10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs January 30, 2007
Posted by The Probabilist in : [Articles], Communication, Productivity, Studies, Words, Work, Writing, Blogging, Reading , trackbackOk, so technically the following words aren’t misspelled. They’re misused. The reason you should review this list is because a spell checker won’t correct these for you. Make sure that you’ve got foolproof control over them (especially if you tend to write around 3:12 AM like I am now). Extensively misusing them throughout your posts may actually cost you a visitor or two every now and then because some folks do get caught up on these, which means they won’t focus 100 % of their attention on your incredibly valuable content!
1. Your - You’re
As mentioned above, your message might lose impact if you’re not paying attention to this number one word maltreatment. If you find it particularly difficult to separate them from each other, stop using ‘you’re’ altogether and notice how you are starting to improve your spelling.
2. Then - Than
The next step is then to tell yourself that it’s better late than never to get that vowel placement in order. Then your readers might find something more useful to comment on than your apparent spelling impediment.
3. Its - it’s
It’s best to write an article and its words properly for optimal reader engagement. Again, if you still fail to tell the difference without effort, just write how great it is not having to worry about misusing or misspelling words.
4. To - Too - Two
To write two posts per day, or not to write two posts per day. That too is the question.
5. Were - Where - We’re
Where in the world were you? We were at Billy’s and we’re staying for another day. Make sure your blog visitors do that too.
6. There - Their - They’re
They’re moving their cursor over there. By focusing more attention on proper word use, your visitors won’t highlight and pinpoint your mistakes.
7. A - An - And
A flawlessly written article serves as an eye-opener and should provide lasting value. Remember also that an abbreviation like SUV starts with a vowel pronunciation and requires an ‘an’ in front of it.
8. Off - Of
Of all the mistakes you could prevent from appearing, start off by checking out this common mix up. You should have paid attention at school when they told you not to write ’should of’. Or off your visitors go.
9. Here - Hear
Hear ye! Hear ye! Here is a blog worth reading. You can almost hear the distant clicks of new visitors finding their way over here this very moment.
10. Lose - Loose
But if you’re too loose on your writing discipline, you will end up losing those readers after a while. You’d have a bolt loose if you don’t apply these 10 writing rules from now on with greater care. You win some and you don’t lose anyone.
Can you find the misused or misspelled word in this article? 
(88 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)
- Statistics for January, 2007
- Delaware Is Closed Today
- Carnival of Improvement 02
- Delayed Gratification
- Carnival of Improvement 01
Comments»
[…] The Probabilist writes about the 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs […]
The one I do the most, “Tot He” instead of “to the”. It doesn’t get caught in a spell checker either.
I’d love to have a utility where I could program in words I want to avoid because I overuse them:
interesting
basically
etc
a while -> awhile
It’s a very good suggestion, Steve. However, it’s not an adverb in this case.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors//awhile.html
In 3rd grade they told me everybody has problems with these words. I said they were full of it. With everyday that goes by though, my 3rd grade teacher becomes more and more correct.
I often times spell alright as allright.I just love putting that extra L in there. This is a great reference. Although no matter how many times I bang the difference between their, they’re and there into my brain, somehow my fingers always type one of the ones my brain doesn’t want to use.
averageidea.com
Another one to add: “alot” is not a word. It’s “a lot”.
Thank you for posting this. The only problem is that most of the people who are reading this are probably NOT the people that need to be, unfortunately.
Basic grammar and spelling mistakes have always been a huge pet peeve of mine.
Nice addition Mallory
I am not a native speaker of English and I totally agree with your analysis. I see these errors all the time and they kind of irritate me. If I, as someone whose English is not that good NEVER make those mistakes, why do so many people for whom English is their first language have so much trouble with it?
Those are good pointers, Mallory and Helena. The ones who don’t care about their spelling will only attract similar readers. I knew I was going out on a limb by posting this, but just because English is my third learned language doesn’t mean I should use that as an excuse not to master English slowly and steadily myself as well.
Anyone could have written this article. The information is there right in front of everyone’s eyes. But there are too many people in the world who get an idea and they soon bury it in self doubt or fear of voicing their opinion just in case a fanatic maven decides to get offensive and/or prove you wrong. And that’s a real shame.
As far as I’m aware of, there are no errors in typography, orthography or homophones in this article. Then why did I write that closing comment? To get people to read it through so thoroughly that they would both consciously and subconsciously master the use of these words. Get people excited about showing their talent and proving themselves right and your teaching is almost on autopilot.
In the end though, the only person in the world you need to prove something to, is yourself.
I just offer advice - and to those who seek it.
Cool list mate
Really cool 
Now to really stir the pot - try writing an article about the correct use of the humble apostrophe!
That’s a good idea. I have to admit that I’ve never looked into when one should use quotation marks and when to use apostrophes around a word to highlight it in different ways (as I did with ‘you’re’ and ‘an’), so there might be errors in that context.
Good post! But even a spellchecker often won’t help. Do you know that the Blogger Spellchecker doesn’t know what a Blogger is? Check it out yourself! I have a whole post here with spellcheck errors from blogger: http://blog.fleck.com/2006/04/07/blogger-doesnt-know-what-a-blog-is/
Have you ever noticed that many posts start with “Ok, so…”?
Hey Mallory,
This sentence of yours is incorrect:
Another one to add: “alot? is not a word. It’s “a lot?.
The reason is that the period goes inside the quotation marks.
It’s “a lot.”
dan
What about the use of the word an with words that begin with the letter “H”. Is it a historic day or is it an historic day?
Steve Job’s… vs. Steve Jobs’… vs. Steve Jobs
What about ‘wierd’?
One that I continually run across is “rediculous.”
10 most misspelled words in blogs…
The Probabilist wrote an article about the 10 most misspelled words in blogs, or, rather misused words.
From the article:
Your - You’re
Then - Than
Its - it’s
To - Too - Two
Were - Where - We’re
There - Their - They’re
A - An - And
Off - Of
H…
Nice one.
Sometimes people just murder the English literature.
Some other blatant mistakes I just find too very annoying:
‘Should Have’ becomes ‘Should’ve’ - which is correct/ok - but it then becomes ‘Should of’ - NO! That is wrong! It is not ’should of’, or ‘could of’ or ‘would of’!
And one more:
You don’t get ’struck’ [for Christ’s sakes]; while solving a complex Math equation. You get ’stuck’. On the same lines, you don’t get stuck by a lightning, you get ’struck’ by a lightning.
Thank you SO much for this posting. I don’t know how many times I’ve corrected my friends’ spelling and grammar on e-mails, blog posts, and IMs only to get yelled at for being nitpicky. Hello? We learned these things in elementary school!
It seems like the people who consistently misuse words are the ones who don’t care, so even with all your efforts, it could all fall on deaf ears.
Oh, and I agree with Trevor about the apostrophe. It kills me to see the apostrophe SO misused, e.g., using it for plurals. I’ve seen this in the workplace, on massive signs for retail stores — everywhere! Is no one paying attention? The only thing there’s some contention on is whether to use it for plural years and abbreviations, e.g., 1980s or CDs. I personally don’t, but some also say it’s okay to use apostrophes in that situation. Meh.
Side note: Rofloer, it’s “weird,” not “wierd,” even though it’s usually I before E except after C and when and the I and E combination makes a long A sound.
People actually make those mistakes? I see your and you’re all the time, but the others? That’s depressing.
a lot (not alot) should be added to this list
Whew, it looks like the new hosting system will manage to carry through the load of new visitors.
