Hello from Ottawa! I took a little break from life in St. John’s to visit some family here in the city. And also to do that whole Halloween thing. But since I’m well past the “dress like a hobag” stage, I opted for blue scrubs and a white tank-top and went as an inmate from Wentworth. I’m all about dat comfort.
I’m back in the freelance world again! This time writing about some of the places I visited while in the Balkans. Except no matter how many freaking times I use the word “Mediterranean,” I can never spell it right on the first go. Hell, rarely the second go, either.
“Occasion” used to be my archenemy, and it still feels wrong to me. The only way I can remember to spell it correctly is by thinking about “occasionally” and how the two double letters are on the outside.
Yes, these are things I think about.
Anyway, this is a one-off post, because I sent the question out into Twitter and some of the responses I got back were hilarious. These are our most hated words to spell.
Wow, guys, English is a struggle.
@candicewalsh Caribbean. I always go for two 'r's.
— Paris Marx (@parismarx) November 1, 2016
Two votes for this one! Them double letters are tricky.
@candicewalsh For me it's graffiti.
— Louis Power (@TelyLouis) November 1, 2016
(This one actually trips me up ALL THE TIME.)
@candicewalsh rhythm ryhthm rhythhmmmmm hahaha
— Amy & Nathan (@twodriftersxo) November 1, 2016
It’s even funnier because Amy is apparently a former spelling bee champion.
And some words, I’ve never thought of using before:
@SmithJoanne1978 I'm not sure I've ever used that word in a sentence! Lol.
— Candice Walsh (@candicewalsh) November 1, 2016
@candicewalsh. Parallell? Parallel? Parallel?
— Matt Crich (@mgcrich) November 1, 2016
DAMN THOSE DOUBLE LETTERS.
@candicewalsh convenience. Too many e's!
— Kayla (@kayler) November 1, 2016
We had two votes for “convenience.” This one hasn’t bothered me, maybe because of that handy i-before-e rule.
And of course, we have to blame the millennials again for all our problems.
@candicewalsh Milenneal. Mellinneal? Muhlinnielle?
Dammit.
— Zak Erving (@zakerving) November 1, 2016
(I seriously hate that one too.)
Other runner ups for worst word to spell EVER include: unfortunately, independent, deficient, architecture, privilege, queue. I have to agree with the “queue.”
Would all the deficient, independent millennials please queue up? Your privilege is unfortunately parallel to the Caribbean architecture.
I’d like to point out that I have no trouble spelling ridiculous German words, like “Ausländerbehörde” and “Wissenschaftler.” And I’m seriously perplexed why words like “deficient” and “privilege” are hard for some people…meanwhile I only recently learned the difference between “stationery” and “stationary.”
