# Words you just realize you've been spelling wrong all along... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 19, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008 "2015-11-19T20:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/41 "2015-11-20T19:27:13Z")
I’m also a good speller, but I can’t for the life of me remember how to spell broccoli. I just had to look it up for this post. It annoys me that I can’t spell my grocery list right. I also just disagree with the rest of the English-speaking world on how many L’s are in ‘cancellation’. I strongly feel it should be two, and that’s how I spell it, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/42 "2015-11-20T19:39:35Z")
Not a word, but a name. For years, I thought that the name of H. Rider Haggard’s hero was **Allan Quartermain** , but it turns out that the first “r” isn’t there. I suspect that I expected it to be there by analogy with “quarter”, but I had learned long ago that Professor Quatermass wasn’t Professor Qua **r** termass (as I originally pronounced his name), so I don’t know why I persisted in the error. It might be because a lot of other people thought it was “Quartermain” as well – I’ve seen it spelled that way in movie posters and reviews. And it turns out that the _are_ several “Allan Quartermain(e)” s out there: > **[Allan Quartermain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Quartermain_(disambiguation))** > > Al(l)an Qua(r)termain(e) may refer to: ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/43 "2015-11-20T23:14:41Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > I also just disagree with the rest of the English-speaking world on how many L’s are in ‘cancellation’. I strongly feel it should be two, and that’s how I spell it, dammit. Make that two of us. On my personal calendar, meetings are marked cancelled. Because canceled looks wrong to me. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/44 "2015-11-21T01:27:22Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I used to stick a D in refrigerator. I guess because “fridge.” > > It took me the longest time to figure out how to spell occasion. Two c’s, one s, or one s, two c’s? Me too on both of these. Lately I’ve been muttering “I’m going to stutter when I check my CASIO o **ccasio** nally.” Is there any kind of rule for\* -ENT \*or \*-ANT? \* “Independ…ent/ant? Screw it, I’ll just use ‘free’ instead…” ---
**Author:** ![Bakero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Bakero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakero)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/45 "2015-11-21T01:39:17Z")
Segue rather than segway. I had never seen it written until I tried to do so myself. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/46 "2015-11-21T23:46:45Z")
Lost. I’ve been spelling it as “loost” for years now. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/47 "2015-11-22T00:35:34Z")
Versus versus verses. I have written a number of research reports were I would say something l like, “column A verses column B.” :o ---
**Author:** ![Conspicuous\_Conspiracist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5fc32e/32.png) [@Conspicuous\_Conspiracist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conspicuous_Conspiracist)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/48 "2015-11-22T02:27:40Z")
“Missile.” This is a recent realization, as I used to know how to spell it properly. We were in a meeting and I was tagged as designated note taker. I probably wrote it a dozen times over the course of a couple of hours, and it took that long to realize I was writing it incorrectly as ‘Missle’. I wrote it another half dozen times as ‘missil’ and knew that was wrong, but I felt it was closer. By that point, I’m questioning my sanity and inability to remember how to spell such a simple word. It’s also the first time I have misspelled a word and not recognized it immediately. Fortunately, no one else was privy to my notes, and I was able to type it in an email prior to sending out the meeting minutes to my colleagues. n.b. For anyone concerned, ‘Missile’ is a nickname for a piece of equipment we build, and someone decided decades ago it looked like a missile launcher, and the name has stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/49 "2015-11-22T03:03:59Z")
> [@Bakero](#): > > Segue rather than segway. I had never seen it written until I tried to do so myself. I had a weird process with ‘segue’. I knew the word spelt segue. I knew the word pronounced ‘segway’. I knew they meant the same thing. But ‘segue’ reads as ‘seg’ to me, so I thought ‘segway’ was spelt ‘segue way’. I was in my 20s when I finally figured out ‘segue’ was the _whole thing_. (I still generally say ‘seg’, unless euphony calls for the ‘way’. It just sounds better to my ear. \>\_\>) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/50 "2015-11-22T11:03:22Z")
Until I was about 16, I spelled “maybe” as “mabye.” It made sense to me phonetically – _ma-_ could be pronounced “may,” and _-bye_ could perhaps be pronounced “bee.” It’s surprising that I never noticed that it was composed of the words “may” and “be” – really, it’s just a way of saying “that may be.” ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/51 "2015-11-22T12:00:09Z")
I have trouble with a very simple one: the word for one’s sibling’s daughter. Always have to stop and think, when attempting to write it: “niece”, and “neice”, look and feel wrong – both of them. I usually have to look it up, to be reminded that the former is right. ---