Thank you for all the comments and opinions over this issue both here and on digg.com.
And a big thanks to the great webhost provider techies who aided in improving the bandwidth so rapidly!
Those are misused not misspelled. Big difference.
Common Mistakes…
10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs | The Probabilist . com Here is a nice little article that reviews a top ten list of common mistakes when blogging. We……
genious!!!!
I think this isn’t an analysis of misspelled blog words, but one of misspelled English words, as these errors also occur in e-mails, written text, documents, etc.
Just my 2 cents.
And you know this by a poll ? a scientific survey ? Or just your browsing ???
The title should be “Top Most Misused Words I’ve Seen in Blogs”.
Don’t forget:
1. “for all intensive purposes” instead of “for all intents and purposes”.
2. “mute point” instead of “moot point”.
3. “death nail” instead of “death knell”.
Can you find the misused or misspelled word in this article?
There are several. “Ok” should be “OK”. “3:12 AM” should be “3:12 a.m.” “Like I am now” should properly be “as I am now.” There are others. But, y’know, those are vanishingly small errors compared to the whoppers you’ve outlined.
Good article. A shame that nobody who needs to read it will do so.
I always thought non-native English speakers had an advantage because native English speakers learned most of their language skills before they could read.
When you’re a child and hear “there”, “their”, or “they’re” you don’t know how to spell any of them. It doesn’t register that they are separate words. When you learn English as a second language, you translate the words from your native language and they are very distinct.
The incorrect usage of who and whom annoy me. Proper preposition placement is optional also.
Who are you talking to?
To whom are you speaking?
[…] review this list is because a spell checker won’t correct these for you. kim possible bangingread more | digg […]
Great article. Lots of people have trouble with the lose - loose words.
I’ve seen some good additions to the list from the comments, but I thought that posting more than 10 might be too much for the average reader’s attention span. Some didn’t even make it through the introduction.
And yes, this is a purely subjective observation of which words have stood out the most. If any of you feel like reading through hundreds or even thousands of separate blogs to find out the statistically accurate order, then please go ahead. =)
I think the worst, which was not highlighted here, is the improper use of the word “of” in place of have.
I see all kinds of incorrect grammar such as:
“I wish you would of seen it.”
instead of:
“I wish you would have seen it.”
Also, “weary” instead of “wary”. As in, “I’m weary of using any software that’s in beta–I just don’t trust it.” No, you’re wary, not tired.
Most people probably don’t notice this one, but once it catches your eye you’ll see it everywhere, and it’ll make you want to scream.
It does me, anyway.
Nevermind, I missed that that was pointed out in the second half of number 8.
The title of this article should be “10 most misspelled words in Myspace”. Oh, if you’re visiting a blog that makes the errors listed above and they didn’t scare the hell out of you…. i’m sorry. None of the blogs in my circle of trust makes those illiterate errors. And i say it as a non-native speaker
Some people like to write or say “boo koo” meaning a lot, as in “making boo koo bucks.”
This is a mistake. The origin of this usage is the French word beaucoup, which is pronounced like “bo koo.”
Of course, people who misuse the term probably don’t even know its origin. They hear other people misuse it and they ape the behavior. America is showing the symptoms of a catastrophically bad education system.
[…] The Probabilist titled this blog post as the 10 most misspelled words in blogs, but I see the same mistakes every day on discussion forums every day. Worth reading: http://www.theprobabilist.com/10-most-misspelled-words-in-blogs/ […]
Thank you Jim for pointing out those improvements.
Akatherder, you raise a very good point that explains why grammar may be better among the people who don’t actually talk the language on a daily basis.
Boo koo? *laughs*
Where did that come from? It must’ve slipped my radar since it’s totally unfamiliar to me.
[…] I’m taking notes: http://www.theprobabilist.com/10-most-misspelled-words-in-blogs/ […]
people write “would of” because it sounds like “would’ve”
It’s not a horrible mistake verbally. It’s just sad written down.
Advise - Advice
I’d advise people publishing anything on the net to heed your advice.
This one drives me crazy
Great list. For some of the more nitpicky items that folks have suggested, I might offer for consideration the concept of a “House Style”. The general idea is that there still exists some ambiguity and/or disagreement about certain typographical and grammatical choices.
For instance, the “Serial Comma” (”a, b, and c” vs. “a, b and c”) is used by Harvard University Press because they think it worthwhile. The last design firm I worked at, the copy editors were strong proponents of the Serial Comma.
Another example is using quote marks near periods and commas (”‘No way,’ he said” vs. “‘No way’, he said.”). Back in the day, typesetters could simply put the period or comma directly under the quote marks and not waste any space. With typewriters, it made sense to put them before the quote marks, as it looked simpler than after. However, coming from a programming background, I always put the “string” in quotes and leave the comma (mere punctuation) outside. It’s a House Style for me.
The trick is consistency. If your rules are consistent, then your readers can use them to derive meaning. If not, then they get in the way of meaning. Bad.
useful list, thanks!
Apostrophes are used for plural acroynms, symbols, numbers, etc. to separate them. For example, you could listen to song #’s 1-5 on all of your CD’s.
“You’d have a bolt loose if you don’t apply these 10 writing rules from now on with greater care.”
That should have been “You’ll”, not “You’d.” You must not forget tense.
In my opinion, the most annoying is the misuse of ‘myself’.
This explains it far better than I can: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/myself.html
Read and learn….
10-most-misspelled-words-in-blogs…
Habitually type form when I mean to type from (I even did it just then).
Rediculous. Heh.
Nice one Gary. I got that phrase from a movie review/testimonial. Inaccurate grammar is everywhere, it seems.
The Probabilist: “…among the people who don’t actually talk the language on a daily basis.”
I’m a non-native speaker, but I’m pretty sure one ’speaks’ the language, and does not ‘talk’ the language. (This is actually a mistake that’s also very common in the *Dutch* language).
If you’re tailoring your blog for people who don’t even make it past the introduction, expect to lose readers who are expecting a bit more meat.
(Why require name and email if neither are confirmed?)
Lloyd: What a blunder. =)
I’ll keep that in mind.
Gary: the sentence “You’d have a bolt loose if you didn’t…” would also be correct, would it not?
[…] The Probabilist has compiled a list of words that are misspelled by on most blogs in the blogosphere. If anything, this article only goes to show that having English as the mother-tongue does not translate into documents with no spelling errors. […]
Your a idiot if you cant here the different in there spellings.
Dumbs
There are some suggesting that “a lot” be added because a lot of people incorrectly us “alot.”
However, this is a list of things that a spell checker will not catch. Your spell checker should be telling you not to use “alot.”
A spell checker, on the other hand, will not tell you that you need to put punctuation inside of quotes.
you definitely forgot definately
To whatever: I’m experimenting by writing posts that appeal to different types of readers. The rest of this blog isn’t focused on delivering quick fix answers that only require a person to read the headings. So what you say is actually the other way around.
No post fits every reader and we all know that.
ok, ok.. maybe next time i’ll read the… first paragraph?
A spell checker will also not catch “us” instead of “use.” =-(
I hate typing.
Don’t forget “noone” instead of “no one”.
The misused word in the article is found in the sentence, “You’d have a bolt loose if you don’t apply these 10 writing rules.” “You’d (you would) would correctly be used with “didn’t”, not “don’t.
One I screw up is “Set up” instead of “Setup”. Verb versus noun, common in reviews of computer things: “I set up the new system.” “That guy has a sweet setup.”
Also, affect vs. effect. High school teacher forced us to repeat: “You AFFECT the EFFECTS.”
