admin, Author at Word Counter Blog

“I look forward to hearing from you” vs “I am looking forward to hearing from you”

Talk about opening a can of worms! I initially thought the answer to the question of the difference between “I look forward to hearing from you” and “I am looking forward to hearing from you” would be they’re interchangeable since both are absolutely correct English. A look around the Internet, however, tells me this minor difference in sentence structure causes quite a bit of controversy. Some say one is informal while the other is formal. Then there are others who say that actually, they see it the other way round and that the one that was declared “informal” is actually the one they consider “formal.”

Should This Bother You?

Probably not. Nobody is going to brand you as illiterate because you choose one of these forms over the other as they both say basically the same thing. But if we’re going to enter the formal versus informal debate, I’d side with those who say “I look forward to hearing from you” is the formal version – and that’s not just because they seem to represent a majority and therefore the winning side!

Here’s why: if you say “I am looking forward to hearing from you,” you haven’t quite got the “ball’s in your court” message across strongly enough. Somehow, it seems to me, “I look forward to hearing from you” is a tiny bit clearer about who has to say something next. The former has a slightly greater nuance pointing towards how pleasant it would be to hear from someone, while the other is sharper, and the focus seems to be on the response you’re looking forward to getting.

Of course, that’s just my opinion. Authorities seem to disagree to disagree, and actually get quite heated arguing for one or the other.

Do Apostrophes Make Everything More Friendly?

There are those who say “I am looking forward to hearing from you,” is still formal, whereas using the apostrophe to make “I am” contract into “I’m” is the informal way of expressing the hope that someone is going to get back to them.

I expect most people will be ready to agree that contractions like “I’m” are more informal than the full versions of the words. Again, I can’t argue against the reasoning behind this argument while still believing that the “I am” version places more emphasis on “looking forward.”

Getting It All Mixed-Up

Since these phrases are so similar in their meaning, some people mix up the tenses: “I am looking forward to hear from you,” is a common error. As soon as “look” gets an “ing” suffix, the next verb has to have an “ing” too. Thank goodness it does. English is confusing enough without mixing things up.

Nobody Can Quite Put a Finger on It

After browsing numerous articles, forums and other interesting places on the Internet, I came to this conclusion: most people agree that “I look forward to hearing…” is more formal and urgent than “I am looking forward to hearing…,” but none of them can quite say why.

Since there doesn’t appear to be a definite answer to this question, what’s your opinion on it? More specifically, why do you feel this way? Let us know your reasons you feel one is more formal than the other.

(Photo courtesy of Justin Henry)

Each Other’s vs Each Others’: Which Is Correct?

Due to the fact these two-word combinations sound exactly the same with only the placement of the apostrophe being different, many people aren’t sure which of them is correct. The aim of this article is to de-fog the fogginess surrounding these two (we’ve already done so with was vs were, further away vs farther away, and onto vs on to). One of these forms is correct, and the other is just plain wrong. Would anyone care to lay bets before we continue by explaining which is which?

“Each” Refers to How Many?

To get the answer we’re looking for, we should begin by looking at the word “each.” It automatically implies that we are talking about one of the following: a single object or person, a group of things, or people that can be regarded as a unit.

To put this more clearly, you wouldn’t use a pluralized word after “each.” You may say “each animal has unique markings,” but you would never say “each animals have unique markings.” If you were to modify the sentence to “Each of the animals has unique markings,” we’re once again looking at a single animal at a time.

You could talk about “each people,” but then you would be talking about individual races, which turns the word “people” into a singular that could be pluralized as “peoples.” For example: “Each people has its own culture,” means that the French culture differs from the German culture, and so on. It would be a slightly odd way of expressing the idea, but it wouldn’t be wrong because in the example “people” is singular.

The bottom line with all of this? As soon as you see the word “each,” the word following it needs to be in its singular form.

“Other” Refers to How Many?

Because we have prefixed “other” with “each” it has to remain in the singular form. While there is a plural form for “other” which is “others,” it differs from the example of “people” since it has no alternative meaning and cannot be pluralized yet again.

Returning to that example, we could say that “people” means a whole lot of persons, or we could use it to indicate race: “The Turks are a people who love their coffee. The Turks and the Greeks are two peoples who have often been at war.” There is no such alternative meaning for “others.” It’s the plural form of “other” and that’s all there is to it.

