For the love of God, everybody it's etc for et cetera. Not ECT

[Moulez]

I know I'm not being unreasonable, but just please agree so that we can educate people,
Without rules, where are we?

And while we’re discussing our own bogey words, millennium has far too many letters imho.

This is absolutely perfect 🤗 thank you so much. This embarrassingly is life-changing, I'm not exaggerating 😳.

I take it you're not an English teacher 🤭.
Common spelling mistakes sometimes come with a handy ,helpful little rhyme to help you remember rules - such as i before an e , except after c even though there's loads of exceptions to this rule.

Someone has helpfully already provided one for me - you don't want to lose your loose change - that's something I will remember and it would have been helpful to have known this sooner 😖.

Can you relate them to the pronunciation that you are presumably familiar with?

We say I don't want to lose you (pronounced looze, similar to booze.)

Since I've lost weight my trousers are so loose (pronounced luce, similar sound to juice) they are hanging off me.

Does the above make the difference clearer or do you find it just as confusing?

Never eat cream except Saturdays and Sundays
I struggle with occasion. Never quite sure it shouldn't have another I and/or s.

No, you’re right, I am not an English teacher! (?) but yes, I am aware of the type of little sayings you are asking about.

What I meant was that in this case, I couldn’t really envision how something like that would help, given that you already understand the difference in meaning and context between the words. The issue almost sounds more like a disconnect between spelling and pronunciation? So although the pp’s little saying about “don’t lose your loose change” is clever, if you struggle with these words, won’t you still end up hesitating over whether it’s “don’t loose your lose change”?

Necessary is one collar two sleeves 😉

My current biggest bugbear is people mixing up 'of' with 'for' 😬 Just seen it written wrongly on the TV guide ffs!

The first couple of online dictionaries I tried didn't have it: they showed it as cetera (plural of ceterus) meaning the others or the rest, plus et meaning and:
https://www.latin-dictionary.net/search/latin/cetera
This one cited Oxford Latin Dictionary, 1982 (OLD).

The etymological dictionary:
https://www.etymonline.com
"also etcetera, early 15c., from Latin et cetera, literally "and the others," from et "and" + neuter plural of ceterus "the other, other part, that which remains," from Proto-Italic ke-etero‑, from ke-, variant form of PIE root ko-, the stem of demonstrative pronoun meaning "this" + *etero‑ "other (of two), again, a second time, again," a PIE adjective of comparison.
The common form of the abbreviation before 20c. was &c., but etc. now prevails."

Not giving up,since the poster was adamant, I thought I'd try an Italian etymological dictionary: https://etimo.it/:
and rather wonderful to behold, Eccolo! / Here it is!
" Cetera

Cetera
I've tried again to post it but it doesn't show the definition for some reason. It will be visible from the url link above, I hope!

For all intensive purposes, we should of done it years ago.

I quite often write &c on my own notes.

@Abitofalark @WellMaybeYouShouldntBeLivingHeeeeeeee I wish I could explain the struggle I have with this specific word, but I can't.
I know the difference between affect and effect - as per my post from page 1 and I've never struggled with bought and brought and plenty of others that throw people - it's just this one blind spot.

But the lose / loose change makes instant sense to me.

It's confusing to some people because "bearing" an object which supports a shaft and has to bear or withstand, or put up with its weight is spelt B, E, A, R.

What do you think it should be?

It’s free rein not free reign but what can you do?

As I was thinking further about loose and wondering how you spell similar words such as goose, moose, noose, which are pronounced the same, suddenly a line from a song came into my head: 'Make me feel real loose like a long-necked goose'. It's an old rocker and quite catchy.

Another winner that could have helped me my entire life 😄 . Funnily enough, I never confuse loss with lose/loose.

No, it isn't the place. Preaching to the converted there.

Dont bother me how people spell i can scan read.

Its better to see a few mistakes, than hearing about how everyone on mumsnet have some sort of SEN.
What i do have a few probs with is when most use code words, DD,DH,STBXH,DGC,DS,DGP, and on and on and on.

"Make me feel real loose like a long-necked goose"

Chantilly Lace, by The Big Bopper 🎶😎👌

Or if you really want to be adventurous free rain. It's the there, their and they're of raynes 🤭.

"Don't bother me"

Currently posting on a thread in Telly Addicts where several posters are repeatedly referencing the South American country of Columbia.

That's probably because that's how our broadcasters pronounce it: something like C uh LUM be a. The news reader on Sky the other day did that while talking to a Colombian reporter who pronounced it as something like CO LOHM be a. The BBC used to go with an approximation of the Colombian reporter but it seems to have changed.

Rein it in?

? What’s the issue?