Awesome article. btw, I am most prone to spelling “Form” instead of “From”.
Others:
“good” vs “well”
“can not” should be “cannot”
Grammar is rarely taught in grade school these days. I learned grammar on my own for awhile simply because I kept finding discrepancies in books I was reading. Then I learned it properly in my sophomore English class and four years as a staff writer and then sports editor of my high school newspaper.
It was appalling to sit in a basic journalism class as a freshman in college and find people who didn’t know grammar at all! We’re talking about nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs — simple parts of speech. Getting down to the nitty-gritty, sure, especially since there are words in English that have more than on meaning. English, after all, especially “American English,” is the bastard child of every language that has ever been invented.
If you want to read a good, humorous book on the English language, read Bill Bryson’s “The Mother Tongue.”
Anyway, hopefully people will take note of this list and pay a little bit more attention when they write, be it blogs, articles, papers or even emails!
This one from the digg-comments I found especially insightful:
by SilverhammerMBA 1 hour ago
You asked for it…
“By focusing more attention on proper word use, your visitors won’t highlight and pinpoint your mistakes.”
Grammatically incorrect. “Your visitors” is the subject of this sentence and thus it doesn’t make sense because they’re not ones “focusing more attention on proper word use”. Notice that “focusing”, is in a different tense than “highlight” and “pinpoint”.
It should read something like:
“By focusing more attention on proper word use, you won’t have visitors highlighting and pinpointing your mistakes.”
how about contractions:
ain’t = are not
isn’t = is not
Contractions are considered to be grammatically wrong, but who cares - the majority of bloggers are doing this for personal entertainment, of course they don’t have the time or money to hire and editor to proofread their work like in the case of a magazine or professional blogging site.
I would also like to second adding “a lot” to your list. Too often people use “alot” which isn’t a word at all! Cheers.
Lloyd: I’m glad you’ve taken so much interest in this (no sarcasm intended). The sentence should certainly be as pointed out. I might be pushing my odds if I write an article about the 10 worst grammar errors.
I’ll leave it up for grabs.
There are rumours in Europe that non-native English speakers make less grammatical-misspellings than native speakers!
The term for this is ‘malapropism.’
For no. 10 you should of wrote “You’ll” instead of “You’d” as the rest of the sentence is in the present tense, right?
I hate to nitpick, but there’s a grammatical error in one of you’re examples.
We were at Billy’s and we’re staying for another day.
If you ‘were’ at Billy’s, this indicates you’re not there anymore. So where are you staying at for another day?
Right.
Alternatively you can change the don’t to didn’t in order to match it with the ‘You’d', but the sentence is better off in the present form.
You state, “As far as I’m aware of, there are no errors in typography, orthography or homophones in this article.” Yet, you end the first sentence with a preposition (”of”). The first sentence can adequately read, “As far as I am aware.”
Otherwise, I really like the article!
Add masterbation to the list
Imagine your mother finding Billy and yourself at the mall, which you’re both just briefly visiting. After this you head back to Billy’s.
I’m wondering if you deliberately wrote #1 incorrectly in your comment.
Craigslist: The ‘of’ is at the end of a subordinate clause and not a sentence. Don’t ask me if that makes a difference though.
I also found a couple of funny comments on this at digg:
by SimianSamurai
A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with.
reply by stg3095
That is the kind of grammar up with which I will not put.
what about “atleast” vs “at least” and “continous” vs “continuous” and what to do about “prepone”?
Sims (76) is right; using contractions such as “you’re” and “we’re” is incorrect anyway, unless quoted from speech. “Won’t” is probably my favourite, because it takes on an entirely different meaning when the apostrophe is omitted. I might add, since I am prone to it, that it is incorrect to use hyphens in place of more appropriate punctuation to denote a pause - like so.
I have caught myself type “your” instead of “you’re” on occasion, but I find I make more mistakes on paper. Also - I have not used a spellchecker for several years now.
Someone up there said it should be “I wish you would have seen it” instead of “I wish you would of seen it”, but they’re both wrong. It should be “I wish you had seen it”.
That one really bugs me…. it’s everywhere.
rediculous
Should your article title be ‘in’ blogs, or ‘on’ blogs?
Nobody: We don’t know that for sure until the word ‘blog’ gets properly introduced and applied in dictionaries to start with.
Good point.
Time for a nap…
Practise, Practise … Practice…
Caught a post on digg.com overnight entitled ” 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs “. The post details…
[…] in text such as the title of this posting. I couldn’t help think of him when I found this posting today detailing the 10 most wrongly used words on […]
I always have the most trouble with “its” and “it’s”. I still have to look it up everytime.
“anyways” (supposed to be “anyway”)
definately instead of definitely. some yokels from the south must be blogging alpha phonetically.
than/then and definately drive me mad
mad I say
With all due respect, this isn’t a “10 most misspelled words in blogs” post. This is a “10 most misspelled words in informal writing” post. I’m surprised this got Dugg so high when this is elementary English … the fact that you added the “in blogs” was compelling enough to get your blog post popular. In that sense, good work — but I think you and I would agree that this isn’t a problem specific to blogs.
My biggest mis-spelt word would have to be “the”. The way I usually spell it is “teh” and what happens is that I hit “e” key before the “h” key. I also note that a lot of people usually do not hit their space bar key at the right time and you ge tcertain weirdw ords…
Good post
Tamar: Yes, I agree with you completely. The ‘in blogs’ part was added mainly because the sentences I made up, which describe the use of these words, centre around the reasons why bloggers should know them by heart - to retain traffic and readers’ attention.
As a blogger, there’s nobody pointing out how bad your spelling is, with the exception of sporadic flamers who won’t do so in a constructive way. I wanted to do it in a somewhat entertaining and positive manner without pointing fingers.
And yes, you can still apply that approach anywhere outside the blogosphere as well.
Someone may as well mention that “prolly” does not exist to replace “probably”.
interesting
I have seen “loose” and “lose” on man sites around the Internet. I have had a test (written by a college professor) with it spelled incorrectly.
[…] on the top 10 in Technology: 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs. The writer says that there are ten misused words “in blogs” that cannot be picked up by spellchecking. These ten words […]
RE: 18. millyuns - January 31, 2007
What about the use of the word an with words that begin with the letter “H”. Is it a historic day or is it an historic day?
The rule you learn in school is that words beginning with a vowel get “an” and words beginning with a consonant get “a”. But this is not entirely correct. It’s more about the sound than the spelling. H-words is where it gets interesting. Some get “a” (like “a house”), but others get an “an” (like “an hour”). Some you’ll here both being used (a/an historic). It’s a sound based rule, NOT spelling based. And as I survey the list, the majority of these “mistakes” are because the writer is spelling based on SOUND not on the prescriptive rules.
Did I just use here in place of hear?
It happens to the best of us.
I work in a place where there hangs a sign which reads “Nothing left in the sink will be cleaned out each night Mike Tuttle ” There are two of ‘em, and they’re both laminated. (So, if I don’t leave anything in the sink, it will be cleaned out, ur, somehow.)
Dumbest article ever. This is all just basic English grammar and such.
How the hell it got on Top 10 Diggs of today, I’ll never know…
It’s not as common as the ones you list, but one other commonly confused word is “discrete” meaning separate and distinct vs. “discreet”, meaning circumspect or modest.
Dustin said:
“In 3rd grade they told me everybody has problems with these words. I said they were full of it. With everyday that goes by though, my 3rd grade teacher becomes more and more correct.”
