Please hope me with this seemingly-basic English grammar/spelling question! Which is correct: "long-sleeve t-shirt" or "long-sleeved t-shirt"? Is there supposed to be a hyphen between "long" and "sleeve(d)? [more inside]
posted by radioamy on Oct 2, 2009 - 38 answers

Spelling filter: Which is correct? "Dominoes" or "dominos"? Or is this one of those words that can be spelt either way? Is one correct, and the other just a result of a mispelt brand of pizza delivery? (or is that mispelled...now I'm second guessing everything!!!) [more inside]
posted by robotot on Sep 8, 2009 - 16 answers

Spelling question involving names of people from Burma. (Or Myanmar, if you prefer dictatorial nomenclature.) [more inside]
posted by hazelshade on May 7, 2009 - 8 answers

How do we spell check (and link check) an entire web site? [more inside]
posted by advicepig on Jan 30, 2009 - 8 answers

What are some easy, relatively quick ways to learn to write better, think clearer, and express myself better? [more inside]
posted by Bageena on Jan 28, 2009 - 24 answers

Why do I keep accidently typing homonyms instead of the actual word I meant? e.g. Pear instead of Pair. Sometimes it gets worse and I write things which share even less in common like pardon and person. [more inside]
posted by public on Jan 3, 2009 - 17 answers

Can you recommend any good print editions of Shakespeare in non-modernized orthography, priced for regular folks (not university libraries)? [more inside]
posted by No-sword on Dec 22, 2008 - 13 answers

One of my neighbours has asked me for some advice and I'm pretty dumbfounded. A senior (~80yo) that she knows has said that he'd like to learn to write and spell, but she has no clue where to start. So, what resources are out there that could be of help? [more inside]
posted by CKmtl on Dec 7, 2008 - 5 answers

Is there a way to make ArcGIS spell -meter like a Canadian? For example, inserting scale text pops out -meter, but I'd like to see -metre and sometimes -mètre. I know that I can subsequently convert these to graphics and edit the text from there, but is there any way to skip this step entirely by changing language or spelling settings within the program? Altering my XP language/international settings didn't do anything. Thanks in advance!
posted by avocet on Oct 29, 2008 - 3 answers

In French, the singular of eye is "oiel" and the plural is "yeux." Are there any nouns in English that have completely different spellings of the singular and plural like this?
posted by Crosius on Sep 26, 2008 - 27 answers

Do non-English-speaking countries hold spelling bees? [more inside]
posted by strangeguitars on May 31, 2008 - 21 answers

How do I pluralize a contraction that already ends with an apostrophe? [more inside]
posted by ignignokt on Mar 28, 2008 - 17 answers

Help me think of tricky spelling words to challenge my daughter! [more inside]
posted by streetdreams on Mar 5, 2008 - 39 answers

An hegemon or a hegemon? [more inside]
posted by oxford blue on Oct 18, 2007 - 14 answers

LOLcats teach us that cats can write, they just don't have very good spelling or grammar. The same idea has been used in advertising ("Eat Mor Chikin") and of course Far Side cartoons. Was Gary Larson the father of this concept, or were there other places where it was pervasive before he came along? [more inside]
posted by L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg on Aug 4, 2007 - 24 answers

What is the plural of "no"? Example: You have to hear a hundred "nos" for every yes. What is the proper way to write "nos"?
posted by dzot on Jul 13, 2007 - 71 answers

LanguageFilter: Why does everyone spell Michael wrong (ie. put the e and the a the wrong way round)? [more inside]
posted by ranglin on May 21, 2007 - 71 answers

I would like to know about the peculiarities in eighteenth-century writing. [more inside]
posted by nasreddin on Apr 16, 2007 - 10 answers

Spelling filter: Why do I ALWAYS struggle with the same few particular words? [more inside]
posted by allkindsoftime on Mar 20, 2007 - 44 answers

Is there a name for these kind of words, and what is the longest one? [more inside]
posted by snailer on Mar 7, 2007 - 20 answers

Why do I have to work so hard at spelling and writing? [more inside]
posted by The Behatted Wild Man of Greenfield on Feb 23, 2007 - 9 answers

What's the deal with "everytime?" Is it one word or two? [more inside]
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) on Jan 12, 2007 - 26 answers

nixon's last mistake? [more inside]
posted by krautland on Dec 29, 2006 - 9 answers