**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, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/52 "2015-11-22T14:24:41Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I also won the grade-school spelling bee, but recently learned that what I’d been writing for decades, > _Can you remember any of the [SIZE=“3”]principle evils that he laid to the charge of women?[/SIZE]_ was wrong! :eek: :o I blame a grade-school teacher who told us _“the school principal is AL, all other principles are LE.”_ We learned the principle, principal as “the principal is your friend” or pal? > [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > My SWAG: Lexical units. _Tea party_, in the sense of “the thing little girls do with their stuffed animals and their Moms’ clothes” is two words - the noun _party_, modified by the adjective _tea_. The noun is the semantically significant word; a _tea party_ is a party where tea is served. So the … agentitive suffix? verbal noun marker? anyway, the _-er_ goes on to _party_. As per normal English spelling rules, the _-y_ becomes an _-i_. > > However, _Tea Party_, in the sense of the political movement, is a different kind of word - a name. (Yes, singular “word” - _Tea_ and _Party_ together carry the meaning; semantically, it’s one word.) Names have different rules - their forms don’t change when they’re modified. So one could talk about “Disneylike animation” or a > “Kennedyesque politician” or “Kerryian diplomacy”. Or, a Tea Partyer. > > At least, that’s my guess. ;)Such a show off 😛 Is it normal as you age to have problems recognizing the right spelling? “niece”, and “neice” they both look right to me, I depend on spell check wherever I can. This is a recently acquired negative aspect of aging, if it is one ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/53 "2015-11-22T16:07:26Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > Supersede. It still feels like it ought to be spelled supercede. Think of it as something sitting on something older, rather than something to which something else has given way. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/54 "2015-11-22T16:08:53Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I have trouble with a very simple one: the word for one’s sibling’s daughter. Always have to stop and think, when attempting to write it: “niece”, and “neice”, look and feel wrong – both of them. I usually have to look it up, to be reminded that the former is right. “I before E, except after C”. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/55 "2015-11-22T18:10:17Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > I have trouble with a very simple one: the word for one’s sibling’s daughter. Always have to stop and think, when attempting to write it: “niece”, and “neice”, look and feel wrong – both of them. I usually have to look it up, to be reminded that the former is right. > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > “I before E, except after C”. Except when it isn’t – e.g. weird, seize. I always feel that this is the problem with English spelling – often as many exceptions to the “rule”, as observations of it. ---
**Author:** ![oara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@oara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oara)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/56 "2015-11-22T20:29:47Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > My problem is mostly double letters. Is it “traveling” or “travelling”? To complicate things, many of these are different in US (where I grew up) and Canada (where I have spent 60% of my life. > > The worst speller I have ever seen was my PhD advisor. His main interest was an area of math called homological algebra in which the word the “kernel” is used all over the place. Whenever he was lecturing and had to write that word, he would hesitate, you could see the wheels grinding, “Let me see, I always misspell this word” and, _invariably_, write “kernal”. It was amazing. I lost the ability to remember whether to double letters once the web came along and exposed me to much more British English than before. As for kernal, that was the spelling used with the Commodore 64. Don’t remember why. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/57 "2015-11-23T00:37:15Z")
I’ll add Niagra to the ones already mentioned that got me… dilemna (no Catholic school) restauranteur sherbert I am and was a good speller though, in the later stages of an elementary school spelling bee, I asked for a more difficult word than view. Teacher said no, and I promptly spelled v-e-i-w :o :smack: There was a lot of red underlining on my above examples, though not restauranteur 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008/58 "2015-11-23T14:47:42Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > There was a lot of red underlining on my above examples, though not restauranteur 😕 I checked a couple of dictionaries and while some still flatly dismissed restauranteur, several listed it as an alternate form with a usage note that some consider it erroneous. For what it’s worth, my spell-checker which is the checker in google chrome doesn’t like it, though I can certainly add it. (I wonder if google communicates back to whichever dictionary originally provided its word database with words users add and the frequency with which any given neologism is added.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-just-realize-youve-been-spelling-wrong-all-along/738008.md?page=2)