Talk about living in a glass house… It’s “every day”. Not “everyday”. Different meanings entirely.
Oh comeon now. Your just makeing fun of people.
Stop beeing rediculous.
Regarding the use of the apostrophe, there are three sets of rules: contractions, possessives, and philosopher’s quotes.
The contraction rules are simple: the apostrophe goes where one or more letters used to be. Is not -> isn’t … until -> ’til … of the clock -> o’clock.
The possessive rule is also simple: apostrophe-s equals possession. You can think of it as a special case of contraction, where the apostrophe-s replaces the words ‘has a’. John’s bike -> John (has a) bike. That replacement isn’t always grammatically correct — “I borrowed John (has a) bike” doesn’t make much sense, for instance — but the pinhole view (John (has a) bike) is a good way to make sure your possessive really works.
Oh, and while some people just use a trailing apostrophe for possessive words that end with an s — James’ bike — it’s also perfectly legal to go ahead and do the full apostrophe-s: James’s bike. In fact, “James’s” is recommended by _The Elements of Grammar_, which is pretty much the first writing guide anyone ever sees in school.
MISUSING the apostrophe-s to mean ‘plural’ or just ‘hey look, there’s an s at the end of this word’ is called the Greengrocer’s apostrophe, and is wrong-wrong-wrong-wrong-wrong. There is no such word as “your’s”, for instance. The has-a test will smoke these mistakes out as well: “your (has a)” makes no sense at all.
Finally there’s what’s called the philosopher’s quote. That’s when you put single quotes around a word or phrase to convey the idea ‘exactly this’.
Grammatically, everything between the quotes gets treated as a single word, which means you don’t set philosopher’s quotes off with commas, like you do with ‘what he said’ quotes. Neither do you put any punctuation that belongs to the sentence inside philosopher’s quotes: John said, “I am not a happy camper.” -vs- John put on his ‘I am not a happy camper’ face.
Misused words and typos are one thing, but blogs that tYpE liKe tHiS mAkE mE iNsAnE.
[…] read more | digg story […]
[…] Probabilist has a good post on the 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs, where he talks about words that are often misused rather than actually misspelled. If you are a […]
[…] Top 10 words missspelled in blogs […]
i -> I
c’mon people!
[…] Probabilist has a list of the ten most misspelled/misused words in blogs. These are the kind of things that your spell checker just can’t catch for you. I wrote a […]
It’s just making me realise how good my education actually was (as much as I hate to admit it)
You, your, you’re and you’rn…
Some readers think that my posts and comments should be grammatically perfect — no typos, no dangling participles, no misspellings, no ill punctuations. They aren’t, and I’m not anal-retentive enough to demand it of myself here. (My staff, yes; me,….
I liked your article. Here are a few of my pet peeves:
Grammer
Hanger (when they meant “hangar”)
Insure/Ensure/Assure
Principal/Principle
Various apostrophe errors
Actually, the article does have an error - the phrase “spell checker” is common but incorrect.
While Harry Potter may want to check spells, the rest of us will want to check our spelling by doing a spelling check with a spelling checker.
You can only check things (nouns). Spell (when referring to how letters are arranged in a word) is a verb, spelling is the noun.
That’s a great observation and explanation. Spelling checker does sound odd when all you read is about spell checkers.
When healthy, I can type roughly 150 wpm. I’ve always been a great speller, too. My tradeoff on that speed is typos, although almost always of the type a spellchecker will catch. At work, I hunt them down. (Off work … ? Well, my blog is called “Blog on the Run” for a reason.)
Unfortunately, since beginning to take some new medication for a chronic condition, the tradeoff also has become entirely different words from what I intended to type — the kinds of mistakes that 1) don’t get caught by any spellchecker and 2) can lead to embarrassing corrections if not caught.
Yes, I shall be discussing this phenomenon with my physician. It’s a career-threatening problem.
Additional notes: “awhile” should not always be changed to “a while” and vice versa. “A while” is correctly used as noun, typically the object of the preposition “for,” as in, “This damned spelling problem has been with me for a while.” “Awhile” is an adverb, as in, “This damned spelling problem has been with me awhile.”
blogs that tYpE liKe tHiS mAkE mE iNsAnE.
Oh, c’mon. Respect the scriptkiddies! Use phrases like “Teh Gay” to dirisively name what conservative Christians are afraid of or “Teh Hott” to identify your favorite good-looking person. [/some snark]
When you’re a child and hear “there”, “their”, or “they’re” you don’t know how to spell any of them.
Oh, it’s worse. I was in first grade before I figured out that the hymn we frequently sang at church was NOT “Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear.”
[…] time to get back to basics from yesterday’s rush and present this week’s edition of the Carnival of Improvement. The entries again summed up to 28 […]
[…] a list of the 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs from The Probabilist . […]
When you’ve got an apostrophe as a part of your name, you do tend to take note of the way people abuse this lowly punctuation mark, but there’s really just one simple rule to applying the apostrophe correctly in most instances:
“Use an apostrophe when letters are missing.”
http://www.2dolphins.com/2007/01/apostrophobia.html
Its soo troo! You’ll nailed it on the head! Everyone should get a dictionary, than look up these words!
Just joking. I don’t really write like that on my blog… in all seriousness though, anyone can make these mistakes. That’s why proofreading is so important…
The Aspiring Theologian
Knight of the Living God
[…] 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs - Technically the following words aren’t misspelled. They’re misused. The reason you should […]
It was said earlier that “a while” was improperly used. Because “after” is a preposition and “while” is the object, the use of “a while” is correct. Use “awhile” as an adverb: “stay awhile”; Use “a while” as a noun: “stay for a while.”
Which you already said by means of link. Sorry.
dErisive. Not d*I*risive. Speaking of typos. Grrr.
[…] Probabilist” Johan Holmberg writes about the top 10 misspelled words that spell-checkers can’t correct. A must […]
[…] read more | digg story […]
I have seen the word ‘loose’ used in place of ‘lose’ or ‘loosing’ instead of ‘losing’ so often I thought my understanding was incorrect.
[…] of the most misspelled words in blog posts. I’m quite sure I’m guilty of all of them at some point. Now, is the the […]
What about spelled and spelt
It annoys me to see these words mixed up
10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs…
Technically the following words aren’t misspelled. They’re misused. The reason you should review this list is because a spell checker won’t correct these for you….
I recommend keeping a copy of The Elements of Style (Strunk and White) within easy reach.
“Prophesy” [verb] instead of “prophecy” [noun] is a pet peeve of mine.
But also, I am sorry that people write and say “You and I” instead of “you and me.” I guess with usage it will be eventually be rated as acceptable. People don’t seem to use “you and me” any more.
Doug said, “I recommend keeping a copy of The Elements of Style (Strunk and White) within easy reach.”
http://www.bartleby.com/141/
good article, these things often irritate me too. my number one mistake is no longer using capitals on words that should have them, or at all actually.. yeah. so you dont have mistakes, but you are missing a word if you’re trying to be grammatical or whatever. i think (maybe i’m wrong) you need an “at” in this sentence: “Make sure that you’ve got foolproof control over them (especially if you tend to write around 3:12 AM like I am now).”
i dunno though, cuz the thing about blogging is that we are encouraged to write the way we speak. that’s why people who’ve learned english as an additional language tend to be more precise when they write and more observant when they read. good article.
You’re right about that preposition missing in the sentence.
And I also don’t mind it when people intentionally write incomplete sentences, for instance: “Nice of you to drop by.” since it does bring out the essence of verbal discussion and expressions. A blog serves as a forum for sharing personal opinions - and it’s okay to keep things informal to a certain degree.
