Dilemnma, and other weirdnesses

While typing an email this week, I noticed that the auto spellcheck in Firefox highlighted “dilemna” as erroneous for me.

It is possible I was a spelling nerd, and even now find personal lapses and typos particularly irksome.

Lapses, say, of the sort that happen when I see there/their and its’/it’s/its.

Or dilemma. Lazy spelling, that one.  Horridly incorrect.

Also slew.  As in, slew of stupids.  In my book, the only thing you can slew is a dragon, and that’s past tense, not a noun.

Anyhow, there I was  – typing email, accused of heinous crime.

Looking up dilemna versus dilemma revealed 220,000 results for the dilemNa, and 22,100,000 for dilemMa. Clearly the result of unwashed masses contaminating and taking over the English language with a common misspelling. The illiterate internets, they should be called. 

But then, scattered among the dilemNa results were disturbing propaganda articles claiming that dilemNa did not exist in any dictionary, and that an entire generation of Americans (checks passport) were mysteriously mis-educated.  Oh sad day!  I have been deceived.

(Really though, you dilemMites.  That extra M is totally extraneous.  If you’re going to have a pointless vestigial letter, at least mix things up a little.  Reaally.)

…In other news, I have rather come to like the taste of hojicha.  Also,  I suspect oolong tea makes my stomach hurt.

Boo oolong.