Most Commonly Misspelled Words^299
kernel: There is more than a kernel of truth in the claim colonel is spelled
peculiarly to be pronounced the same as kernel. English spelling can be
chaotic.
leisure: We can’t leisurely apply the i-before-e rule to this word: it does not
follow it.
liaison: The a is a liaison between the i’s in this word. It has three—count
them—three vowels in a row.
library: Pronouncing this word correctly helps with the spelling: you will fi nd
no berry in library.
license: We’ll give you a license to spell this word with both letters for the sound
“s”: cand s.
lightning: Even though lightning is capable of lightening the sky, it contains
no e.
maintenance: Help us maintain the correct spelling of maintenance by never
forgetting the e in the middle: maintain but maintenance.
maneuver: Always maneuver an eu into the middle of this word, and if you live
outside the United States, oeu: the British spelling of this word is manoeuver.
marshmallow: No matter how mellow your marshmallow gets, it is still spelled
with two a’s and an o, no e’s.
medieval: Take this memory med to remember that the adjective referring to the
Middle Ages begins with med and follows the i-before-e rule.
memento: Don’t hesitate a moment to spell this word with two e’s and one o.
millennium: Never in a thousand years could we spell millennium with fewer
that two l’s and two n’s.
miniature: It is only a miniature task to write (and pronounce) the a in the
middle of this word.
minuscule: And it is but a minuscule task to remember that minuscule begins
with a minus.
mischievous: It would be very mischievous to ignore the i-before-e rule when
spelling this word.
misogyny: Of course, we all love women but the word for hating them ends with
the same gyn seen in gynecology.
missile: You can send a missal to your friend about launching a missile; just
keep the missile in its silo.
misspell: Misspelling misspell can be embarrassing, so remember both s’s and
both l’s.
nauseous: This word has enough vowels to make you nauseous, another one
with three vowels in a row, this time in alphabetical order.
neighbor: Just remember, the neigh of a horse plus -bor, and you will always
spell this word correctly in the United States.