Sticking to the Rule

The rule is that “each” will always be followed by a singular. “John and Mary promised to love each other forever. They agreed to take care of each other’s wellbeing above all else.” The apostrophe is used to indicate possession, and it comes before the s, not after it.

If we don’t prefix “other” with “each”, we can use it in the plural form. “You need to learn to respect others’ views,” but as soon as the magic “each” enters the equation, “You need to learn to respect each other’s views,” is the correct form. Don’t be confused by the word “we,” even though it does indicate more than one person: “We need to learn to respect each other’s views” is correct as long as we use the singular forms of “other” after the word “each.”

Another Example

Here are two more permutations: “We need to respect one another’s views,” and “We need to respect others’ views.”

“One another” is really just another way of saying “Each other.” But if we leave out the word that indicates a singular (“one” or “each”), we can use the apostrophe after the s because we are now talking about multiple others simultaneously.

No Need for Confusion

Just remember the simple rule about the word following “each” and you’ll never get “each other’s” wrong again. Now, to the important business at hand. Who lost the bet I invited you to make at the beginning of this piece? I accept PayPal, wire transfers, and indentured servitude as methods of payment…

What Are Reading Context Clues?

Sometimes, we come across words we don’t understand when we are reading a passage. You could just google the word to see what it means, but if you’re in certain situations, such as an exam room, you aren’t going to be able to do that. Besides, being able to work out what a word means all on your own is much more rewarding.

To do this, you can either look at the word itself, trying to break down the components into bits you think you understand, or you can look at context. Context is the setting in which you find the word and reading context clues are the bits of information you can pick up about an unknown word from the surrounding context. Look at the words before and after the strange word and see if you can find the context clues that will help you to understand it.

Here’s an example of context clues at work:

“As the king entered his throne room, obsequious attendants bowed before him while keeping an eye out for anything he might need. Each wanted to be the first to provide any service, real or imagined, that his highness might want.”

Let’s assume you don’t know what the word “obsequious” means. What are your clues?

An important person is present. In this case, a king.
People showed how important they thought he was. They bowed.
They were also very attentive. They wanted to be the first to provide any service.

Already, the meaning of the word is starting to take shape. These people are almost overly attentive to their masters’ needs. They are using exaggerated types of conduct to demonstrate how important they think their king is. Could this be the meaning of “obsequious?” Let’s go to the dictionary definition.

“Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.”

Alright, our understanding of the word wasn’t quite as succinct as that, but it’s still correct.

Oh no! Don’t you know what the word “succinct” means? Let’s look at the context. We discussed the meaning of a definition at length. Then we found the dictionary definition, and it was rather brief by comparison. Context clues are at work. What’s the definition of “succinct?” Is it something short?

“Briefly or clearly expressed”

Ta-dah! My erudition knows no limits! I am so clever that I might even call myself a genius.

Noooo! Another seldomly-used word has appeared on the scene. What is the context? You can certainly see I was pleased with my own cleverness. Clues following the word include the words “clever” and “genius.” Could I be patting myself on the back for being too clever by half? Let’s check:

“The quality of having or showing great learning; scholarship.” Yup! I was being insufferably pleased with my own smarts.

This time, I’ve left very few clues. However, I have just bragged like crazy. I’ve also been pleased with myself, and I think I have “smarts.” How do we normally feel about people who are ridiculously self-satisfied? It’s irritating, isn’t it? Let’s check.

“Not to be endured, intolerable, unbearable”

That was pretty close, wasn’t it?

Check Words Both Before and After to Get Context

What ideas led up to the unfamiliar word? What ideas followed it? It’s just like being a crime-scene investigator. Just looking at what’s happening before the word may not give you the full context, and the same thing goes for just looking at the words that follow it. Sometimes, the clues happen before the fact. Sometimes they appear after the fact, and sometimes, they’ll be in both places.

A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing

There’s just one problem with playing detective using context clues. You could be wrong. It’s also possible to be almost right without quite being wrong, but unfortunately “almost right” isn’t always good enough.

Although context clues can be extremely helpful when confronting an unusual word in a situation where you can’t check a dictionary or search online, you should make a note of the new word and check it later to see if you understood it correctly. If your context clues helped you get it right, you’re going to feel good. If you almost got it right, you’ll be reasonably pleased, and if you got it all wrong (an unlikely scenario, but a possible one nonetheless) you’ll have learned something new.

