Vocabulary and Spelling

 

I just finished a book where a boy whips out his pocket dictionary every time he hears a word he doesn’t understand. I have a great vocabulary, so I don’t need a dictionary for that. And even if I have one, it doesn’t always help.

If a word is spelled phonetically, I can find it. But if it isn’t . . .

Spelling has always been my downfall, the only subject I ever got a D in. (At least not until law school, and that’s another story.) I can’t rely on artificial intelligence, either. The spell-check on Word usually works, but if my spelling is too far off, it doesn’t include the correct choice. Then I’m sunk.

That’s a problem with doing crosswords, too. If I know the answer but misspell it, it can throw everything off.

So here’s my advice to my younger readers: don't make my mistake.

Learn to spell.