05 December 2022

Weird

5 comments:

  1. Isn't the rule "when it sounds like ee, e before i"? That reduces the number of exceptions quite a bit (but not to zero, as evidenced by receive).

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    Replies
    1. Darnit, I switched the e and the i there. Anyhow, this has got to be the least useful rule of thumb for English spelling ever, lol.

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  2. 'i' before 'e', except after 'c', or when pronounced like long 'a', as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh' - as me taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

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  3. Brian Regan had a hilarious but about this in his standup routine from ca. the early 1990's.

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