker](#): > > I just call it “my stuff” You, I believe. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/129 "2024-08-17T15:32:33Z")
I guess I’m the only one who has a problem with personnel or is that personell? I know, I know. Two n’s. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/130 "2024-08-17T17:23:19Z")
> [@Dogginit](#): > > One that I have to stop and think about everytime I write it is “sheriff”. To me it seems like it should be spelled “sherrif”. I used to have this problem. Now I remember that a sheriff was originally a shire reeve, reeve being some kind of administrator and shire being something like a county. And shire only has one r. The v =\> f change is fairly common with f being essentially an unvoiced v sound. I suspect the double f at the end was originally to mark the i as a short vowel. That was a common way scribes market short vowels when the writing of English started. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/131 "2024-08-17T17:35:06Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > > [@Dogginit](#): > > > > One that I have to stop and think about everytime I write it is “sheriff”. To me it seems like it should be spelled “sherrif”. > > I used to have this problem. Now I remember that a sheriff was originally a shire reeve Ah, so two r’s: one from “shire” and one from “reeve.” Helpful! ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/132 "2024-08-17T17:45:54Z")
It should be spelled the way Tolkien spells it: “shirriff”. It’s easy to remember: two R’s, two F’s and two I’s. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797/133 "2024-08-17T21:02:32Z")
There’s no L in sheriff, much less two. (I would kill to get serif fonts back in common use. I never know if an article is about Artificial Intelligence or Weird Al.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-seem-like-they-are-spelled-wrong/1004797.md?page=6)