Words that look wrong

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hoonja doonja

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:11 (nineteen years ago) link

liaison

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:13 (nineteen years ago) link

thier

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:16 (nineteen years ago) link

staring

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:18 (nineteen years ago) link

stingy

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:18 (nineteen years ago) link

Wizdome

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:35 (nineteen years ago) link

environment

― Rumpy Pumpkin (rumpypumpkin), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:36 (nineteen years ago) link

haha I spelled it wrong up there! It is haemorrhage.

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:37 (nineteen years ago) link

havoc

naive

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:38 (nineteen years ago) link

squirm

― beanz (beanz), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:41 (nineteen years ago) link

amok
I learned yesterday that this comes from Malaysia.

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:41 (nineteen years ago) link

genre

bookkeeper

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:42 (nineteen years ago) link

facade

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:43 (nineteen years ago) link

awry

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:44 (nineteen years ago) link

government

― beanz (beanz), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:45 (nineteen years ago) link

was

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:51 (nineteen years ago) link

― LSTD (answer) (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:58 (nineteen years ago) link

economic

― Remy (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:00 (nineteen years ago) link

chute

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:07 (nineteen years ago) link

lieutenant

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:29 (nineteen years ago) link

segue

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:30 (nineteen years ago) link

segue doesn't look wrong to me. seg - ue.

― hockey family (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:33 (nineteen years ago) link

i cringe whenever i see it spelled "segueway."

― hockey family (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:33 (nineteen years ago) link

weird

― j.lu (j.lu), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:20 (nineteen years ago) link

draught

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:36 (nineteen years ago) link

it looks like it should be pronounced "drot"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:37 (nineteen years ago) link

haeghmoeurrheud

― Bnad, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:39 (nineteen years ago) link

Cwm. I know the derivation is Welsh, but still, that's one fucked up looking word.

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:42 (nineteen years ago) link

Liquefy (I discovered not long ago I'd been spelling it incorrectly my entire life)

Deserts (as in "just deserts", not the big sandy things in Africa. Same reason as above).

Words that usually end un -ue but when people cut those letters off (analog).

― lupine lupin (lupinelupin), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:48 (nineteen years ago) link

I always thought "just desserts" was spelled with double-s to reference post-dinner dessert!

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:51 (nineteen years ago) link

It is!

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:52 (nineteen years ago) link

ought

― trigonalmayhem (trigonalmayhem), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:52 (nineteen years ago) link

i cringe whenever i see it spelled "segueway."
you can blame Dean Kamen for making the situation even worse:

http://ordell.typepad.com/tobias/blogpics/segway.jpg

― trigonalmayhem (trigonalmayhem), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:54 (nineteen years ago) link

"I always thought "just desserts" was spelled with double-s to reference post-dinner dessert!"

So did I, which is why it looks odd to me now. The word desert (rhymes with dessert) comes from the same root as deserve, and means something that you deserve (just deserts - it's what you justly deserve), and seeing as deserve only has the one s it does seem obvious now I suppose, I just assumed it was some sort of idiom about puddings that I didn't fully understand rather than an ordinary word with a literal meaning.

― lupine lupin (lupinelupin), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 22:02 (nineteen years ago) link

parallel

― Momus (Momus), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 22:18 (nineteen years ago) link

Last year 'house' had me baffled for weeks. It just started looking mental for some reason.

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 22:25 (nineteen years ago) link

short

― RickyT (RickyT), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 22:58 (nineteen years ago) link

merkin

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 23:09 (nineteen years ago) link

rhythm

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:07 (nineteen years ago) link

ouija?

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:09 (nineteen years ago) link

The word desert (rhymes with dessert) comes from the same root as deserve, and means something that you deserve (just deserts - it's what you justly deserve), and seeing as deserve only has the one s it does seem obvious now I suppose, I just assumed it was some sort of idiom about puddings that I didn't fully understand rather than an ordinary word with a literal meaning.

Jesus, I had no idea. How embarrasing.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 November 2004 03:14 (nineteen years ago) link

Boatswain:

It ain't the spelling so much as the pronounciation. Jesus, now it does look ridiculous. Both, I guess.

