Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I am hidious!

Back when I was in 7th grade I climbed pretty high up the area spelling bee ladder. I nailed killer hard words, but what did I get tripped up on? RECOMMEND! (I still remember the gasp that went up in the room when I finished spelling it with two C's.)

The spelling bee debacle sure cured me of my problem with recommend. But there are still a lot of words that I can never seem to learn. What is up with my mental block? Come, let us take a tour!

Viscious Huh, that isn't a word, is it? Yes, friends, I am trying to spell vicious here, and I had to go through some dictionary.com iterations to get this baby right. Because I want to spell it Viscious! I want an S in there!

Okay, then here's what always happens next: I take out the "i" and get viscous. Like a fool, I'll often put it in manuscripts, because viscous is a real word, meaning sticky and thick, so spellcheck doesn't pick it up. So I'll be like, "He was a mean and viscous fellow with a black goatee." And inevitably, somebody will laughingly point it out...Are you sure he was viscous, Carolyn?, and I'll be like, damn! Why is vicious spelled like that? It needs an S, and I don't think I have to remind you who agrees with me here, my brothers.

Occassionally Or is it occasionally? Or ocassion? I never know. I want there to be two 's's in it. The s/zh sound has way more presence when you say the word aloud than the C. Let's face it, the "s/zh" sound is the coolest part of the word, and it should have proper fanfare!

Independant This is what I always write for independent. Why do you not end with ANT? You should, you know. I mean, there are already two E's. it doesn't feel right that there would be YET ANOTHER. It seems like there should be an A somewhere. And also, Independent, have you never heard of pendant? A pendant hangs on a chain. Take it off the chain = independant.

Permanant Seriously, does permanent look right to you? Honestly? If you really really stare at it? It doesn't look right to me. Sometimes with a word you can't spell, you're supposed to change its form, and let that instruct you, but permanance seems perfectly viable to me.

Decieve, recieve and all that. Let me ask you, what good is that rhyme? 'I before E except after C, or when..." and then there's a list of exceptions. Yeah, that's really helpful. Because if you don't have the rest memorized, the rhyme might as well be, "I before E except after C, and also except when this rhyme is invalid." And you're back to your own devices. I actually have more problem with receive than deceive. In fact, this is a word I'll write around in client emails. I'll start an email 'I recieved the PDFs...' and then I'll be like, shit... Then I'll go, 'I got the PDFs' even though 'got' is feels unbusinessy to people.

Seperate I'm really fighting to get this one right, and sometimes I do spell it correctly, that is, separate. My trick is to remember that there is a para in there, the Greek root meaning by the side of, and that helps me, and sometimes I think about parallel, which also has para in it, to help guide me to spelling separate correctly. But, it's harder when it's a verb. (Let's seperate these two troublemakers!) because it's pronounced as if there's an E there.

Soldiar This might be my most embarrassing one. Who spells Soldier wrong? OMG. Is this post going too far? Am I divulging too much? I think the other words are acceptable misspellings, but soldiar strays into LOLcats territory.

Okay, dish people. What words can't you spell?
Image: self portrait of Antonio María Esquivel (1806, Sevilla – 1857, Madrid), from wikimedia. Sorry Antonio.

41 comments:

Chris said...

I see some that trip me up in there... and some that have never tripped me up, but surely will now. Um, thanks? ;)

Tez Miller said...

Soldier: You didn't do so bad. You could've done worse - you could've spelt it "Soulja" ;-)

Aye, "recommend" and "accommodate" are difficult. This version of Firefox doesn't have a spellcheck, so I may have got "accommodate" wrong.

Basically, my spelling isn't too bad. My READING, however...So many times I've misread things, often with hilarious results. And I mishear lyrics frequently. Sometimes I love my eejit brain ;-)

s7anna said...

Omigosh...I thought I was a disaster for getting these spelling errors.
I am soo with you on "independant" & "seperate"...why can't we just spell out words as they sound...like names.

*hugs*

Anonymous said...

if you use outlook for work emails there is an automatic spellcheck feature that is enacted everytime you click "send" and it goes through your whole email before it goes out.

genious.

here are my personal spellings: occaision. and maintanence. and breifly.

Carolyn Crane said...

Chris: LOL. Glad to be of service!!

Tez: Oh, wow, accommodate! That is really a hard one, because the O is weird in there, and then you have the doubles.

s7: Yay! A sister sufferer of independent and seperate.

Lusty: Right, those others are hard, too! Maintenance - those are some pesky Es and As!!

Jill Myles said...

I can never spell Sargeant (Seargent? Seargeant?).

I always messed up separate until someone told me that there is 'a rat' in separate. After that...I get it every time. :)

limecello said...

ugh separate used to trip me up until I read A Separate Peace in 11 AP Eng and misspelled it and the teacher just ... anyway she had rage and I was scared.
For 8th grade it was "you're" and a mean French teacher. [We nicknamed her the vampire.]

And... a few years ago I mentioned/joked I misspell marriage but it doesn't matter - anyway.
Yes. Some evil words just trip me up.
As for spelling? I got knocked out of the spelling bee on "pagoda" but what drives me insane is I spelled it correctly! They just misheard! Argh!

