Now that I’m starting to feel better, I’ve returned to the world of editing papers. Today, for your amusement and information, I give you a list of words that show up in both student papers and friend’s emails and writing— and they usually shouldn’t. They are real words, but not the correct ones. I submit that spell-checkers should not accept these words, so I don’t have to do as much editing! …That’s reasonable, right? (I’m sure there’s already someone working on the to/two/too there/their/they’re problems.)
The word: strait
The word it’s supposed to be: straight
The way I read it in a sentence: Susan walked a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two large areas of water into her house.
The word: summery
The word it’s supposed to be: summary
The way I read it in a sentence: In an adjective denoting the warmest season of the year, I would like to say that dogs are the best pets.
The word: minuet
The word it’s supposed to be: minute
How I read it in a sentence: After three slow, stately ballroom dances for two in triple time (popular especially in the 18th century) of tense waiting, Jim saw the light again.
The word: tern
The word it’s supposed to be: turn
The way I read it in a sentence: “This is an unexpected seabird related to the gulls, typically smaller and more slender, with long pointed wings and a forked tail, of events,” he said.
The word: defiantly
The word it’s supposed to be: definitely
The way I read it in a sentence: He was rebelliously upset when someone ate the last piece of pie.
The word: confidant
The word it’s supposed to be: confident
The way I read it in a sentence: Jill was a person with whom one shares a secret or private matter, trusting them not to repeat it to others, that she would ace the test.
The word: posses
The word it’s supposed to be: possess
The way I read it in a sentence: She had always wanted to be a body of men summoned by a sheriff to enforce the law something valuable.
The word: manger
The word it’s supposed to be: manager
The way I read it in a sentence: Harry was the assistant long open box or trough for horses or cattle to eat from at the café.
And two more, just for me…
The word: wok
The word it’s supposed to be: work
What I tell students: “You put a lot of hard bowl-shaped frying pans used typically in Chinese cooking into this revision!”
The word: god
The word it’s supposed to be: good
What I tell students: “This has improved a lot— god!”
~Lisa Shafter
Makes me think of this poem posted on the Crim's refrigerator:
ReplyDeleteSpell Czech
Eye halve a spelling chequer. It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marques four my revue miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word and weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write. It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid, it nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite. Its rarely ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it, I am shore your pleased two no.
ts letter perfect in it's weigh. My chequer tolled me sew.