Extra Context Clue Tips

Look for synonyms (words that mean the same thing)

“I was remorseful and sorry.”

Look for antonyms (opposites)

“I was ecstatic, but everyone else was miserable.”

Look for words that define or explain the idea

“Tangible evidence – the footprints at the window, the fingerprints on the knife – helped police to catch the culprit.”

Look for explanations

“I was very despondent because I failed my exam.”

Look for comparisons

“I am perplexed by crosswords, but I find Sudoku easy.”

(Photo courtesy of camerazn)

Common Phrasal Verbs

A normal verb is just one word: go, see, eat or cry. However, a phrasal verb is formed by a phrase of more than one word. It is almost always made of two words: the verb and its particle, which often looks like a preposition but isn’t.

Particles Don’t Just Occur in Physics

For example, “count on” is phrasal, but “on” is not a preposition in this context. It’s a particle. Why? Because if I say, “I can count on you every day,” I am not saying that I use your body to do my counting – not unless we’re really close friends and like to do silly things together. So when “on” is paired with “count,” a new meaning is created. The phrasal verb is actually an idiom, a special way of expressing an idea that is not literal.

The meaning of this sentence should be clear. I am stating that you are reliable and trustworthy, and every day I know what to expect from you. That’s what “count on” indicates.

Another phrasal verb is “break up.” If you look at the literal meaning of the two parts, you might think it means to break an object into pieces. But when you use the words as a phrasal verb, you create a new meaning:

“I broke up with my girlfriend after 10 years because she wanted to marry a rich guy.”

Poor me – and yes, I really am poor because she preferred a man with lots of money. Can you see what I’m saying here? I ended my relationship; I “broke up” the boyfriend-girlfriend bond. This is a very common usage of “break up” (and it’s in the past tense because it already occurred). But it’s not the only meaning of this verb. See this example:

“The students broke up when their teacher spilled milk all over his shiny new suit.”

What do you think they did? Did they rush to help him clean it off? Did they feel sad? No way: not those cruel students. They laughed! So here’s a second meaning of “break up.” It’s much less common than the first meaning, but you will see it, especially in American English. Since the two meanings are very different, it’s easy to tell which one is being used from the context it’s in. With a little experience, you can get used to phrasal verbs with multiple definitions.

Can You See the Phrasal Verb in This Sentence?

“I got away with looking in my textbook for answers while I took the test.”

Is it “got away”? Not quite. The phrasal verb is actually “got away with,” so it has three parts. Occasionally, you will see a phrasal such as this, but as stated above, they are generally two words. This is a great example of how to use “got away with,” because it means to do something (that’s not very good) without being caught or punished. At the same time, this is not a recommended action. I am clearly a lazy student who doesn’t want to study. I promise to improve. Here are two more sentences:

“I don’t want to run into him by accident at the concert.”
“Let’s shop around to see which computer gives us the best value.”

Did you see the phrasal verb in the first sentence? It is “run into.” It’s simple to identify it. However, the second sentence has three verbs: “shop,” “to see” and “gives.” Where’s the phrasal one? It must be “shop around.” It’s the only one with a particle. “To see” is an infinitive. If you reverse it and write “see to,” you have another phrasal verb. So to identify a phrasal verb, always look for the verb first and the particle second (and third, in some cases).

A List of Common Phrasal Verbs

Bring up
Bring on
Call on
Call off
Cheer on
Cheer up
Come up
Come in
Cut off
Cut (something) out
Cut in
Drop by/in
Drop off
Fall apart
Fill (someone) in
Get away
Get along with
Get up
Get back to
Get back at
Give out
Give in
Give away
Give up
Go out with
Go ahead
Grow up
Grow apart
Hang on
Hang out
Hang up
Hold on
Hold back
Log in (to)
Log out
Look up
Look out
Pay back
Pay for
Put out
Put on
Take off
Take out
Turn on
Turn off
Turn around
Turn up
Work out
Work (something) out

Congradulations vs Congratulations

Have you ever wondered why people say and write “congradulations” to those graduating instead of congratulations? What we have here is a pun or play on words. Whoever first dreamed this one up must have thought it hilariously funny, and it would seem that others did too since it has caught on in a big way. “Grad,” of course, is short for “graduate,” and it sounds vaguely similar to the “grat” part of the word “congratulations.” Saying or writing “congradulations” is, therefore, an attempt at a mild joke.