I'm making a hundred or so iterations of a word puzzle type for my class and crave contributions. [more inside]
posted by argybarg on Nov 25, 2006 - 17 answers

Met an Icelandic pixie in a bar; she disappeared in a puff of twinkly frost. I need you to help me spell her name. She went by "Anna" (so did her equally tall, equally blonde Icelandic friend!) but her full name was pronounced something like: Beern-Ana. Ok, so...who's got a clue as to how that's spelled? [more inside]
posted by snortlebort on Aug 31, 2006 - 15 answers

Bruce Sutter's Hall of Fame plaque notes that he ..."lead the league in saves five times." Is this a typo? Or this one of those things that can go either way? ("led" or "lead" for the past tense of "lead")
posted by stupidsexyFlanders on Jul 30, 2006 - 14 answers

Is there are any software that can perform a decent grammar check? [more inside]
posted by benji on Jul 17, 2006 - 4 answers

What are good software titles, appropriate for middle school aged kids, that will help kids learn spelling? [more inside]
posted by Chanther on Jun 7, 2006 - 5 answers

I'm looking for a jokey piece on the Internet which is a treatise on how to reform English which gradually changes into German as you read. [more inside]
posted by dydecker on Apr 27, 2006 - 7 answers

Are there any web authoring applications that have a robust grammar (not just spelling) checker? [more inside]
posted by markmillard on Mar 8, 2006 - 5 answers

Microsoft word help! Midterm paper due in the morning and I can't figure out the teacher's grammar check requirements! [more inside]
posted by sarahmelah on Oct 24, 2005 - 14 answers

For a community of intelligent and educated wordsmiths, Mefi still has some common & persistent spelling mistakes. What tips do you have for better spelling of everyday words, and which ones peeve you the most? [more inside]
posted by dash_slot- on Sep 10, 2005 - 74 answers

Where can I get a popup spellcheck function like AxMe's? It's really sweet. I'm especially impressed that it even works in Opera, is it done with Flash?
posted by evariste on Aug 23, 2005 - 7 answers

What makes someone bad at spelling? [more inside]
posted by dame on Aug 19, 2005 - 44 answers

The web or the Web; internet or Internet? Do you capitalize them? I'm trying to get a sense of common usage on the net (or Net). Do you, or don't you? And why? As a data point, we don't write the Ocean and the Sky, but some people do write the Moon, and some the moon. I don't care what the experts say; what's the emergent convention? What do YOU do?
posted by kk on Jun 8, 2005 - 31 answers

I need an application (preferably web based) in which I can enter a word, including surnames, and get the phonetic spelling in return. Any ideas?
posted by Heatwole on Feb 1, 2005 - 7 answers

Can I please get a definitive ruling on White Castle "slider" vs. White Castle "slyder"? Google tells me it's "slider" but I don't think that's right.
posted by blueshammer on Aug 8, 2004 - 11 answers

In Word, is there any way to set up autocorrect such that it automatically capitalises different combination? E.g., I want 'member State', 'Member state' and 'member state' to automatically be capitalised as 'Member State', but after putting in the first combination, autocorrect can't recognise the difference. Any ideas?
posted by biffa on Jun 29, 2004 - 3 answers

"Can not" vs. "cannot": intuitively, the former seems to mean "one is permitted to not" while the latter means "not allowed to". But I've seen both used both ways. So what's the correct usage?
posted by casarkos on Apr 10, 2004 - 10 answers

To me, grey and gray are two different colors, not just two different spellings of the same color. I've asked a few friends, and so far I'm pretty much alone in my perceptions. Does anybody else think of two different colors depending on the spelling used? [more inside]
posted by emmling on Apr 7, 2004 - 32 answers

What does "teh" mean? I've seen it on several sites, including the site that must not be named, and it's usually used where "the" would be the more conventional choice. Is it like "intarweb"? [more inside]
posted by bshort on Mar 18, 2004 - 32 answers

Why do people misspell 'lose' as 'loose'? I was looking at this old entry at waxy. All the info on the web seems to be of the 'haha, look how stupid people are' variety but I haven't found anything that tries to explain these mistakes away. Is it phonetics, usage, words that are an exception to a rule?
posted by vacapinta on Dec 30, 2003 - 19 answers