We were having a little get-together on Saturday night when a friend offered everyone some Cordial Cherries for dessert. Of course, I didn't eat any because I ate too much of everything else ... but that's really beside the point. I just remember asking what the heck is a cordial cherry? Furthermore, who even came up with the spelling of that word? It's not even pronounced the same way (\ˈkȯr-jəl\).
We all had a good laugh about it, with most of us purposely mispronouncing the word throughout the rest of the evening. Basically, grown-ups acting like idiots.
The point of today's blog is that "cordial" isn't the only word in the English language that seems to defy all spelling rules. Words like "facade" or "gnat" simply don't make sense. The only reason I know how to spell and pronounce bologna is because of that old Oscar Mayer commercial from 1973.
Even the best spellers can be tripped up by the inconsistencies of English spelling.
Below are 20 more words that aren't spelled like they sound.
*Asthma
*Colonel
*Lasagna
*Arkansas
*Sword
*Phlegm
*Potpourri
*Hors d'oeuvres
*Island
*Knight
*Knife
*Rendezvous
*Wednesday
*Salmon
*Corps
*Champagne
*Tuscon
*Subtle
*Lingerie
*Rapport
Thanks for reading!
*STEVE GAMEL is the Owner/President of Edit This, a writing and editing services company located in Denton, TX. Along with being a sports writer for the Denton Record-Chronicle, Steve handles anything involving the written word. Give him a call today to help give your business a clear voice.