I’m not sure if anyone finds this particular play on words “punny” (funny) any more. Even though I am told that I have an unhealthy love of puns, it fails to elicit so much as a smirk. I’d class most puns as “groan” humor, and “congradulations” has become so overused it doesn’t even give rise to that.

A little recourse to Google is all it takes for me to see that people are starting to get irritated about the use of “congradulations.” There are even rants that fiercely declare it’s time everyone went back to saying “congratulations” like proper English-speakers. I’d say it’s corny, but not a big deal – as long as you know that “congratulations” isn’t really spelled like that.

The Art of the Pun, Play on Words or Paronomasia

The formal term for a “pun” is “paronomasia.” If you learn nothing else from this article, you’ll at least have found a wonderful new Scrabble word that will have your friends reaching for the dictionary.

In the interest of finding a pun that tickles your funny bone, I’m going to see if I can come up with a few classics that will either make you smile or form the intention of throwing a dictionary at me should we ever chance to meet in person. Pay careful attention, and you may even discover how to develop a few puns of your own. But be warned — some find puns witty and cute, while others will not. It’s always important to get ready to duck at possible flying objects aimed in your direction as you utter your newly coined pun.

A Lot of Jokes Use Puns in Their Punchlines

As you go through this selection of puns, you may find yourself groaning rather than laughing. If that happens, you’ll know what I mean by “groan” humor, but it may also become more difficult to understand just why I like puns so much. Are you ready?

Q: Why are pirates called “pirates”?

A: Because they Arrrr.

Q: What do you call a very energetic person who constantly used puns?

A: An energizer punny.

Q: What did the calm leaf say to the trembling one?

A: What’s stomata?

As with our “congradulations” example, these puns use similar sounding words that are nonetheless very different from the ones they masquerade as, but that’s not always the case. Read on for even more painful wordplay.

“He isn’t all that fond of cooking Indian food, but he does like currying favor.”

“I see you have a photographic memory. Too bad you never developed it.”

“If we can say one thing about boiled eggs, it’s that they’re hard to beat.”

“Two antennas got married. The wedding wasn’t exciting, but the reception was fantastic!”

“If you fail to pay an exorcist, you may be repossessed.”

This variety of pun is my favorite. I feel particularly pleased with myself when I coin a new one, and when I hear puns like this, I may even smile, snort, giggle, titter, laugh or even guffaw. Then again, I’m slightly strange that way. Do you have a favorite pun or play on words? If so, please share it by adding your comment. Do you hate puns? Death threats can be sent to my private email account. You will receive a pun-ctual response (hides under table).

(Photo courtesy of klbradt)

What Are Compound Words?

Compound words consist of two words which can be used independently, but when joined together as one word or with a hyphen, form a new word. The funny thing with this is it can be quite hard to spot compound words. Think about the word “airport.” It consists of two base words: “air” and “port,” but we are so used to using the word as one word, most of us don’t really notice it’s a compound word.

Closed Form Compound Words

“Airport” is an example of a closed form compound word. The two words are joined together without a hyphen or a space. Some other examples of closed form compound words include:

Baseball
Windfall
Extraordinary
Metaphysical
Worldwide
Northwest
Stockbroker
Sailboat
Railway
Wildcat
Birthday

Open From Compound Words

These words look a lot like two independent words, but they aren’t because they describe a single thing. Here are a few examples of open form compound words you are likely familiar with:

Flight attendant
Super tanker
African American
Light year
Post office
Real estate
Truck driver
Middle class
Attorney general
High school
Vice president

Think about it. If you took either the first or the second word out of the two-word combo, it would no longer mean the same thing. Is “little sister” a compound word? No, it isn’t. Take the word “little” away, and you still have a sister. You both have the same parents.

Now take “flight” away from “flight attendant”. Does it still mean the same thing? No, it doesn’t. A flight attendant has a very specific job. An attendant can be any person who attends to your needs. It isn’t even necessarily a job. As for the vice president, he or she may be happy to be promoted to president, but that hasn’t happened.

