"One false spelling may fix a stigma upon a man for life," wrote the Fourth Earl of Chesterfield in 1750. If you doubt the truth of that statement, just ask the Fourth Earl of Indiana, Dan "Potatoe" Quayle.

In fact, misspelling has not always borne such a stigma. Well into Shakespeare's time, spelling was largely a matter of personal taste. The Bard of Avon himself spelled his own name at least six different ways.

Given spelling's "Shakey" history, it's no wonder we have trouble spelling certain words. Even the experts have some bad spells. Here are some recent examples from various publications:

"Spacecraft launched on journey to astroid." (This word comes with an "aster"-risk; it's "asteroid.") "Afficionados reserve the same kind of dogged attachment to their sport." (While aficionados do have affection and affinity for something, aficionado has only one "f.") "We thought the FBI was the calvary coming to save us." (Don't be cavalier and cross Calvary, the hill on which Jesus was crucified, with cavalry, meaning horse soldiers.)

"With the Senate, emersed as it was in health care discussions..." ("Emersed" means emerging from the water, like a lily pad. The word for submerged or wholly engaged is "immersed.") "The Huskies' confidence reached a rarified level." (This not-so-rare mistake occurs even at rarefied levels.) "A cacaphony of horn-honking downtown." (Uh-"o." This word produces a cacophony of different spellings.)

And now let's stick our hands into a vipers' nest of particularly devious words. Which of the following words is spelled incorrectly?: restauranteur, sasaparilla, accomodate, impressario, rhythym, seperate, idiosyncracy, brocolli, grafitti, mispell.

They're ALL spelled incorrectly. There's no restaurant in restaurateur. It's sarsaparilla even though it's pronounced "sas-pah-rill-ah." Accommodate comes from the same root as "commodious."

Although an impresario (a sponsor or producer of entertainment) is likely to impress us, impresario derives from a different root and has only one "s." While rhythm seems to have a second "uh" sound, it has only one vowel. Remember that separate has a "par," as in "part."

Unlike intricacy and delicacy, idiosyncrasy ends with "sy." Broccoli is good for you but hard to spell. Another Italian word, graffiti, has a double "f" but only one "t."

And how ironic it is that the word "misspell" itself is so often misspelled!

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His new book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: 41330 at Pixabay