― jim wentworth (wench), Thursday, 18 November 2004 03:24 (nineteen years ago) link

wainscoating. Its the way it is pronounced I guess. OK its a Python joke, I couldn't think of anything else.

Though once I was convinced "laundry" was not the word for the place in which one washes ones smalls. I thnk I'd decided it was "launrdroom" and couldnt shake that out of my head.

Mind you, this coming from me, the person who once stared at my phone a full ten minutes trying to remember the number for directory assistance.

That number being 013.

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 November 2004 03:28 (nineteen years ago) link

pumpkin

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:01 (nineteen years ago) link

WHAT'S THE NUMBER FOR 911??? </Homer>

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:01 (nineteen years ago) link

Hahah yeah yeah shutup ;P

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:03 (nineteen years ago) link

tongue

― JaXoN (JasonD), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:10 (nineteen years ago) link

on the title track of the fiery furnaces' blueberry boat, eleanor pronounces "starboard" wrong. (the character is a sailor, ferchrissakes!) but yeah, if i'd never heard the word spoken aloud i'd mispronounce it too -- it's gotta be some archaic middle-english thing.

― hockey family (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:23 (nineteen years ago) link

chagrin

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:25 (nineteen years ago) link

almost

― Slump Man (Slump Man), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:46 (nineteen years ago) link

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gauge

― the next grozart, Friday, 21 November 2008 11:25 (fifteen years ago) link

"misled" on the money. I always end up pronouncing it "Mild" of "missiled" or even "mizzled".

― the next grozart, Friday, 21 November 2008 11:25 (fifteen years ago) link

ten years pass...

beginning

― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Monday, 16 September 2019 14:47 (four years ago) link

i mean surely not

― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Monday, 16 September 2019 14:47 (four years ago) link

available

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 16 September 2019 14:48 (four years ago) link

every time anyone on TV or the radio says 'civilisation', I swear I hear it as 'cilivisation', every single time

― frame casual (dog latin), Monday, 16 September 2019 20:25 (four years ago) link

Seven - Not so much that it looks wrong, as that there shouldn't be a two syllable word in the first ten digits.

(Don't get me started on the letter C.)

― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 17 September 2019 06:06 (four years ago) link

busing

― wasdnuos (abanana), Tuesday, 17 September 2019 06:07 (four years ago) link

In my last post, I was going to put the letter C in single quotes, but then all I could see was Charlie Brown. 'C'

Even worse if you underline it. 'c'

― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 17 September 2019 06:11 (four years ago) link

worng

― j., Tuesday, 17 September 2019 06:25 (four years ago) link

segue
liaison
supersede

― fetter, Tuesday, 17 September 2019 07:00 (four years ago) link

judgement
also, judgment

― The Pingularity (ledge), Tuesday, 17 September 2019 07:38 (four years ago) link

I've yet to welcome 'tyre' and 'pitta' into my life.

― pomenitul, Tuesday, 17 September 2019 07:40 (four years ago) link

misled

― frame casual (dog latin), Tuesday, 17 September 2019 08:42 (four years ago) link

chili

― frame casual (dog latin), Tuesday, 17 September 2019 08:42 (four years ago) link

podcast

― estela, Tuesday, 17 September 2019 08:54 (four years ago) link

astigmatism
mirage
askance
ethereal

― Stevolende, Tuesday, 17 September 2019 08:57 (four years ago) link

prostrate

― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 17 September 2019 10:02 (four years ago) link

two years pass...

djing

― edited to reflect developments which occurred (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 19 October 2021 16:26 (two years ago) link

Pronounced like 'djent'?

― Hideous Lump, Tuesday, 19 October 2021 17:08 (two years ago) link

misled
― frame casual (dog latin)

― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Tuesday, 19 October 2021 17:45 (two years ago) link

Tortoise had a song called Djed which I assume was the past tense of Djing. Had a friend who pronounced it phonetically though.

― Stevolende, Tuesday, 19 October 2021 18:30 (two years ago) link

i always pronounced it phonetically and never until this moment thought to pronounce it as the past tense of DJ. huh. will have to think about it

― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Tuesday, 19 October 2021 18:32 (two years ago) link

Always pronounced it 'Jed' in my, uh, head. Hadn't even considered the other option.

― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Tuesday, 19 October 2021 18:50 (two years ago) link

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