Hyphenated Compound Words

Here’s where it all gets rather tricky. Some hyphenated compounds are always hyphenated (jack-in-the-box) but others may be hyphenated on certain occasions and are not hyphenated at other times. Sometimes, you may hyphenate for clarity. For example:

“Old furniture salesman”

“Old-furniture salesman”

In the first example, it isn’t clear whether the salesman or the furniture are old. For all we know, the phrase may be describing an elderly salesman. Example two is clearer. We can see that the furniture is old, and we don’t have to worry about offending the salesman by accidentally creating the wrong impression.

To a certain extent, it’s a matter of frequency of usage. For example, we are so accustomed to used car salesmen, that we wouldn’t even wonder whether the word “used” refers to the car or the guy. Now check this out:

Example 1

“She was a part-time teacher.”

“The teacher worked part time.”

Example 2

“It was a very high-speed chase.”

“The chase was very high speed.”

“High-speed” and “Part-time” are known as modifiers. They modify nouns. When a modifier appears before a noun, you would hyphenate it. When it appears after the noun, you don’t bother with hyphenating.

Other modifiers that are sometimes hyphenated, and sometimes not:

Five-yard-long
Fire-resistant
Short-term
Good-looking
Blue-grey
Second-rate

The decision of whether to hyphenate or not is based on the location of the noun these compound words modify.

When Never to Use a Hyphen (plus exceptions)

A word ending in “ly” will rarely form part of a hyphenated compound. Think about word combinations like:

Newly minted
Hotly contested

But when you are using a whole phrase as an adjective, you might use hyphens all the same: “The ever-so-slightly embarrassed salesman continued with his pitch.”

Compounds with prefixes such as “pre”, “post” or “mid” are usually used in the closed form:

Postpartum
Preeminent
Midseason

But there are masses of exceptions to this rule, so it’s best to check using a dictionary. If you aren’t able to check a dictionary, you can work around the issue. For instance, if you’re not sure whether “mid-June” should be hyphenated, you could also say “the middle of June”. As a bonus, this helps with word count.

Compounds That Always Have Hyphens

You can be sure of these ones. They aren’t nearly as hard to pin down:

Numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine
Fractions expressed completely in numbers: “Two-thirds” or “one-third,” but “a third” is a third and doesn’t need a hyphen.
Self, Ex and All when used as prefixes will require a hyphen: “ex-president,” “self-expression,” “all-knowing.”
Style, elect, free and based will usually be preceded by a hyphen when used as suffixes: “French-style,” “president-elect,” “Chicago-based.”

Compounds can be complicated. Almost all the work you read on compounds will tell you that open versus hyphenated forms are complicated. Most of them suggest a dictionary check when you’re unsure, and I don’t think there’s any shame in that. I find it pretty confusing too. Nevertheless, I hope this blog post will put you on the road to knowing when to use the hyphen and when you not to do so.

The Difference Between “Danish” and “Dutch”

If you know your geography and have a basic understanding of the names of the languages spoken in European countries, this might sound like a dumb question. If you live in the US and you don’t know much about European countries, you’re much more likely to be confused about these two words. Danish people come from Denmark, and they speak a language called Danish. Dutch people come from The Netherlands, and they speak Dutch. How much easier can things get?

I recently read a blog post by a Dane that showed a surprising tolerance for the way these two countries are confused by Americans. The author even called it “understandable confusion.” Naturally, you wouldn’t want that confusion to happen when booking a flight, since you’d end up in the wrong country and have to book an (admittedly short) second flight.

Similarities Between the Danes and the Dutch

Apart from both words beginning with a D, there are national similarities between the Danish and the Dutch. Both countries are small and peaceful, which means they’re seldom on CNN Breaking News.

They also speak Germanic languages, although you’d see many more differences between them than you’d find if you compared UK, Australian, and American English. It’s possible for Danes and the Dutch to find each others’ languages completely incomprehensible unless they’re written down, and even then they might struggle with some words.

Both countries are reputed to be full of healthy, blond, blue-eyed people, although having been there, I can tell you that this is a stereotype these days. But the riding of bicycles to get around is definitely no stereotype. I actually found the bicycle traffic more dangerous than the motor traffic when crossing the road since there are so many bicycles. That’s because both countries are remarkably lacking in anything resembling mountainous topography.

Last, but not least, there’s the preference for wind power, although windmills are more common in Holland. The Danes have acres of wind turbines, some of them standing in the middle of the sea, to generate electricity.

