When it comes to spelling, you’ve probably relied on some old rules of thumb, such as “I before E, except after C” (which actually has too many exceptions to qualify as a rule). But sometimes these mnemonic devices get us only so far, and we’re left scratching our heads wondering which letter is next — even if we’ve seen the word written down hundreds of times before.
And it’s not just average people who are plagued by these confounding conundrums. Many professional writers and editors also fall victim to spelling mistakes. Our editorial team is no exception, as we too get tripped up by tricky words from time to time and have to look them up to double-check our work. Let’s look at a few pesky words that our editors struggle to spell correctly.
Spelling “necessary” is a frequent uphill battle for Rebekah Brandes, an assistant editor at Nice News. Her biggest issue is mixing up the number of “C’s” and “S’s,” resulting in common misspellings such as “neccessary,” “necesary,” and “neccesary.”
Sarah Kearns, an associate editor at Britannica’s Content Studio, is among several members of our team tripped up by double letters. This is especially true for the word “recommend,” with Sarah saying, “I always think there are two ‘C’s’ in it.”
Some proper nouns are a headache to spell out; just ask Better Report editor Erin McCarthy, who struggles with “Massachusetts.” She even encountered issues when replying to the question about common misspellings, saying she “had to use autocorrect just now.”
By now you’ll notice a trend of double letters being a particularly common problem area. History Facts editor Meg Neal would agree: She trips up with regard to spelling “occurred,” which ends up misspelled as “ocurred” or “occured.”
Assistant photo editor Rachel Callahan points to “psychology” as a word whose spelling always gives her pause. It’s not necessarily the silent “P” that’s the issue, but rather the temptation to drop the “H” and misspell it as the phonetically identical “psycology.”
Kelsey Morrison is the editor of House Outlook, a website and newsletter offering home cleaning tips and other essential advice. Given her area of expertise, it’s a bit ironic that she struggles with spelling “vacuum.” “In my heart,” she says, “I feel like there should be two ‘C’s.’”
If you’re wondering whether it’s “publicly” or “publically,” you’re not alone. Interesting Facts editor Brooke Robinson finds this to be her spelling weak spot, saying, “I have to look up whether it’s ‘publicly’ or ‘publically.’ Every single time.”
As the editor of Word Smarts, Jennifer Freeman is our resident expert when it comes to spelling and grammar. But she admits to being tripped up by the spelling of “millennial” and the similar “millennium,” as she always struggles to remember the double “N.”
The word “accommodate” causes headaches for Daily Passport editor Peter Vanden Bos, who forgets to include a double “M” almost every time. On the flip side, Peter gets flustered by the lack of double letters in “pastime,” admitting he feels like it “should be ‘pasttime.’”
Senior managing editor Allie Takeda finds the spelling of “rhythm” to be particularly perilous. She says, “I always want to add an extra ‘Y,’” which would result in the errant spelling “rhythym.”
Nice News managing editor Natalie Stone finds herself perpetually tongue-tied by how to spell the word “tongue.” She says, “I always ask myself if the ‘U’ goes after the ‘O’ or before the ‘E,’” as in “tounge” (incorrect) or “tongue” (correct).
Editor’s note: Same. — Jennifer Freeman
Last but not least, a spelling that always gives me pause is “pickle” — and I say this as a person who loves pickles and would happily eat a jar of them every day if it were socially acceptable. I often find myself typing out “pickel” before catching the misspelling.
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