Spelling Quotes

“It is a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.”
― Andrew Jackson

“If she can't spell, why is she a librarian? Librarians should know how to spell.”
― Ramona Quimby as written by Beverly Cleary, Ramona's World

“Nanny Ogg knew how to start spelling 'banana', but didn't know how you stopped.”
― Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad

“Percy, we're going to Polyphemus' island! Polyphemus is an S-i-k...a C-y-k..." She stamped her foot in frustration. As smart as she was, Annabeth was dyslexic, too. We could've been there all night while she tried to spell Cyclops. "You know what I mean!”
― Rick Riordan, The Sea of Monsters

“It is easy to believe we are each waves and forget we are also the ocean.”
― Jon J. Muth

“A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.”
― Baltasar Gracián

“Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.”
― Mark Twain

“I don't see any use in having a uniform and arbitrary way of spelling words. We might as well make all clothes alike and cook all dishes alike. Sameness is tiresome; variety is pleasing.”
― Mark Twain

“If you can spell "Nietzsche" without Google, you deserve a cookie.”
― Lauren Leto

“Thou shalt not use the 140 characters limit as an excuse for bad grammar and/or incorrect spelling.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana

“Spelling bees? Spelling bees do not scare me. I competed in the National Spelling Bee twice, thank you very much. My dad competed in the National Spelling Bee. My aunt competed in the National Spelling Bee. My uncle WON the National Spelling Bee. If I can't spell it, I know someone who can. SO JUST BRING IT ON, YOU BASTARDS!!”
― Kristin Cashore

“Remind me to show you the latest e-mail from Courtney," he said now, kicking at a rock on the sidewalk. "You won't believe how many different incorrect ways she spelled hors d'oeuvres within the span of a single paragraph.”
― Aimee Agresti, Illuminate

“A misspelled word is probably an alias for some desperate call for aid, which is bound to fail.”
― Ben Marcus, Notable American Women

“God, don't they teach you how to spell these days?"

"No," I answer. "They teach us to use spell-check.”
― Jodi Picoult

“Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.”
― Mark Twain

“Tired,” said Jason. “S-L-E-E-P-Y. Tired.”
― Louis Sachar, Wayside School Is Falling Down

“thnkz 4 hlpng e wth e spllng d gwammer mestr josef”
― ward schiller

“In this chthonian world the only thing of importance is orthography and punctuation. It doesn't matter what the nature of the calamity is, only whether it is spelled right.”
― Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer

“Punctuation is important, but the rules are changing. Spelling is important today in a way that it wasn't when Shakespeare was a boy. Grammar isn't set in stone.”
― Gyles Brandreth, Have You Eaten Grandma?

“Don't belittle people. If you're hung up on grammar & spelling read a book, not facebook. Honest expression is beautiful, mean comments are not.”
― Nitya Prakash

“Onomatopoeia is onomatopoeia for mashing your hands unthinkingly but hopefully onto a keyboard.”
― Eley Williams, The Liar's Dictionary

“Lest we forget that Shakespeare spelled his surname in five different ways. None of them was S H A K E S P E A R E.”
― Ghil'ad Zuckermann, Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond

“The path to orthographic expertise begins with practice practice practice but leads to more more more. Only a limited amount of spelling can be taught, and instruction typically ends by fourth grade. Orthographic expertise is not acquired through the years of deliberate practice required to become an expert at playing chess or the tuba. We don't study orthographic patterns in order to be able to read; we gain orthographic expertise by reading. In the course of gathering all that spelling data, a person can also enjoy some books.”
― Mark Seidenberg, Language at the Speed of Sight

“Etymology” is from the Greek and means the study (logia) of the “literal meaning of a word according to its origin” (etymon).... It can be a huge help in spelling. For instance, people sometimes misspell “iridescent.”... Rather than just try to memorize the spelling, if you look at the etymology—study the entrails of the word—you find that “iris, irid” is a combining form that comes from the Greek Iris, the goddess of the rainbow and the messenger of the gods.... [O]nce you know that “iridescent” comes from Iris, you’ll never spell it wrong.”
― Mary Norris, Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

“A generation accustomed to relate much of its thought to spoken English may question whether even our words need remodelling as well as our spelling, if they are to be adequate for new purposes and ideas.”
― Hilda Matheson, Broadcasting

“What’s wrong with Louis?” asked Ron. “Is he sick or something?”
“Yes,” said Jenny. “He’s got a real bad disease. And it’s spelled L-O-V-E.”
― Louis Sachar, Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger

“Remember, please is the magic word, but its not the Magic Wyrd.”
― C.A.A. Savastano

“Beezus has told her the way to remember how to spell the kind of principal who was the principal of a school was to remember the word ended in p-a-l, and not -p-l-e, was because the principal was her pal.”
― Beverly Cleary, Ramona Quimby, Age 8

“ mesembrianthemum should be so spelt. In a cumbrous word whose length can only be excused if it is at least significant to the learned, it is absurd not to correct the misspelling y for i; the y at once puts the Greek scholar off the track by suggesting embryo or bryony (Greek βρύω swell, burgeon), and forbids him to think of μεσημβρία noon, which is what he ought to be thinking of. When a word like rhyme that is familiar to everyone has settled itself into our hearts and minds with a wrong spelling, there is much to be said for refraining from correction; but with the y of m. no one has tender associations.”
― Henry Watson Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage

“It's important to note that neither British nor American English is the "correct" one, and in fact, there's no proper way to speak, or write, or spell. The thing about language is that it can't stay still. Restless and impatient, it races forward without waiting for our dictionaries to catch up. The changes made in this book are meant to make it easier for us to understand each other. That's the entire point of having language in the first place.

In fact, I would say that if a person is rude about the way you speak, write, or spell, they are showing a distinct lack of understanding, and it's perfectly reasonable to make up a creative word to describe them.”
― Beth Lincoln, The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels