English-speakers don’t have to be able to spell all the words in English, just the ones they use in their writing.
Jeopardy Writers Get It Wrong Again
Even though the Oxford English Dictionary is listed as one of their references, the Jeopardy writers occasionally write a clue without checking it. On December 19, 2017, one of the categories was “More than one meaning.” The clue was: “A coffin, or the gloomy feeling that comes upon you as it’s being carried. The expected answer…
Agreeing with Trump on “mike”
At last, something I can agree with Trump about! The other night in his monologue, Stephen Colbert ragged on President Trump’s tweet about Senator Jeff Flake, which included the following sentence: Sen. Jeff Flake(y), who is unelectable in the Great State of Arizona (quit race, anemic polls) was caught (purposely) on “mike” saying bad things…
The Disappearing Irregular Past Participle
Until our remaining irregular verbs become regularized, perhaps elementary teachers could take the time to teach the past participle forms, and professional writers and speakers could make an effort to review them.