I Love Spellcheck

On By aftheadIn Tickles my afthead

I’m just going to say it.  I love spellcheck.  I love that I know that spellcheck is spelled spellcheck and not spell check or spell-check because spellcheck doesn’t get a red underlined wiggly.  (Note, spell check and spell-check also don’t, so that means all three of them are right, right?)  I can’t spell.  Have never been able to spell.  Have been known to spell so poorly that when I right click on the red squiggly line it has no suggestions for me.  Buerocratic is one of my favorites.  You know the act of beuorocracy?  Why can’t spell check get what I’m trying to say?  Burocracy?  Whatever, “dumb organizational rules” gets no red wiggly line, but sometimes gets frowny faces from my boss.  (Frowney?  Frowning.  Who knew frowny wasn’t a word?)

Today spellcheck taught me two new things.  Would you like to learn them too?  if so read on!

1.  Those tiny green cabbages are Brussels sprouts.  Brussels like the country with a big B.  I had no idea.  Wikipedia tells me The Brussels sprout has long been popular in Brussels, Belgium, and may have originated and gained its name there.  I always thought they were brussel sprouts.  Thank you spellcheck!

2.  The plural of eucalyptus (had to use the squiggly line to spell that one) is eucalypti.  I have never thought of eucalyptus as something having a plural.  I use eucalyptus oil when I have a chest cold to keep me from coughing all night.  I suppose it is harvested from a grove of eucalypti?  Or say that you spill many bottles of oil at Whole Foods.  Have you caused a eucalypti cleanup on aisle ten?

Now rejoice all of you at your new found smartness due to my inability to spell.  Wonder how the Afthead is ever going to realize her literary dreams when she is baffled by spelling, verb tense and comma usage.  I’m already picturing the day my novel goes to an editor.  “Well, she can’t use a comma to save her life and she’s got the past, present and future all mixed up in a single paragraph.  At least she can spell.”

Heck yeah, I can spell.  Thanks spellcheck!

10 thoughts on “I Love Spellcheck”

  1. You know, I love spellcheck (I got red squiggles here?!), too; although, I think as an English teacher, I am supposed to decry it as the devil’s invention. You know writers still have to be careful with homophones, word choice, style, and everything else. So, I’m willing to let a neat tool like spellcheck help out on spelling. You noted one of the neatest things about it: If you’re actually paying attention, you learn something, re the S on the end of Brussels sprouts, which can lead to a deeper understanding of a word.

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    1. Tracey?!? Which browser did you use? (Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, or Chrome?) I think they have different dictionaries behind the browser. A new thing to learn! I used Chrome for my post.

      I agree though. The magic spellcheck doesn’t help with then/than or the always confusing affect/effect problems.

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      1. I’m using Firefox. I just can’t make myself use Chrome although everyone but me loves it. It’s just not customizable enough for me. I’m a control freakazoid. (Did you ever watch that cartoon, by the way?)

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        1. I have never seen a control freakazoid cartoon. You must tell me more. (Freakazoid gets red squiggles.)

          Your findings are so staggering to me I dedicated an entire blog post to the topic for tomorrow! Thanks for being my muse.

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  2. Spellcheck saved me when I was exhausted and trying to finish my theses in college and grad school. I’m convinced that magical feature saved me precious minutes that let me get some much needed sleep.

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