Some Spelling Demons

[sr71plt]

A Words:

accept (take) ("except" is for "leave out")
acceptable
accommodate
accumulate
achieve
admissible
adjutant
advantageous
advisable, advisory
adviser (most publishers prefer over "advisor")
affect (always a verb); (effect, as a verb, means "establish"; as a noun it means "end result")
all ready (prepared) already (previously)
all right (still hanging in there as preferred, although "alright" is gaining ground)
all together (all in the same place); altogether (completely)
allotted
allusion (indirect reference); elusion (evasion); illusion (deception)
all ways (every way); always (forever, every time)
anoint
antiquated
apparent
argument (no "e" after the "u" in American English)
assistant
athletic
attendance ("dance")
auxiliary
awhile (adverb); a while (noun) (Parker has been smoking awhile; Tootsie went out for a smoke for a while)

 

[Bramblethorn]

awhile (adverb); a while (noun) (Parker has been smoking for awhile; Tootsie went out for a smoke for a while)

Was the first one meant to be "Parker has been smoking awhile" here? "Smoking for awhile" doesn't look like an adverb to me, although my grammar is pretty rusty these days.

 

[sr71plt]

Was the first one meant to be "Parker has been smoking awhile" here? "Smoking for awhile" doesn't look like an adverb to me, although my grammar is pretty rusty these days.

You are so right. I've corrected that. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[sr71plt]

B Words:

bachelor
balloon
battalion
beginning
born (being birthed); borne (carried or having given birth to)
breath (noun) breathe (verb)
bureaucracy

 

[sr71plt]

C Words:

calendar
capitol (building with a dome); capital (all other uses, including the city where the capitol is located)
Caribbean
cemetery (ery)
changeable
chauffeur
choose (present tense); chose (past tense); chosen (past participle); choice (noun)
committed, committing, commitment
committee
complement (complete); compliment (praise)
concede
concierge
concomitant
Connecticut
connoisseur
conscience; conscientious (aware of guilt); conscious (awake)
consensus
convertible
council (group of advisers); counsel (the adviser); consul (chief of a diplomatic consulate/subembassy)
criticized
curiosity

 

[Bramblethorn]

C Words:
capitol (building with a dome); capital (all other uses, including the city where the capitol is located)

That reminds me of one of my pet peeves:

populace = the people of a region
populous = having a lot of people

"The city was populous, because it had a large populace."

 

[NekoParks]

Bare vs. Bear

B Words:

bachelor
balloon
battalion
beginning
born (being birthed); borne (carried or having given birth to)
breath (noun) breathe (verb)
bureaucracy

I have noticed that the words bare and bear are switched often.

As an adjective, "bare" means lacking clothing, naked, exposed to view, or lacking adornment. As a verb, it means to make bare, to uncover, or to expose.

Bear has no adjectival definition. When not referring to the large mammal, it is a verb with a variety of meanings, none of which relate to uncovering or exposing. A few of its meanings are to hold, to support, to exhibit, to carry oneself in a specified way, to endure, to give birth to, and to yield (especially fruit).

Bear is the correct spelling in the phrasal verbs bear down, bear out, and bear up. It’s also the correct word in the idioms bear down on, bear fruit, bear in mind, and bring to bear and in the common phrases grin and bear it and bear the brunt of. Bare is not used in any such phrases or expressions.

 

[sr71plt]

I have noticed that the words bare and bear are switched often.

As an adjective, "bare" means lacking clothing, naked, exposed to view, or lacking adornment. As a verb, it means to make bare, to uncover, or to expose.

Right. That's a good addition.

 

[Bramblethorn]

grin and bear it and bear the brunt of. Bare is not used in any such phrases or expressions.

I wonder if some of the confusion comes from "bare one's teeth".

Oh, and another that reliably drives me nuts: "hear, hear" not "here, here".

 

[sr71plt]

D Words:

datum (singular form of data)
deceive
decide
deductible
defendant
definitely (some regular forum members habitually butcher this)
dependent
descendant
desert (it's hot out here); dessert (end of the meal--unless you're on a diet)
desirable
develop; development
dictionary
dilemma
dilettante
diphtheria
disastrous
disease
dissension
division
drunkenness

 

[sr71plt]

E Words:

ecstasy
efficiency
eighth
eligible
embarrass
engineering
envelop (verb); envelope (noun)
equivalent
especially (not the same as specially)
exaggerate
exceed (one of only three words ending in "ceed")
excellent
exhilarate
existence
explanation
extravagant

 

[sr71plt]

F Words:

fallacy
fantasy
fascinate
feasible
February
fictitious
Filipino (the people of the Philippines)
financially
focible
foreword (preface); forward (front part, except in a written work/brash)
forty
fourth
friend

 

[sr71plt]

G Words:

gaiety
gauge
genealogy
gorilla (ape); guerrilla (insurgent)
grammar (often misspelled on Literotica)
governor
gray ("grey" is British English)
grisly (horrible); grizzly (bear)

 

[Bramblethorn]

grammar (often misspelled on Literotica)

I once had somebody try to tell me that grammar/grammer was a British/UK spelling difference :-/

 

[sr71plt]

H Words:

harass
height
hemorrhage
humorous
hygiene
hypocrisy

 

[sr71plt]

I Words:

inadvertent
incredible
independent
indispensable
infinite
inoculate
insistent
iridescent
irresistible
irrelevant
its (possessive); it's (it is)

 

[sr71plt]

J and K Words:

jewelry
jodhpurs
judgment (in U.S. style)

kindergarten
knowledge

 

[Bramblethorn]

Skipping ahead to the 'o's: it's "one and the same", not "one in the same".

 

[sr71plt]

L Words:

laboratory
length
liaison (two i's)
library
license
lieutenant
likelihood
liquefy
livelihood

 

[sr71plt]

M Words:

manageable
maneuver (U.S.; "manoeuvre" is British style)
Massachusetts
marriageable
mathematics
memento
millennium
minuscule (instead of miniscule)
mischievous
missile
mortgage

 

[sr71plt]

N Words:

necessary
nickel
niece
ninety
noticeable
nuclear
nuisance

 

[sr71plt]

O Words:

objets d'art (no c)
obstacle
occasional
occupying
occurred/occurring/ocurrence
omission
optimism
ordinance (law); ordnance (military supplies)
oscillate

 

[ishtat]

L Words:

laboratory
length
liaison (two i's)
library
license
lieutenant
likelihood
liquefy
livelihood

Do Americans use licence and license differently?

 

[PennLady]

Do Americans use licence and license differently?

To my knowledge, Americans just use "license." You can have a license -- a driver's license, for example. Or you can take license with someone or something. But it's spelled the same.

 

[sr71plt]

Do Americans use licence and license differently?

"licence" is a variant spelling in Webster's, so American publishing wouldn't use that spelling. There's no separate meaning for it in American usage either.