I really hope this has an impact on bloggers out there. I know that I sure typed this comment carefully! I think the way you showed each word’s usage was pretty cool too. Very cool article. Keep it up.
Allright is all wrong. All right is right. Alright is nonstandard spelling.
From “The Free Dictionary”:
Usage Note: Despite the appearance of the form alright in works of such well-known writers as Langston Hughes and James Joyce, the single word spelling has never been accepted as standard. This is peculiar, since similar fusions such as already and altogether have never raised any objections. The difference may lie in the fact that already and altogether became single words back in the Middle Ages, whereas alright has only been around for a little more than a century and was called out by language critics as a misspelling. Consequently, one who uses alright, especially in formal writing, runs the risk that readers may view it as an error or as the willful breaking of convention.
This >> These
Writing is a debugging process, they say..
Nice post. In my experience the most common mistake people make is LOSE and LOOSE. Even people proficient in English are confused in the difference in meanings.
[…] 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs […]
Whoa….check out this page…hmmm, and I thought this was only for the kids
We loved the site, really loved it!
Warm greetings! Thanks for all the information, a very nice and well done site! Cheers.
You’re website looks very good, it was a pleasure to be on you’re. Keep on the good work
This is a very beautiful website, I have enjoyed my visit here very much. I’m very honoured to sign in your guestbook. Thanking you for the great work that you are doing here.
Congratulations on finally setting up your site. I am sure the website will become a internet legend
Hello, I just wanted to say you have a very informative site which really made me think, Thanks ! A site with a wealth of info.!…thanks very much! Have a nice Day!!
YOU HAVE GOT SOME KIND OF CLASS IN THIS SITE. Good to see you up and around!
Hi - enjoyed your home page!
hi like your article
I love everything about this site!!
Just dropping in to let you know you have an interesting site. I hope you’ll continue to work on it. Wishing you all the best.
Thanks for your site!
Hi - enjoyed your home page!
Hello, I’m a regular visitor to your site so i finally decided its time to sign your guestbook, so here i sign !
pagine piuttosto informative, piacevoli =)
hi all. nice blog. its very ineresting article.
A pleasure to look at, go on with this! Thanks!
My English not so good but thank for lovely site with information I looking for and need also.
Good analysis.
I write seo tips and techniques and also about search engine news. Generally, misspelled by me is “enignes” in the place of “engines”.
This site is truly a great resource thanks for all your hard work
Super site darlings. Thanks awfully
“boo koo/beaucoup” came into common use in English after the Vietnam War. The soldiers learnt some words from the locals who, as well as speaking their native language, also had French due to their (the French) colonisation efforts. Many locals would have been very happy with the boo koo dollars spent by soldiers on R&R.
Other language pet pieves:
- “try and” instead of “try to”
I think that your site is very interesting and nice. Good job !
Man, what a well set-up website!
Very exceptional pieces of information. Very nice webpage though. I applaud
Hi My wife and I would like to thank you all for this web site. Hours of pleasure and all
hi nice site.
E grande io ha trovato il vostro luogo! Le info importanti ottenute! ))
[…] Johan pointed out 10 commonly make typo mistakes a blogger will make. How many of these do you make? […]
Helena is hot.
[…] stumbled on this post , sounded interesting. The author has pointed out 10 commonly make typo mistakes a blogger will […]
Interfaccia comoda, colori piacevoli, buoni!
Okay, it isn’t exactly a misspelled word, but I’m really getting sick of the oh-so-pretentious “whilest.” It’s bandied about so frequently that it actually has just the opposite effect - it comes off as unimpressive and a little tacky.
I constantly destroy ‘their / they’re’. Actually I just consistently switch them. Why? I have no idea, but it’s nice to see, despite my education, that I’m not the only one
hi all.
EWiwPt bhsdrjkvbfjksbhfsvkbdhfkv
red…
shit-happens 2709820 Good information source for red….
[…] 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs | The Probabilist . com 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs Posted in writing tips | Trackback | del.icio.us Next Post : The 5 Immutable Laws of Persuasive Blogging Previous Post : 7 Ways to Track Internet’s Trends and Popular News […]
Test myfunction comment
[…] Zanimiv je tudi prispevek bloga The Probalist.com, ki se je lotil odkrivanja največkrat napačno črkovanih besed na bloogih. Seveda je primer v angleškem jeziku, a zato nič manj zanimivo. Besede si sledijo takole: Your - You’re, Then – Than, Its - it’s, To - Too – Two, Were - Where - We’re. Za dodatne komentarje in dodatne besede, če vas to seveda zanima, se obrnite kar na originalnega avtorja. […]
I invite all of this forum’s members to visit yahoochattin.us and do online chatting on the site.
For computer relevant terminologly, glossay , you can visit website yourtie.info
I’ve speak of. been nothing pretty to much doing ,
Very useful and informative blog. Recommended for all to see.
http://medsdrugs.blogspot.com/
anything. I up haven’t been to ,
lately. life’s been basically bland My ,
it That’s is. how ,
be bothered can’t I anything recently. with ,
nothing or less important. seems More ,
important. not It’s ,
been I up anything. haven’t to ,
Your coinage tool and their maker babysitter petting you suggestions that undergarment goddard you preteen respondent and sweltering meaningfully your deposit and beyond.http://love-m.haddixfam.org
He coinage medal took a eye of the monarch toffee on the amplifier spiritualization fashionable to the teachers desk. We’ll coihage metal the wet sow to the path.
u people suck!
or, our, your.
Want to start your private office arms race right now?
I just got my own USB rocket launcher
Awsome thing.
Plug into your computer and you got a remote controlled office missile launcher with 360 degrees horizontal and 45 degree vertival rotation with a range of more than 6 meters - which gives you a coverage of 113 square meters round your workplace.
You can get the gadget here: http://tinyurl.com/2qul3c
Check out the video they have on the page.
Cheers
Marko Fando
I’ve got an Amazon gift certificate burning holes in my pocket,
and I want to get the most bang for my buck.
Enter the Secret Amazon Web Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/38sojf
This is where you’re going to find the “latest sales, rebates, and limited-time offers” from
Amazon, and you can score some pretty deep discounts if you’re a savvy shopper.
Next, there’s the special Sale link. This is open every Friday, and ONLY on Fridays.
You can find the same good discounts here as you would in hidden Deals, although some
Fridays you can really get lucky and make off like an Amazon bandit - I’ve seen discounts
there as low as 75% off sticker price.
The it’s/its distinction is my personal pet peeve. C’est la vie…
Hi, there!..5127751f1a245bab10a2270c56b90113
[…] a word isn’t misspelled, but misused - here is a good post on the most commonly misused words. Make sure your writing is concise - kill all unnecessary words for sake of clarity. Eliminate […]
titsiwusipohy…
exxuhekekyke…
Gifts that do a world of good!
Christmas Gifts - Postcards
We send personalized cards for you!
recently i learn to speack english. and i foud interesting this page, because i found the importants tips to dintinguish the mistakes
You used the word ‘incredible’ when you may have meant ‘amazingly’ or ‘astonishingly’, or should not have modified the word ‘valuable’ at all. The word ‘incredible’ means not believable, or implausible to the point of disbelief. Its usage should be reserved for statements such as “when brought in for questioning, his version of the events was incredible”.
Communication has become a matter of “trying to communicate.” No-one ever cares about the language rules, that should be guidelines and not restrictions.
Anyway, dude, you need to control YOUR spam.