Differences Between the Dutch and the Danes

Apart from slight differences in geographical location and rather marked language differences, The Netherlands doesn’t have LEGOLAND, which is of great importance to those who love LEGOs. Other differences include the amount of taxes paid and the average number of hours worked every week. The Dutch pay way less tax than the Danes, but the Danes spend fewer hours at work on average.

The Danes also have a very casual approach to authority. Children will call adults, including teachers, by their first names. The formal version of the word “you” is seldom used, even in business letters. Danes don’t find this rude or offensive, but the Dutch are a little more inclined to use formal titles and the formal version of the word “you.”

Beer plays a big role in Danish culture, with special beers being brewed for both Christmas and Easter. Although the Dutch invented Heineken, they don’t brew special, seasonal beers.

Historically speaking, these nations have very different backgrounds. The Dutch are known for their farmlands and always have been, but the Danes are famous for “going a-Viking” which involved getting into long ships and trading and raiding their way around the coastlines of Europe.

If you had grown up on the Irish coast in those times, there would have been absolutely no confusion between the Danish and the Dutch. As you saw the long ships approaching, there is just no way that you would have yelled out “The Dutch are coming!” and if you had, you wouldn’t have struck terror into the hearts of your listeners. The Danish nation, on the other hand, is proud of its Viking history, as it should be – after all, the Danes discovered Greenland and are believed to have sailed to the Americas long before Columbus did.

Know your English Heritage

If you have English or Irish ancestors, there’s a very good chance that you also have some Danish blood in your veins. The Danes weren’t always hit-and-run raiders. They often established settlements in the countries they came across in their voyages, and England was even ruled by a Danish king Canute (or Cnut) between 1016 and 1035 AD. Your chances of having Dutch ancestors is much less likely.

The Best Words to Use Playing Hangman

If you’re looking to kill a little time using nothing but a pen and paper to entertain yourself and a friend, you have several options. One is the tried and true word game “Hangman.” In the unlikely event that you didn’t learn this game years ago, here’s how it’s played.

One player chooses a word and draws a series of dashes for each letter in the word. The other player tries to guess which letters are used in the word, and the first player fills them in with each correct guess. If a guess is wrong, the iconic image of the stick man hanging from a gallows begins to appear stroke by stroke. Rules on how the hanged man is drawn vary, but this generally allows for a maximum of 10 wrong guesses.

Do you want to defeat your friends at Hangman? Choosing words that are difficult to guess gives you the edge. According to veteran players, the ones listed below are some of the most difficult.

Jazz

It only has four letters, but it’s as tough as nails to guess. The reason why this one is so hard is that it includes two of the letters least used in the English language, namely J and Z. Be hated and feared by choosing this tough nut.

Buzz

This word makes use of the same strategy, and if your friends start to see a pattern, they’ll begin by choosing a Z ending just to see if you’re still up to your tricks. Choose a few easy words before you use this one!

Jazzed

By now, your friend is ready to throw their pencil at you and march off in a huff. Remind them that it’s just a game, while you secretly smirk at your own sneakiness in finding out which words are trickiest because you love to win at absolutely everything. By the way, “jazzing” is also a good choice as is “buzzing” and “buzzes.”

Words with Double Zees

Use your double zee words sparingly, and you can add “fizz”, “fuzz” and “dizzy” to your list, choosing as many permutations as your evil little mind can dream up. But you need more than just zees to make you a winner.

Hajj

As hangman word choices go, this one is absolutely brutal. Its success lies in the double J ending and the fact that unless your hangman partner is savvy about Muslim culture, he or she probably wouldn’t know how to spell it. Unfortunately, there aren’t any other words with a double J ending, so that’s as far as you can go with this one.

Words with a Double F

“Faff,” “duff,” “buff,” and “puff” are words that will expand your strategy of choosing rarely-used and seldom-guessed letters. Once again, feel free to add plurals, put verbs in the past tense, and so on.

Words Containing the Letter X

Do you sigh every time you pick the letter X when playing Scrabble? Turn it into your hangman friend with words like “jinx,” “vex,” and “fox.” Other words with X in them such as “six” may be too easy because they’re frequently used words, so stick with the more obscure choices.

Obscure Words with Unusual Letters

Put the double whammy on your opponents with unusual words that also contain less common letters of the alphabet. Below are a few examples you can place into your Hangman arsenal:

Quetzalcoatl
Sequoia
Asexual
Livid
Chthonic
Zwieback
Phylum

Words People Struggle to Spell

If you’d like a whole arsenal of nasty hangman words to make your friends hate you, look no further than words people often misspell. Even if they get several letters right, they may not get the correct answer.

