Spell Check
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Spell Check
Nothing can bring down a beautifully written sentence quite the way a misspelled word can. So today we are presenting the first in a series of intermittent spelling quizzes.
True, there are many other spelling tests available online. But can you trust them? The Internet, for all the blessings it bestows, is a compulsive fibber that wants you to believe that toilets in Australia flush backwards.
We checked five online spelling sites, and three were above reproach. As for the other two, one introduced itself like this: “These lists include 540 of the most frequently misspell words …” Would you have confidence in a spelling website that misspelled misspelled?
The other errant site offered a quiz which claimed that “inflammation of the membrane of the brain” is spelled “meningitas” (should be meningitis) and that “a precious stone of a sky-blue color” is spelled “turquiose” (the correct spelling is turquoise, it’s a semiprecious stone, and it’s sometimes green).
Admittedly the sample size was small, but two fishy spelling websites out of five convinced us that we have an obligation to do this right. Our quizzes will be, above all, practical—no snob words or technical jargon.
So let’s get started, and no fair peeking at the answers just below …
1. The ___ in our county fought in two wars.
A) sherriff
B) sherrif
C) sheriff
2. Good dental ___ prevents tooth loss.
A) hygiene
B) hygene
C) hygeine
3. This is a suggestion ___ of pure frustration.
A) born
B) borne
C) bourn
4. I think that $50 bill is ___.
A) counterfit
B) counterfeit
C) counterfiet
5. The board voted to ___ new standards in language arts.
A) adapt
B) adept
C) adopt
6. She witnessed the incident ___.
A) first hand
B) firsthand
C) first-hand
7. ___ lights are ideal for kitchens.
A) Florescent
B) Flourescent
C) Fluorescent
8. I hope you’re feeling ___ about our agreement.
A) all right
B) alright
C) allright
9. I will let you know tomorrow, ___?
A) all right
B) alright
C) allright
10. Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired by Mahatma ___.
A) Ghandi
B) Gandhi
C) Ghandhi
ANSWERS
1: C) sheriff
2: A) hygiene
3: A) born. The suggestion is born of (i.e., springs from or is created by) pure frustration.
4: B) counterfeit. An exception to “i before e except after c.”
5: C) adopt
6: B) firsthand. The 1969 Random House American College Dictionary lists first-hand, but by 1980, the American Heritage dictionary, with its panel of experts, had it firsthand—one word with no hyphen. That is the standard spelling today.
7: C) Fluorescent
8: A) all right. The phrase all right has warded off alright for countless decades. Despite the fiercest efforts of the semi-educated, alright remains unacceptable across the board in serious writing.
9: A) all right (see 8)
10: B) Gandhi
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
Hello there!
I really loved the quiz ( though I didn’t get it all correct ). Thank you for bringing out such a nice and informative quiz.
Well, I wanted to ask one important question:
Question:
You’ve mentioned that ‘firsthand’ is now written without any hyphen. But Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary ( OALD 7th edition ) says otherwise. It still writes ‘first-hand’, one with the hyphen.
Would you clarify, please?
Oxford dictionaries tend to give British English spellings. Our website represents American English spellings.
Thanks for the help!
I am disappointed with this newsletter. The last word of the second paragraph should be “backward” (no “s”). The second thing I noticed is the misuse of the word “which” in the fourth paragraph; the correct word is “that”.
We do become concerned whenever a reader expresses disappointment. Let’s look at your points more closely. We would be interested in knowing what authority you are citing that does not allow “backwards” as an adverb.
Your criticism of our use of which is without foundation. This is a time-honored way for writers to avoid a distracting repetition of that. It is specifically recommended in many stylebooks, including our own. We think other readers would have been far more “disappointed” to read a sentence with the clunky phrase “a quiz that claimed that …”
(We note that you placed your final period outside the quotation mark—an editorial decision that American copyeditors would flag as nonstandard.)
( Correct me if I’m wrong ) I think ‘backward’ is an ‘adjective’ while ‘backwards’ is an adverb. Isn’t that so?
In this article the adverb “backwards” is modifying the verb “flush.”
I appreciated your spell check quiz; however, someone needs to tell Microsoft about all right/alright /allright as Word allows alright and even gives synonyms for it.
There are many problems with spelling and grammar-checking programs. People surely do need to be careful when using them.