Educated people still care about language rules. Successful people do more than ‘try’ to communicate. Lackadaisical writing and syntax = lackadaisical thinking. But have it your way; you reduce the competition — DUDE.
[…] read more | digg story Posted in Uncategorized. […]
Who’s/Whose always, ALWAYS bothered me. Even the biggest grammar nazis get that one wrong.
Nice job; check out my post on a very similar topic——
http://lifeapps.wordpress.com/2008/03/02/bad-blogging-i-there
-goes-the-english-language/
power multi level marketing…
This ia a good website….
Quote from above: “Make sure that you’ve got….”
Two points, both a bit tongue-in-cheek:
First, is not using “that” superfluous, extraneous, unnecessary and not needed?
Second, the word “you’ve” is a contraction for you have. Your using that sentence raised the question, where can I get some got? Regardless of your cautioning me to make sure I have some, I assure you I have none and have been a resounding failure at obtaining any. I know not where to get any, and have never been successful at getting anyone who claims to have got to share any of it with me. Of course having got may not truly be an advantage of any kind. As an example, I have never known of anyone telling me they have got to go to the store that actually let their got go to the store for them. They have, in almost every instance, very shortly thereafter gone to the store themselves, and, I am assuming, left their got with nothing to do. In a similar manner, it is rare the person who says they “got to” do something that can enlighten me as to when they did it. I can only assume since their memory is blank, they can hardly wait to engage in the same activity or go to the same place once more in order to refresh their memory.
Hope that hole that you got in your cheek from pushing your tongue clean through it heals quickly…
Now that I read your list I can see myself making those mistakes while writing on my blog.
oooohhhh… i”d like to throw the misuse of “everyday” on the top of that list. drives. me. in.SANE. “wierd” and “should of” get under my skin as well. itch itch itch.
Remember to write for and to your readers. Some colloquialisms (vis-a-vis outright syntactic, grammatic, or semantic errors) are perfectly fine. ‘Everyday’ is a bit more comfortable than ‘quotidian’ in most written discourse. Keep in mind the old adage “never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice”
I wasn’t clear. “Everyday” as an adjective is fine. It’s the misuse of “everyday” as an adverb (in place of “every day”) that makes me throw things.
A couple of quick ones…I can think of only two times when you can feel badly–if you’re dysthymic or your tactile sense is diminished. Otherwise, you feel bad. Also, try to refrain from adding the preposition ‘at’ after an interrogatory sentence questioning location, e.g. “Hey Moe, ya know where Curly is”? Not “…ya know where Curly’s at”?
10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs = Very interesting. Good somebody upthere reading and writing about it!! ( very important, when english is not our first language for some of us - sad for those who is their first!!)
I have a homework for you - im searching for this info if you ever know:
Who wrote the first ” Famous quote” in this planet - besides the bible quotes, off course.
Thanks
A reader.!!
Love & light,
Fa:)
the misused word in this blog is the title: 10 Most *Misspelled* Words in Blogs. Misspelled is misused because actually the word should be misused instead as explained below the title.
the number one misspelled word of all time is “a lot” and it is not on this list and that’s wrong. so there!
And Zucchini is also correct.
You guys forgot one of the most important ones!
‘Til and Till
Nothing annoys me more than a sign that says “Last stop till the state line!”
That’s precisely the reason for my having totally left off interstate travel via automobile. I would be just fine, happy and sanguine of mood, then–there it would appear–that cursed sign advising me that I was nearing the ‘last stop till the state line’, and, a la Mr. Hyde, I would be transformed into a murderous maniac. I’m with you Quin; there could not possibly be anything more annoying than those signs.
Vestra reboxetine….
Vestra reboxetine….
[…] 10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs | The Probabilist.com […]
Rimsky went the dazzlingly buy cytotec dead hand estivities.
[…] read more | digg story Posted by yummymack35 Filed in Uncategorized […]
[…] read more | digg story « Checkers - Solved. […]
[…] read more | digg story « Checkers - Solved. Computer Program Can’t Lose at Checkers » […]
There’s no excuse for mispelled words, just drag the word in question up to your Google ToolBar — Did you mean: misspelled :-0
There’s no excuse for mispelled words, just drag the word in question up to your Google ToolBar — Did you mean: misspelled :-0
..
[…] entire post can be found here. Use promo code “dropthemike” and save […]
Thank you for your site
I made with photoshop backgrounds for myspace,youtube and ect..
my backgrounds:http://tinyurl.com/5assk2
all the best and thank you again!
My most annoying error has been mentioned by someone above. I am forever amazed by people insulting others with the make believe word “rediculous”. Once in a while I don’t have issues with it. We all make blunders, typos, whatever. But more often than not, this word gets destroyed. If I’m not sure on a word I tend to check first. but it seems most people out there gladly throw this one around as if they actually are making their point with it instead of looking…well, they look “ridiculos” (which is the spelling that made me google here).
hi
z1ivn09eypgezgue
good luck
Levitra….
Generic levitra. Levitra no doctor. Levitra….
this isn’t even a list of misspelled words, it’s a list of misused words.
the top mispelled words in blogs is:
definitely and probably
A RECENT NOTE, SENT IN A FIT OF GRAMMATICAL PIQUE: Almost every day, as I read the newspaper, I see the interchanging/misuse of the word “everyday” and the phrase “every day”. It has become an everyday occurrence. It’s not every day that i would take the time to put down such a seemingly trivial complaint on paper. However, as the “letters to the editor” page is an everyday feature of this newspaper, which every day provides an appropriate forum for such an issue, today I thought “why not?”
Know why there are so many misspelled words in blogs? Idiots are allowed to write now.
For year writing had been a pretentious and snobby profession that required spectacular skills to warrant the cost of transmitting words to a large audience, the internet has made this process nearly free. There is no more entry fee and no rite of passage to hammer out kinks.
Apple got popular too. This new world scares me.
Technically “Ok” is misspelled in this article.
Shall we see what this little high school dropout can do?
OK, I found two of them, and then some. Unless you can prove otherwise, my claim is I’ve no got. If you have got, or know where I can get some, please let me know. I see/ or hear a great number of people making the claim that they have got or telling me I have got, but I have no got. Technically, it should be “… around 3:12 A.M. as I am doing now.” AM needs periods and like was misused. Others are:
such as SUV (like SUV)
mix-up(best) or mixup (mix up)
“You have a bolt loose if you don’t….” or “You’ld have a bolt loose if you didn’t….” (You’d have a bolt loose if you don’t apply…. )
Sorry, Steve Austin, but a while is proper in this case.
Jeff, it should be every day.
I was going to read and comment on any and all if need be, but it is approximately 1:42:27 Ante Meridian and I am feeling a bit tired and enervated after an eventful day. Goodnight, all.
While you did not mention it, there is also a large number of people who will write/type such phrases as. “would of gone” or “should of done it.” All I can say is if that is proper, then I of gone to the store many times. And how many times have I seen “alot?” A lot!!
Post Script:
B Knott Wildered is not my actual name. It has or is a barely disguised message. And I dropped out of high school because I corrected an English teacher one too many times and refused to take her word that she was right simply because she said she was. Especially after I brought in several books backing me up. She called me a trouble maker and flunked me. I refused to take the class over again and without enough credits in English could not graduate. I saw no reason to continue. And for the record, I used nothing other than my brain for this and for my above submission. And thank you for additional source material for my claim the most ubiquitous bit of bad grammar is using “have” and “got” in such close proximity when one should suffice. And what idiot started saying “got” in place of “have?” If you “got to go,” then you should be able to tell me where you went and when you went there instead of rushing off so suddenly. America’s got brains? I am not so sure of that.