Carolyn Crane said...

Jill: sargeant is really hard. I'm not even bothering to get it right.LOL. You remind me now of my trouble with bureau, which I'd prefer to spell beaureau. But, I must point out: there is a rat in seperate, too!

Limecello: LOL. You were cured by the rage of a teacher! OMG. Also, how HORRIBLE that you spelled pagoda right, and they didn't hear it. What? UH!

Anonymous said...

Independent causes me no end of teeth-grinding. I want that final "e" to be an "a" so, so badly.

I can't spell "occasion" right on the first try. Ever. My head thinks it should be "ocassion."

I'm selfishly glad I'm the only one with mental blocks like this.

KT Grant said...

"teh" always gets me in the end.

Penny Watson said...

hee hee hee...this is hilarious! Even though I own a dachshund (which I can easily spell), I am never sure if it's wiener dog, or weiner dog, which then causes me to become confused about wierd and weird. So, let's just call it a hot dog, shall we????

Lori said...

My brother had the same spelling bee experience. He spelled all the hard words and in the final round spelled noise "nois". Everyone was hanging, waiting for the e, but it never came. We still get good mileage out of it, 40 years later :)

Carolyn Crane said...

Starshinedown: Yes! It So should be ANT. You are not the only one.

KB: LOL. You are funny.

Penelope: Okay, you are messing me up on weird now!

Lori: THAT is a very tragic story. nois. OH!! Your poor brother. Still getting teased!!

SonomaLass said...

"Villain." It always wants to be "villian." Yay for red underlining!

There are a lot of words that just don't look right, even when I've spelled them correctly; not always the same words, either. Occasionally I'll look at a word and think it looks weird. Then I make myself nuts trying to figure it out before I give in and look it up.

"Stationary" used to get me, because there's also "stationery." I finally memorized that one.

"Embarrassed" often comes out lacking one r. And I have to think about "recommend" and "accommodate," too.

Kristie said...

Effect and affect kill me. I always have to look it up.

One of my elementary teachers taught me to spell separate by thinking of a woman yelling at her husband named Sep. So she says "Sep, a rat. Eee!" Totally lame but I've always remembered it.

The Queen B said...

I'm weird because I'm inconsistent. Sometimes I can the words fine and the next time, it's like I have a tumor or something and can't for the life of me figure out how to spell the damned thing. *sigh* I'm getting a tension headache just thinking about it. LOL.
Also, I get in trouble for spelling a lot of words the British way. Seriously? Neighbour just looks right to me.... *g*

Blodeuedd said...

I hate the word disappear! It has taken me forever to finally get it right.

Jill Sorenson said...

hahaha...most of those words trip me up, too. I'm a terrible speller. One time I wrote "segue way" in a manuscript. Instead of just "segue"? yeah.

About misreading: I keep seeing this ad at Goodreads for Warm Delights cake. Looks like "worm delights" to me, esp. with the squiggly brown frosting. Ew!

Sullivan McPig said...

I'm not even trying to list my spelling errors. As English isn't my native language there are a zillion words I spell by feel instead of knowing how they are actually written.

Mardel said...

oh, I laughed and laughed and laughed. I know a lot of people are feeling the same frustration. Love your logic for Independent, which I also tend to spell with an A. A lot. I won the fourth grade spelling bee in my class. I've always been considered a good speller, but lately, I've been having some problems with spelling.

And did you mean to spell Hideous like that? Now I'm questioning the way I spell it. I have a problem with definitely also- I've been known to spell it definately. I always have to think on that one. I'm still also thinking about Hideous - Hidious - Hideus, Hidias, SHIT!

Carolyn Crane said...

Sonoma: Villain never felt right to me, either.

Kristie: OMG, that Sep device? Hiliarious. I love that it works for you.

Queen B: LOL. I could go for that U in neighbor.

BLO: right. Why not two S's? Is that the problem?

Jill: That is a package designer's nightmare. Worm Delights. LOL.

Sully: Poor pig!

Mardel: LOL. Yes, but I know hidious is misspelled. It was a joke. Sorry! I hope I haven't RUINED you for hideous! It's been nice for me, too, to have so many people be in my spelling boat with me!!!

Christina F. said...

GAH! Vaccuum, I always have to think about it. Two Cs, one U, one C, who the heck knows?

And then, volumne, should be spelled like column, right? But with an e, since it's a long u. What? No?

I can't take it.

Janicu said...

Hahah, I think you hit on every word I have a problem with (except soldier). What also messes me up is the English spelling versus the American spelling, because I went to an international school which had textbooks from the UK, textbooks from the US, and library books from all over. I constantly have issues with "Is it grey, or gray? Is it tonne or ton?" - DIE.

Kara said...

Separate used to trip me up too. But when I took a Family Law class...our professor said that...

There is A RAT in every SepARATion!!

Haven't misspelled it since then.

Amy Lane said...

Well, you managed to nail all my faves... but you left of conscious (is that 's' really necessary) and, uhm, 'necessary' (which should REALLY have another 'c') and my favorite, the one that got me BLASTED out of my own spelling bee (the fun part was when I looked at the judge who expelled me and said, "Are you sure? I mean, really?") is 'glamorous'. Why?