Words with Y as a Semi-Vowel

Most people go into a Hangman game assuming there will be a vowel in the word you’ve chosen. You can use this assumption to your advantage by choosing words that use the letter Y in place of a vowel. “Gypsy” and “rhythm” are both words that will likely frustrate your opponent to no end. You can also try pushing your luck with words like “hmm,” but it really is taking a bit of a chance, and you may just be accused of cheating.

Words Ending in the Letter Q

Choosing words that contain the letter Q will make guessing the word more difficult, but if you really want to take it up a level, pick a word that ends in the letter Q. Warning: if you decide to do this, the person you play with will likely start throwing random objects at you.

Hangman

I’ve left the most annoying choice for last, and if you use this one, you had better have on your running shoes. By now, your friend is already questioning whether he or she wants to remain your friend. This is a good one to use when you’re ready to finish the game since nobody will want to play with you after you use this word.

(Photo courtesy of frankieleon)

Common Misspellings: Words That Are Difficult to Spell

We love spelling in the US. We’ve even turned it into a competitive sport, but that doesn’t mean all of us know how to spell. While many of us rely on spellcheck and autocorrect, this can sometimes lead to unintended issues.

Some words are plain tricky, and even our cousins in the UK (which invented many of the tricky-to-spell words) have similar difficulties. Words that are spelled phonetically present the fewest problems. It’s the ones with strange letter combinations, silent letters and double consonants that are among the most difficult, and it’s hardly surprising that they give people headaches.

An Embarrassment in Spelling

“Embarrassment” with its double r and double s was chosen by British survey participants as the word they found most difficult to spell. I agree that it is an awkward one. I actually keep a list of words I often misspell near my computer, and I have to confess to my “embarrassment” that this word is on the list. Why do I keep a list of words I struggle to spell? So that I can learn them, of course. Everyone should have one.

For those interested, below are the rest of the UK top ten hard to spell words consists of:

Fluorescent
Accommodate
Psychiatrist
Occasionally
Necessary
Questionnaire
Mischievous
Rhythm
Minuscule

I’m happy to say only four of these are on my list, but “necessary” was only taken off it a few years ago. As a spelling exercise for our British brethren, I suggest that they write the following sentences one hundred times without spell-check or autocorrect enabled:

“I occasionally see a psychiatrist about my inability to accommodate the rhythm of necessary chores. If my home were a minuscule bit more organized, I wouldn’t blush fluorescent pink with embarrassment when my mischievous brother comes to visit.”

Admittedly, being Brits, they’d best use the British spelling for “organized.” Although most British people tolerate American spelling well, it infuriates some of them, so if you are British, use an s instead of a z.

Words Americans Struggle Spelling

Google gets asked lots of questions, and it also gets asked how to spell words. The top ten words US Internet users asked google about were:

Grey
Cancelled
Definitely
Hors d’oeuvres
Pneumonia
Appreciate
Hanukkah
Restaurant
Ninety
Niece

How did you fare with this list? I’m happy to say I only have difficulty with two of them, and hors d’oeuvres was discussed in a recent blog post, so I think I’ll remember how to spell it now.

Based on Google searches, Idaho residents were either the worst spellers or those who were the most concerned about their spelling. Whichever the reason, they asked Google the most spelling based questions.

Google also had a go at working out which words bothered people living in different states most. Some of the results are quite interesting, although what we’re to do with this knowledge remains a mystery.

For example, if you live in Hawaii, not being sure of how to spell “Pterodactyl” keeps you awake at night. On the other hand, residents of Georgia are most worried about how to spell “Pneumonia.” Those living Sunshine State know so little about bad weather that they aren’t sure how to spell “grey.” Then there are Maine residents. They want to let us know they’re fed-up, or so it would seem. Their most googled spelling question was for “frustrated.”

Can Americans Spell “Embarrassed”?

We’re not too unlike the British in our spelling vices. More than 60% of Americans can’t spell the “e-word”. Other words that confuse us include:

Liaison
Millennium
Friend
Ridiculous

The one thing we can console ourselves with is that everybody has words they’re not confident about spelling. After all, how are we supposed to know the breed of dog that’s pronounced as “Chiwawa” is actually spelled “Chihuahua?” If we were to pronounce that in the way the series of letters suggests, it would be “Chee-who-ah-who-ah”, and that’s exactly how I remember the correct spelling. Somewhere in my head, there’s a little circuit that remembers it in its phonetically pronounced form.

