A WORD, PLEASE:
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For years I’ve been writing this column hebdomadally. But I didn’t know I was writing it hebdomadally because I had no idea what hebdomadally means. Today I know it means “once a week,†and I have a bunch of kids to thank for it.
Last week, once again, a nation of educated grown-ups watched in horror as people too young to drive made us feel like dopes as they attempted to spell “laodicean,†“ergasia,†“kurta,†“escritoire†and dozens of other words we’ve never heard, much less learned how to spell. To an even remotely insecure grown-up, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is a colossal kick in the self-esteem.
We sit in dimly lit living rooms watching kids spell words like “propiophenone†and “terebinthinate†and wonder how long it will be until our shameful inherent inferiority is exposed for all the world to see.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the grammar game, it’s that shame is not conducive to learning. So, for every grown-up who this week is all too ready to embrace the title of “bad speller,†here are some real-world words that are frequently misspelled. Learn these, and you’ll be well ahead of most normal people.
“Embarrass.†This is one of my own personal word demons. For years I accepted that I “couldn’t†spell this one. All I had to do was change my mind. I took a moment to officially learn it, then I devised a way to remember it. I had been spelling embarrass with one “R,†but now I remember that it requires two “Rs.†Say “R-R†aloud and you’ll hear the sound of me getting the last laugh, and you’ll have a handy little mnemonic device for remembering this.
“Supersede†is another word that has scarred my word nerd self-esteem.
Years ago, I flunked it on a copy editing test. That was the last straw. Now I remember that there’s no “C†in supersede. And you may be comforted to learn that I got the copy editing job anyway. (See? Even pros aren’t expected to live up to Scripps standards.)
“Judgment.†File this one under “the queen’s revenge.†In Great Britain, the preferred spelling has an “E†after the “G.†But American dictionaries all say that the preferred spelling contains no “E.â€
“Accommodate.†Just remember it has two “Cs†and two “Ms†and you’ll have it down.
“Knowledge†has a “D†in it. “Privilege†does not.
“Separate†has a rat in it.
At this point, you may be thinking: “I don’t need to learn how to spell. Unlike those snooty little kids, I’m old enough to have a job and thus an income and thus the ability to buy a computer with spell-checker.†But money can’t buy you “led†when you misspell it “lead,†as so many people do. So here are some words with which spell-checker can’t be trusted.
“Affect†is usually a verb and “effect†is usually a noun. But not always. “Affect†can be a noun meaning the mood a person is exhibiting.
“Effect†can be a transitive verb meaning “to bring about,†as in, “to effect positive change.â€
“Lightning†happens during a thunderstorm. “Lightening†happens at the hairdresser.
“Makeup†and “lineup†are nouns. To “make up†and to “line up†are verbs.
You drive through the desert to get to Las Vegas, not through the dessert.
“Its,†“whose†and “their†are possessives. “It’s,†“who’s,†and “they’re†are contractions. Remember that, it if has an apostrophe, it can be expressed as two words like “it has†or “who is.â€
Now, who’s feeling better about their spelling? Hopefully we all are.
?JUNE CASAGRANDE is author of “Mortal Syntax: 101 Language Choices That Will Get You Clobbered by the Grammar Snobs — Even If You’re Right.†She can be reach at JuneTCN@aol.com.