Words that look wrong

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"Now"

Just look at it. It seems wrong.

― David Allen (David Allen), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:50 (twenty-one years ago)

"quim"

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Tucson

― hockey family (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:51 (twenty-one years ago)

'enough'

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Condoleezza

― Nemo (JND), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

why

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

"from"

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

the

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

whenever i have to write a word (besides my name or it, and, the, etc.) more than 25-30 times in a paper or whatever, it starts to look awful and unnatural.

― peter smith (plsmith), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:57 (twenty-one years ago)

'Anthony Wilson'

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:57 (twenty-one years ago)

coypu

― Matt (Matt), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:58 (twenty-one years ago)

misled

― j c (j c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 16:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Bush.

― aimurchie, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

bruwnuctmfert

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

also:

humbiopsychogarratosis

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

acme

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

acne

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:02 (twenty-one years ago)

almanac

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:02 (twenty-one years ago)

manoeuvre

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:03 (twenty-one years ago)

touche!:) (with accent.)

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

foreign

― Laura H. (laurah), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:04 (twenty-one years ago)

heamorrhage

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Yep, that definitely looks wrong.

― NickB (NickB), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:08 (twenty-one years ago)

hehe xxxpost

(not "hehe" as a suggestion)

diarrhoea

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Haemorrhage?

― Ol' prune face (Mark C), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:11 (twenty-one years ago)

queue

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:11 (twenty-one years ago)

hoonja doonja

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:11 (twenty-one years ago)

liaison

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:13 (twenty-one years ago)

thier

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:16 (twenty-one years ago)

staring

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:18 (twenty-one years ago)

stingy

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Wizdome

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

environment

― Rumpy Pumpkin (rumpypumpkin), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:36 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

havoc

naive

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

squirm

― beanz (beanz), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

amok
I learned yesterday that this comes from Malaysia.

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:41 (twenty-one years ago)

genre

bookkeeper

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:42 (twenty-one years ago)

facade

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

awry

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:44 (twenty-one years ago)

government

― beanz (beanz), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:45 (twenty-one years ago)

was

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:51 (twenty-one years ago)

― LSTD (answer) (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 17:58 (twenty-one years ago)

economic

― Remy (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:00 (twenty-one years ago)

chute

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:07 (twenty-one years ago)

lieutenant

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:29 (twenty-one years ago)

segue

― Kenan (kenan), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:30 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― hockey family (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:33 (twenty-one years ago)

i cringe whenever i see it spelled "segueway."

― hockey family (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 18:33 (twenty-one years ago)

weird

― j.lu (j.lu), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

draught

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:36 (twenty-one years ago)

it looks like it should be pronounced "drot"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:37 (twenty-one years ago)

haeghmoeurrheud

― Bnad, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Hunter (Hunter), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:42 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― sgs (sgs), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

It is!

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:52 (twenty-one years ago)

ought

― trigonalmayhem (trigonalmayhem), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 19:52 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (twenty-one years ago)

"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 (twenty-one years ago)

parallel

― Momus (Momus), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 22:18 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (twenty-one years ago)

short

― RickyT (RickyT), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 22:58 (twenty-one years ago)

merkin

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 17 November 2004 23:09 (twenty-one years ago)

rhythm

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:07 (twenty-one years ago)

ouija?

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:09 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (twenty-one years ago)

pumpkin

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:01 (twenty-one years ago)

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

― Adamdrome Crankypants (Autumn Almanac), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahah yeah yeah shutup ;P

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:03 (twenty-one years ago)

tongue

― JaXoN (JasonD), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:10 (twenty-one years ago)

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 (twenty-one years ago)

chagrin

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 November 2004 04:25 (twenty-one years ago)

almost

― Slump Man (Slump Man), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't take too kindly to words that look at me wrong.

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:51 (twenty-one years ago)

wainscoating

It's actually "wainscoting" (that one I didn't know until I looked it up or "wainscotting" (that one I did)

― wetmink (wetmink), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

lead and led

― wetmink (wetmink), Friday, 19 November 2004 03:55 (twenty-one years ago)

ceiling

― Clare (not entirely unhappy), Friday, 19 November 2004 04:05 (twenty-one years ago)

entrepeneurism

― erik, Friday, 19 November 2004 08:12 (twenty-one years ago)

asphalt

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 22 November 2004 10:29 (twenty-one years ago)

minute

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 22 November 2004 10:30 (twenty-one years ago)

separate

― Cathy (Cathy), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 12:59 (twenty-one years ago)

flit

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 24 November 2004 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

guard

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Throatwobbler Mangrove

― j.lu (j.lu), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

albeit

― tremendoid, Wednesday, 24 November 2004 19:47 (twenty-one years ago)

the word "sword" has always bugged me.

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 21:32 (twenty-one years ago)

a capella
privilege

i probably spelled both of those wrong.

― Maria (Maria), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:03 (twenty-one years ago)

gubernatorial

― Cathy (Cathy), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:18 (twenty-one years ago)

definite
dude

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

three years pass...

