Tag Archives: spelling

Jan5

ypsilanti?

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the city of ypsilanti, only 7 miles from ann arbor

home of eastern michigan university

 was named for greek patriot, general demetrus ypsilanti,

a heroic figure in the battle the Greeks were fighting against Turkish tyranny

– a struggle for freedom that many Americans likened to our own.

but there has been another long-fought struggle at work here-

as people have endlessly tried to spell the city’s name correctly

the post office has worked tirelessly to decipher and deliver mail in the city

 i’ll bet even the general has had his name misspelled more than a few times over the years

 

“my spelling is wobbly. It’s good spelling but it wobbles,

and the letters get in the wrong places.”

s.s. milne

 

—

source: washtenaw literacy, the daily times archives, 1904

Jul9

alphabet soup.

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i have always loved alphabets

when i was young

one of my favorite days ever

was when i could finally

decode the letters and read words

i love alphabets created out of every imaginable material, and alpha art and images of all kinds

today i tried to look up the word for someone who loves alphabets

and there was nothing to be found

the closest i could come was for someone who loves words:

What do you call a person who loves words?
A logophile is a person who loves words; a word nerd.
Because it’s not all that commonly known,
logophile is probably most commonly used by logophiles themselves.
(of which i am one)
but alas, ironically, no word for someone who loves the letters that make up every word.
—

“human society, the world, and the whole of mankind is to be found in the alphabet.”

-victor hugo

 

 

Mar26

wobbly.

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when i stopped by my favorite coney island restaurant to pick up a giant greek salad

(in detroit, coney dogs and greek food under one roof are a restaurant tradition)

something on their monday special sign stuck out

while the words ‘coney island’ were displayed on 3 signs all around it

and coney island is a part of the restaurant’s name

the special somehow became ‘cony‘ dog monday.

i know how hard it is to be your own editor

and i am easily amused

but it just struck me as really funny

that no one noticed

 it’s the most popular item they sell.

—

“my spelling is wobbly. it’s good spelling but it wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”

-A. A. Milne

May23

“Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.” ― Mark Twain

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Image

i before e, except after c?

silent e at the end of a word with a long vowel in the center?

at times, who in the abc really knows?

Image

in the recent comedy, ‘bad words,’

jason bateman plays an adult who participates in a kids’ spelling bee

and is required to spell the word,

‘floccinaucinihilipilification.’

(the action or habit of estimating something as worthless) 

ouch.

===
“The story’s what matters; spelling’s overrated.” ― Adam Langer, The Salinger Contract

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image credits: focus features, growing jeweled rose.com