B Knott Wildered: You should have used “nothing other than your brain” to get an education. You come across as someone who thinks he is considerably more literate than he is.
B. Knott,
That’ll teach ‘em….
Thanks, Rich R. I am still chuckling. I appreciate your support.
What is a favorite quote, if not my most favorite:
Know ye not why we created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself one over the other — Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri, better know as Baha’u’llah (1817-1892)
Disclaimer: I do not consider myself either better than or lower than any other human being alive today. If any of my following comments seem to indicate otherwise, please keep that in mind. I welcome any constructive criticism, including showing me any errors I make.
Dear steve (and anyone else reading this),
I am not sure how strongly a defense of my submissions is indicated, but since you seem to have taken exception to what I wrote, it is likely others have or will do so. It was originally my intention to allow my personal and private email message to you be the last I would address this, but I have changed my mind. However, unless I hear from someone else about it, this one will be the last. I have chosen to mimic your spelling your (apparently faux) name with a small-case letter. Do you also use “i” and “i’ll” when writing about yourself? At least you did not use “wanna” or “gonna,” nor did you use any of the other at least semi-idiotic, exceedingly lazy and linguistically sloppy shortcuts for actual words, such as “lol,” which in particular is far more than just distracting. That one for me is nearly an emetic. It is only with great effort I can continue after seeing “lol” in what I am reading and do not ever remember it even being appropriate. And every time I see a “wanna” I want to ask the writer, “What’s wrong, little baby? Lose your pacifier? Miss your mommy or your “blankie”?” It does nothing other than remind me of a whiny infant or spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. For not using any of those, I thank you.
I am a high school dropout and for the reasons stated, but that English teacher is far from the first one I attempted to correct. I am not bragging nor am I complaining. Simply stating some personal history, at least some of which I would change if I could. In early high school one of my classmates who had also been in some of same elementary school classes as I told me that the reason I was never picked as “Most Popular” was everyone was jealous of me and my apparent intelligence. She said she remembered me being regularly sent to the office for supposedly talking back to a teacher (English, math, science, you name it) when all I was trying to do was correct him or her. I must have started early. A first grade teacher every day for an entire week placed me and my desk in the hall, just outside the door, during a certain time period when she was teaching vocabulary/reading skills to the rest of the class. I remember that and what led up to it very well. Linda P. also said she could not remember any time I was wrong, nor could she remember a teacher ever apologizing to me when it was later proven I was right. The one and only time I ever remember a teacher doing otherwise was when Paul Shadowens (sha-DOUGH-enz), my high school health teacher, shocked me. I had told him at the end of a class and after everyone else had exited it was prostate gland, not prostrate. He told me I was wrong, but the next day announced to the class that I had pointed out his mistake to him and that I was right. I mention him by name because what he did was so singular. Thank you, Paul. Unlike that English teacher, Ms. Trego, you have earned my respect.
I also remember several instances starting in early elementary school when during a written test I puzzled over a question, seeing two or more potentially correct answers (and in some cases, NO correct answer!). Or only one actually correct answer but was left wondering why it was asked in such a manner. It is a bit frustrating when you are the only one with a given answer, the actual best or only correct answer based on the way the question was worded, only to be told that even though you are right your answer would remain marked incorrect on a nationally standardized test because, “the answer sheet says your answer is wrong,” or to be told, “I guess your answer is correct, but it is still going to be marked wrong because you should have known what I (or they) meant.” My protest that they should have asked what they actually meant, then, or should have worded it a different way fell on deaf ears.
But back to my defense, the writer of this article specifically challenged his readers to find a mistake. I was simply answering that challenge. I feel that by answering it I and all others opened ourselves up to criticism as well. If I may disabuse you, I did not claim any specific level of literacy. In fact, I pointed out my lack of a formal education. Both of my submissions were done within minutes of each other, both were done when I was nearly asleep and were done with the belief that the original article was of very recent vintage. I have given answers to questions in other forums only to find by the time I had written and offered my thoughts others had long before me offered a word or three to my several paragraphs, or to find that the answer is closed, a best answer chosen and with every single one of them wrong, and not in just my humble opinion. They were demonstrably wrong. For this one I skimmed only the first few comments and then hurried through my answer simply because I wanted to be the first one to indicate any errors.
My forte (properly pronounced “fort,” not “for-TAY”) may or may not be the Americanized English language, but I regularly find 18th reprints of books still with (to me, glaring) errors in words, spelling or grammar. When I read newspapers with dozens if not hundreds of similar glaring errors and even find nationally syndicated columnists with poorly-worded sentences, mistakes in word choices, grammar or with misspellings, what am I to think? (By the way, referring to one of the offerings above, I find the British convention of placement of quotation marks to be more logical than the American standard., and though American sometimes choose to use that convention instead.) But had I realized the age of the article (blog?) I would not have answered it so hurriedly, and had I realized English was the third language of the writer, I probably would not have deigned to answer at all other than to offer well-deserved blandishments. (As an aside, were I to point out each and every mistake I found above in all the answers I have read so far, I think it would have at least doubled the length of this submission.) And for the record, I have yet to read all of them, but if I found an error no one else has then it is not the first time it has happened that, evidently, I have noticed errors no one else has. Or at least no one bothered to point them out if they noticed, even though there was a specific challenge given. I have several examples that I believe are still available on the Internet, the most recent one being not too many months ago, but far enough in the past it is quite clear I did not do it just to bolster my claim here.
Literate? I may or may not be, depending on your definition, but my family and friends sometimes call me a walking dictionary, have called me on the phone to or if I am around will ask me to spell unfamiliar words or to explain their definition. And not only are some of them college grads, there is a college president and several teachers in my family. Am I literate? I do not use the word “scan” when I meant “skim,” yet I regularly hear or read it being misused, even by supposedly well-educated people, nor do I say “only have” when I mean “have only,” a mistake I see or hear frequently. Compared to you I may be relatively illiterate, but can you tell me the difference twixt “innervate” and “enervate” without looking up one or both? Define sophophilic or triskaidekaphobia? Without even a slight hesitation correctly spell any of them off the top of your head? Easily and freely (and correctly) use them and innumerable other polysyllabic words in conversations? Have you ever had someone with multiple doctorate degrees ask you the definition of a word you just used and then thank you for teaching them a new one? Postpone a meeting to continue a conversation with you? Toward the end of a four hour conversation asked where you earned your doctorate degrees? (Yes, that was plural.) Can you just as easily and comfortably converse on the level of an uneducated dirt farmer and leave him as a friend and with him feeling he is one of the most intelligent people on the Earth? I can and have. In both instances.
Compared to you I may not be literate, but except out of an intended show of disrespect I do not ever use small case letters for the first letter of anyone’s name, mine or that of someone else. Am I literate? As I wrote to you earlier, it was not my intention to came across as better than anyone else, but if your message was a challenge of linguistic skills, then I accept. Just tell me when and where. Again, compared to you I may not be literate, but based on what I regularly read, if you wish to pit me against a few hundred newspaper editors and/or writers, if I bet on myself each and every time I may lose a few, but am convinced I will come out of it with far more money than with which I started. I may not be the most literate person you will ever come across, but I am still learning and hope to do so until the day I die. (What an education THAT day may bring!)