There’s a school of thought saying we should be given leeway to spell things logically. Before the invention of printing and the development of the first dictionaries, there were no real spelling rules. On the other side of the argument, some are pushing for even greater standardization. But since this would mean either the Brits or the Americans would have to give up their form of spelling, it seems unlikely this will ever happen.

As a final consolation, you should know that some of the greatest writers in history were very bad spellers who relied on editors to pick up their errors, so if you struggle to spell certain words, you’re in good company.

(Photo courtesy of elginwx)

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: The Fear of Long Words

If you have not yet closed your browser in a fit of abject terror, you probably don’t suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, the fear of long words. If you think this word is a rather cruel joke at the expense of those who have this phobia, you’re absolutely right. If you have collapsed into a quivering heap, you aren’t reading this anyway, so we’ll continue without fear of reprisals.

Luckily, even though most people don’t like extremely long words, few people have an actual phobia of them. If they did, it would be a little kinder to use the scientifically accepted term. Unfortunately, although it’s a little shorter, it isn’t that much better. Sesquipedalophobia is about half as long and presumably half as frightening to the phobia sufferer.

If you have this fear, which you clearly don’t since you’re still with us, it must be difficult to talk to your therapist about your problem, “I suffer from hippoptomnghurgh…. I mean… Sesquipedaaaaarrrgggh!”

Are there words that are even longer?

Since you’re still reading this, your aversion for long words can’t be all that bad, but after reading about the longest words ever to be coined and used, you may change your mind.

Honorificabilitudinitatibus is the longest word that Shakespeare ever used. It means “the ability to receive honors,” but it’s not only its length that makes it stand out; it also uses alternating consonants and vowels and is the longest word to have this interesting characteristic.

Antidisestablishmentarianism is the longest word in the Oxford Dictionary that wasn’t just invented and that isn’t a technical term. Unless you are concerned about the disestablishment of the Church of England as the official church in England and Wales, it probably isn’t worth learning.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a technical term for a medical condition caused by inhaling silica dust, is the longest word to be listed in a formal dictionary. Luckily for those unfortunate enough to have it, learning how to pronounce this eye-watering word won’t be necessary since it has another, much easier name.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a place in Wales that demonstrates the Welsh fondness for combining consonants in seemingly unpronounceable ways, but luckily for its residents, the name has been abbreviated to Llanfair PG. Amazingly, Microsoft’s spell-checker recognizes this word when it is in UK English mode.

As for the very longest word ever, it has 189,819 letters, and I’m not even going to try to write it. It comes from organic chemistry, where the names of compounds are derived from the molecule chains they consist of. This word describes a complex protein and is said to take over three hours to pronounce.

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia and other phobias

If you think a fear of long words is a strange phobia to have, there are some even stranger ones that presumably present a real problem for a few people. Phobias are irrational fears, so we tend to make fun of people who have them. I realize this is rather cruel, but let’s take a short foray into political incorrectness and look at some of the odder ones. If you don’t suffer from them, you may find it amusing.

Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, is actually quite common, especially among children.

Hylophobia is the fear of trees – “wood” you believe it? I blame the Brothers Grimm and their fairy tales. Kids shouldn’t read such scary stuff. Admittedly, I read their stories in the directly translated form as a child, and I loved the gruesome bits most of all.

Omphalophobia is the fear of belly buttons. Every few years, cropped tee shirts become the fashion, and that must be hard for the Omphalophobe, but just think what a trip to the beach would do to them.

Nomophobia could be something you will identify with. It’s the fear of being without a mobile phone signal.

Triskadecaphobia describes the fear of the number 13. If I wanted to be nasty, I would list 13 phobias just to terrify a small percentage of my readership, but I’ll be kind.

If a friend has Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

Before you beg them to see a therapist, you can try a little therapy of your own just to see if it drives them even crazier than they already are. If it doesn’t, it may cure them. Give them this article to read aloud, and don’t let them stop until they’ve gone through the whole thing. If they can get past Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch without having a fit, there’s hope. If they can actually pronounce it correctly, I would love to meet them.