BECAUSE GLAMOUR HAS A 'U'! What sort of fair is that? Anyone? Yeah. I didn't think so. @#$#ing English language.

(spamword: zoidu -- a mate for Zoidberg?)

Kati said...

I always have to slow down when I type "tongue" because I really want it to me "tounge" which isn't even sort of a word.

I also screw up accommodation routinely. And then there's vacuum. Which either has two cc's or two uu's.

Whatever. Oh! And license. That's a toughie too!

Jennifer said...

A few words consistently trip me up - wierd, embarass, tounge - but I'm generally pretty good in the spelling department.

Pronunciation is my Waterloo. I'll read words I've never heard aloud, come up with my own pronunciation in my little head, then embarrass the heck out of myself when I use it in conversation.

For years I thought "chagrin" was pronounced "charge in," and boy was I surprised to learn that "soldering" is pronounced "SAWdering."

I blame my ninth year, when I read Nancy Drew books nonstop. How the heck was I supposed to know how to pronounce "hors d'oeuvres"??

Whores-du-wavers, of course. Those stinkin' Drews were either serving or eating them ALL the TIME.

I can see you've been in copy editing mode! It must feel great to be over that hump. And now I can delight in the fact that Double Cross is that much closer to arriving. :)

Sweet Vernal Zephyr said...

Separate always got me until I had the same experience as limecello, well not a RAGE but the teacher made certain we all knew the correct spelling.

Katie and I both trip over our tongues! LOL I couldn't resist!

One no one has mentioned yet, equipment... I always want to put a t in their! equipTment. LOL

Carolyn Crane said...

Christina: OMG, yes, what is UP with 2 U's in a row? Volume, okay, that's a weird one!

Janicu: A ton of people screw up gray. Grey is cooler.

Kara: Oh, I get it. A RAT. When Jill Myles meantioned it, I thought, a RAT?

Amy: That glamour story, oh! Tragic! LOL. So unfair!

Kati: vaccuum. Looks good to me!

Jennifer: Aw, thanks for the kind words! And, look at you and Kati, both with tongue trauma. It's Nancy's fault! LOL.

SVZ: Another tongue trauma vic. Okay, equipTment LOL - I might put that in a category with my soldiar, dude. My soldiar can carry equiptment!

Sophia (FV) said...

I definately can't spell definitly correctly. How the hell do you spell it? Ok, it's definitely...right? But I have to work really hard at that one. I also can't spell wiener. I insist on spelling it weiner. Oddly enough, I use that word frequently. O_o

Carolyn Crane said...

Fic vix: You and Penelope with your wieners! Or is it weiner? I see the problem. You use that word a lot? LOL. Shocking!!

raych said...

'Weird' and 'wierd' because both look wrong, and then by extension (and h/t Penelope) 'weiner' and wiener.' Also, 'extension.' Extention? Any word that might end in 'tion' 'sion' 'cion' gives me pause.

JenB said...

Heh. I've had to correct "viscous" in several people's manuscripts. That's a fun one. :)

I once edited a ms in which the heroine had "currants of pleasure" flowing through her body.

My trouble word is opportunity. Hmm...okay, it was really easy that time. But I usually have to type it really slowly.

When I was in 2nd grade I missed out on the opportunity (hey!) to go to regional spelling bee because I spelled "recipe" as "recipie." It sucked. But I've never again misspelled recipe.

Joanna Chambers said...

Weirdly, given my profession, my weakness is 'judgment'. I want to write 'judgement'

Terri said...

Delimma or dilemma? LOL

vanessa jaye said...

Too funny. A number of those words trip me up too (erhm...also).

Rhythm. I always--and I mean Always--spell it rythym on first try. In fact I just had to google it and wrote 'rythym', to which google's response was: Duh. Did you mean rhythm?

Torture has also given me the no-vaseline (vasoline?) treatment. Tortcher? Torcher? huh-what?

Liz said...

I have DEFIANTLY (that's what my students get when they spell-check their attempts at definitely)spelled most of these wrong at one time or another.

But I can't believe that you STILL didn't get "Vishous" right.

Renee said...

Solely. I never "hear" the second l, and hunt for it on my Mac's dashboard dictionary for ages before I realize my error. (I'm only remembering this now because it happened--again-- a couple of days ago.)

Recommend is one for me, too!

Tia Nevitt said...

Microsoft Word finally taught me how to spell separate, along with vicious. And you know, the correct spelling of vicious just looks vicious, but viscious does not.

Or it does in my imagination.

orannia said...

LOL! Effect and affect also drive me nuts...oh, and too and to! Gotta love the English language.

Oh, and I have to confess. I get really annoyed when I am told I've spelt colour incorrectly...yes, colour does have a 'u' :)

And my verification word is forma (former...LOL!)

LisaMM said...

I'm an excellent speller and came in 2nd place in our district spelling bee in 6th grade. Yes, I'm proud, LOL. BUT one word that never fails to trip me up is guarantee. I always want to spell it gaurantee, I think because my daughter's name is Laura and I want that a to come before the u. I've got a mental block about it.