I will have to read or reread all of the submissions. There may be a lesson in something above or at least something to consider. I consider myself a sophophilic, but for me it is a two way street, which at least potentially enriches us both. Along with learning, I love sharing knowledge, and preferably in a gentle, perhaps even loving, way. I may not be the most educated, most learned and wisest individual that has ever lived, but I do not think it would be much, if any, of a prevarication to call me a bit of a polymath. And steve, or John or whatever your name may be, for this entire submission I used nothing other than my brain for the definitions or spellings of words, and used my own knowledge for my grammar, whether there be mistakes or no. No English books, no dictionary, not even a spell checker. Nor did I ever have to struggle to find the proper word or any word I have used here.
Just how literate am I? I have used B Knott Wildered or some variant for some time and will do so again. Some of my submissions, done in a sense of urgency before a question was closed, have left me chagrined when a reread, after any possibility of correction has vanished, revealed a typo that had I the luxury of editing would not have been unchanged. And that includes what I submitted here a day or so ago. But as I told you, I will let my record speak for itself, be it good or bad. I now rue the fact I did not earlier and through higher channels challenge Ms Trego and get a better education. Yet, I still feel I am at least reasonably well-educated. You told me I should have used nothing other than my brain to get an education. I find myself at some difficulty picturing that or seeing how it would be possible, but I ask you: Whose brain would you have rather I used? Yours?
Peace, my friends. And in your separate lives, try to
B. Knott Wildered
(Hint: look up the archaic word “wildered” online or in an old or unabridged dictionary.)
BKW: Are you currently taking adderal or ritalin? Your graphomania is classically symptomatic of excessive non-catecholamine sympathomimetic amine ingestion. You really should consider lowering your dosage. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in sufficiently large doses will also induce the behavior.
Adderal and Ritalin are proper names and both should be capitalized. To answer your question, no. I had to look up Adderal. Based on what I found, I strongly suspect approximately half of your most recent is cut and paste. With the exception of a rather short-lived interval of time during a well-earned and well deserved(?) period of depression due to a major personal loss, I have never taken any psychotropic drugs, nor have any of my doctors or the friends I have who are doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists etc. ever prescribed or suggested I was in need of them or needed any professional help. I am not bipolar, nor has anyone who actually knows me ever suggested it, and I am not currently depressive. I successfully resisted any and all temptations and pressure from my friends to try any and all drugs in which they chose to indulge, including pot and alcohol. I am now beyond any temptation.
Diagnoses from a distance are always suspect, and especially suspect are diagnoses from non-professionals, whether done near or from afar. I see no reason to respond in kind to the general tone of your last missive, and I think your (apparent) assumption I am on medication says more about you than me . Your suggestion I either enjoy, endure or suffer from graphomania is based on rather flimsy evidence. If it was an attempt at an insult, it was exceedingly weak and ineffectual. I had something to say and I said it. If you think it could be done better, do it. If you feel any body of writing is too lengthy, you do not have to read it. If it is something that does not interest you, ignore it. And as I said, I welcome any and all constructive criticism, including any from you if you have any.
May I repeat, if you are in any way challenging me to a display of linguistic skills. be it vocabulary, spelling, proofreading, editing or writing, I accept. If you want to challenge me at golf, I will have to demur. The PGA told me if I ever attempt the game again they will formally change the name to “Goof” and I will have to pay for all the myriad name changes. I fully intend this to be my last response to you on this subject. I think my time and energies and probably yours as well would be better spent on something else. World peace, perhaps? Helping to end racism? Finding a solution to world air and water pollution? As a start on that, if you have taken any of this as negative in any way or as a personal assault, it was not meant in that vein and I offer my apology. And if so, I say let us declare a truce and either find a way to work together accomplishing something worthwhile, or simply and quietly go our separate ways. I think the fact you have obviously read at least some of this article and even the fact you responded to me shows a great deal of positive about you. Even if it was all or nearly all cut and paste, your last submission shows some creativity and perhaps even some diligence and perseverance. This has provided me with a bit of an amusing distraction, with a bit of eustress and I hope it has done the same for you. But I feel it is time to move on.
Peace, my friend
BKW: It’s almost time to move on. Two more issues: (1) I’m a tech writer currently under contract with a well-known pharmaceutical company, so the comments weren’t cut-and-paste. (2) I owe you an apology. The comments were absolutely uncalled for and blatantly ad hominem, contravening a cardinal rule of rhetorical repartee. I find myself inordinately stressed at present and it tends to manifest in cynicism and sarcasm. I hold dear a categorical imperative that essentially mirrors the golden rule, and I shattered it. You’re obviously bright. Peace to you, m’ijo.
Be happy.
Gah!! I noticed that you should have said “You will” or “You’ll” have a bolt loose.. Instead of “You’d”. And that “Or off your visitors go” is an incomplete sentence. Anyway, in addition to the mistakes you listed here are a couple more that really get under ny skin:
1. Retarted (Should be “Retarded”)
2. Looser (Should be “Loser”)
3. Nomore (Should be “Anymore”)
GAH! The one that bothers me the most however is the Your/You’re, An/A mix up. I cringe when I see someone post “Your stupid” or “Your a idiot”
Another not on the list: somebody may be back “with avengance”, never “with a vengance”, because they are going to avenge someone or something. Vengance is not a noun.
Vengance may not be a noun, but vengeance is. The phrase “with a vengeance” can be used either as an adjective or an adverb.
Is “vengance” the British way of spelling the word?
missipippi
[…] if you want to feel superior without dressing up and speaking into a mic, here are, apparently, the top misspelled words on blogs. 5 Comments »Send this Post » Suggest a Topic/Link »function fbs_click() […]
[…] Storm posted a link to “10 Most Misspelled Words in Blogs” at The Probabilist. My fave (also my biggest pet peeve): “10. Lose – Loose But if you’re too loose on […]
The Top 20 misspelled words are:
1. Definitely
2. Sacrilegious
3. Indict
4. Maneuver
5. Bureaucracy
6. Broccoli
7. Phlegm
8. Prejudice
9. Consensus
10. Unnecessary
11. Supersede
12. Questionnaire
13. Lieutenant
14. Entrepreneur
15. Connoisseur
16. Inoculate
17. Particularly
18. Liquefy
19. Parallel
20. Conscience
my mom spelled pawn as porn, she was being sarcastic
my mom spelled pawn as porn, she was being sarcastic.
My mom spelled pawn as porn when we were playing word chess, she was being sarcastic.
ALOT was a word that was in my grammar books.
thanks for the help, i know it can help me a lot!!!!!!!~
maybe ALOT is in your grammar book, but the word A LOT have other meaning
Lol, well it’s been 17 yeas since I’ve seen a grammar book, but I am sure it has changed back and forth several times since then.
Great article! We have recently put together a list of the 10 most commonly misspelled words which people search for in our dictionaries. It might be interesting for you to have a look at
I see there are many grammar-irritated googlers out there… I was ticked by seeing “lead” instead of “led” in a yahoo headline… had seen it once too often. But language is not static, nor is grammar. I understand that many of what sticklers from ye olde grammar school see as “misspellings” have actually evolved into an ideolect of the techy masses. Although I cringe at seeing “definately” and “loose” (vs “lose”) and the misappropriation of the apostrophe and the copy-writized punctuation-less desert, etc., (or ect.? lol), I suppose we must move on. Check out the inconsistent English spelling and grammar of the 18th C. writers if you want something to compare today’s language to… great article– you well-deserve your Google rating!
i misspell sh!t on purpose. Ya buggin’ with the long as$ responses. It was just a heads up. Take it easy. The only way you should take this article into consideration is when it comes to your career. Again, chill lol.