DAILY DIRT: Do some words give you more trouble than others?

January 13, 2025 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Daily Dirt for Monday, Jan. 13, 2025

For the record, I’m still upset about that 1969 English report. See Thought No. 3 … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,172 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Do you have that one word you always have trouble spelling correctly? Or two? Or three? Or four?

Don’t feel bad. I think it’s safe to say you’re not alone.

Dictionaryscoop.com recently released a list of the most troublesome words when it comes to correct spelling. Do any of the following give you fits?

1. Accommodate.

Most frequent misspellings: acommodate, accomodate.

Hint: Always remember the proper spelling has TWO sets of double letters,.

2. Apparent.

Most frequent misspellings: apparant, aparent, apparrent, aparrent.

Hint: There are several combinations of letters that can screw you p. Just remember, the only letter that is represented twice is the “p”.

3. Acknowledgment.

Most frequent misspelling: acknowledgement.Hint: There are only two “e’s,” not three.

4. Calendar.

Most frequent misspellings: calender.

Hint: Dar, dar, dar. Not der, der, der.

5. Colleague.

Most frequent misspellings: collaegue, collegue, coleague.
Hint: For no longer of a word than it is, colleague has more possible errors than the White Sox infield. Just memorize it. There are no easy clues to help.

6. Entrepreneur.

Most frequent misspellings: entrepeneur , entreprenur, entreperneur.

Hint: This one’s always a nightmare for me. I have no helpful hints. Good luck.

7. Led.

Most frequent misspellings: lead.

Hint: This one simply should not be that difficult. Do better, people. Do better.

8. Necessary.

Most frequent misspellings: neccessary, necessery.

Hint: Until the end of time, this word will rarely be spelled correctly. It’s another of those you simply need to memorize.

9. Publicly.

Most frequent misspellings: publically.

Hint: This is another tough one for me. I’m sure J. Robert Gough bails me out on a regular basis when proofing my stories. To me, the incorrect spelling LOOKS like it should be the correct one.

10. Receive.

Most frequent misspellings: recieve.

Hint: Arguably the most common misspelling of them all.

2. Did you know (Part 245)

That Applebee’s last week launched a Hot Honey Chicken and Bacon Skillet meal.
That Sonic has added a Strawberry Fusion Fizz and Sour Dragon Fruit Redcharger (with Red Bull).
That Culver’s is bringing back the Wisconsin Big Cheese Pub Burger and Raspberry Concrete Mixer.
That Hardee’s is unveiling an assortment of new breakfast offerings
That Panera has three new Asiago Bagels

3. I’ve always felt 1969 was one of the most underrated years when it came to pop music.

Take a look at a sampling of the top songs in the U.S. on this day 56 years ago:

1. “Traces,” by the Classics IV. (This is included as strictly a personal pick. It’s one of my all-time favorites, and even though it reached No. 1, I never felt it received the critical acclaim it was due.)
2. “Proud Mary,” by CCR. Although this was one of CCR’s most iconic hits, Tina Turner have provided it an even bigger life several years later.
3. “Whole Lotta Love,” by Led Zeppelin. I once did an English report as a sophomore in high school on this song. My teacher was not impressed.
4. “Honky Tonk Women,” by the Rolling Stones. “I met a gin-soaked barroom queen in Memphis“
7. “Suspicious Minds,” by Elvis Presley. My No. 2 Elvis song. (No. 1 will always be “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”)
9. “Come Together,” by the Beatles.“He got ju-ju eyeball, he one holy roller … “
15. “Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye),” by Steam. What would sports events be like without this to play?
21. “Sweet Caroline,” by Neil Diamond. All of these years later, this song remains an integral part of every Boston Red Sox home game.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Another song I didn’t include on that above list was “Someday We’ll Be Together” by Diana Ross and the Supremes. It was her swan song with the group, before setting out on what became a successful solo career.