ONE

― z "R" s (Z S), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 03:56 (seventeen years ago)

comptroller

― thereminimum chips (electricsound), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 03:56 (seventeen years ago)

If you were in a spelling bee and you had to spell ONE, without ever seeing it before, you would be completely helpless.

― z "R" s (Z S), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 03:59 (seventeen years ago)

rhythm

― myspace password secretary (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 03:59 (seventeen years ago)

drinkability

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 04:03 (seventeen years ago)

CUPBOARD, ffs

― collardio gelatinous, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 04:04 (seventeen years ago)

vacuum!

― carahNYC, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 04:06 (seventeen years ago)

rough bough cough dough

― Disco/Very (Roz), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 14:52 (seventeen years ago)

went

― snoball, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:11 (seventeen years ago)

sandwich.

― what U cry 4 (jim), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:16 (seventeen years ago)

obfuscate

― henry s, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:28 (seventeen years ago)

lots

― henry s, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:28 (seventeen years ago)

abstruse

― henry s, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:29 (seventeen years ago)

profligate

― henry s, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:30 (seventeen years ago)

perfunctory

― henry s, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:30 (seventeen years ago)

there's lots of them!

― henry s, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:30 (seventeen years ago)

numskull

― StanM, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 15:47 (seventeen years ago)

Speaking of the Fiery Furnaces... "fiery." Why not "firey"?

Also judgment (some people spell it that way), wilful, sacrilege.

― Josefa, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:10 (seventeen years ago)

queue, thwart, banal, blurt

― carahNYC, Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:12 (seventeen years ago)

Lopadotemakhoselakhogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiokarabomelitokatakekhymenokikhlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptokephalliokigklopeleiolagōiosiraiobaphētraganopterýgōn always seemed pretty fishy to me.

― Sugar hiccup, Makes a pig soar and swoon (Pillbox), Wednesday, 12 November 2008 16:31 (seventeen years ago)

"stomach" looked completely wrong to me as a kid for a long time. I remember being baffled over a Peanuts strip with the word in it. I knew what it was saying, and what it meant, but I couldn't reconcile the "ach" part which I thought had something to do with "ache".

― akm, Thursday, 13 November 2008 03:50 (seventeen years ago)

fuchsia

― Maria :D, Thursday, 13 November 2008 03:58 (seventeen years ago)

sugar

― moley, Thursday, 13 November 2008 04:01 (seventeen years ago)

Pet Rescue
Petrescu

― StanM, Monday, 17 November 2008 17:18 (seventeen years ago)

toupée

Doesn't exactly count because it's french, but...

― kingkongvsgodzilla, Monday, 17 November 2008 17:40 (seventeen years ago)

― M.V., Monday, 17 November 2008 18:21 (seventeen years ago)

wednesday

― DI HERE (PappaWheelie V), Monday, 17 November 2008 18:27 (seventeen years ago)

etiolate

― Aimless, Monday, 17 November 2008 18:37 (seventeen years ago)

i was just thinking this about "awhile" yesterday. i was telling someone when the correct time was to use "awhile" was (as opposed to "a while" "for a while" etc) and i looked it over and was just like...wait, that can't be how it's spelled. "awhile"? wtf is that?
obv i knew that it was spelled that way, but i guess some words just look weird sometimes

― Kevin Keller, Monday, 17 November 2008 18:41 (seventeen years ago)

anyway, i think people are veering toward "words that are spelled unconventially and/or difficultly" rather than "words that look wrong"
great thread idea though

― Kevin Keller, Monday, 17 November 2008 18:42 (seventeen years ago)

gorge

― Aimless, Monday, 17 November 2008 18:44 (seventeen years ago)

Vegetables

― polyphonic, Monday, 17 November 2008 18:45 (seventeen years ago)

Once
Massacre

― Abbott of the Trapezoid Monks (Abbott), Monday, 17 November 2008 19:14 (seventeen years ago)

quash

― henry s, Monday, 17 November 2008 19:18 (seventeen years ago)

eighth (h-t-h or t-h-t?)

― not a Georgia peach but a Maryland crab (j.lu), Monday, 17 November 2008 19:20 (seventeen years ago)

teh

― M.V., Monday, 17 November 2008 19:24 (seventeen years ago)

thousandth

― henry s, Monday, 17 November 2008 19:25 (seventeen years ago)

lustre

― Paul in Santa Cruz, Friday, 21 November 2008 06:04 (seventeen years ago)

Neither 'focused' nor 'focussed' look right, but both are acceptable

grotesque

― James Morrison, Friday, 21 November 2008 08:00 (seventeen years ago)

tranquillity

― J****y Cash (Dave from Norwich), Friday, 21 November 2008 11:01 (seventeen years ago)

gauge

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

"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 (seventeen years ago)

ten years pass...

beginning

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

i mean surely not

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

available

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

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 (six years ago)

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 (six years ago)

busing

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

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 (six years ago)

worng

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

segue
liaison
supersede

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

judgement
also, judgment

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

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

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

misled

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

chili

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

podcast

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

astigmatism
mirage
askance
ethereal

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

prostrate

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

two years pass...

djing

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

Pronounced like 'djent'?

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

misled
― frame casual (dog latin)

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

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 (four years ago)

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 (four years ago)

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

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

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