Spelling pedants -- your votes required!

[frogs]

Dd1 (9) has been sent home with a spelling list that gives the plural of 'gateau' as 'gateaus'.

Being a clever-clogs know-all, she apparently informed the teacher that she'd looked it up in the dictionary, and the plural was actually 'gateaux'. Teacher maintains the normal spelling is the -s one, with the -x spelling as an unusual alternative. Dd1 is spitting tacks.

Who do you think is right? Your votes, please.

gateaux. NEVER heard gateaus in my life before!

Gateaux. Absolutely no question.

Dd1!

Gateaux definitely - teacher should be strung up by a grammer curmudgeon!!!

Cakes!

Definitely gateaux.

XXXXXXXX all the time X not S

gateaux

I've only ever seen "gateaux", not "gateaus".

Definitely gateaux.
Monty Python pronunciation as 'gatux' doesn't really work if you spell it gateaus...

Never heard of using an s for Gateau plural, only x

Looked on Yahoo. So far found:

". Some words of foreign origin (mainly from Latin or French) have their own special plural forms:

-um ? -a
-a ? -ae
-us ? -i
-is ? -es
-eau ? -eaux

So:

medium ? media
formula ? formulae
radius ? radii
axis ? axes
gateau ? gateaux"

from the Hutchinson Encyclopaedia 2000

and

Certain nouns used commonly in English are the same in English and French: gateau - gateaux on English Institute website

yes, dd1

it's about assimilation, though: I doubt geographers write plateaux nowadays (which is the line the teacher should have taken)

I would have gone for x - definitely.

BUT just checked Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors, which has -s as plural, with no alternative at all

My other standard reference books are all at work unfortunately.

DD1 definitely right and I think this should have been acknowledged by teacher, though I think in her situation I would have accepted gateaus from other children even though I've never seen it IRL. Anything as long as it's not gateau's

I think this is a slightly odd choice of spelling word but quite impressive on the teacher's part. Next week, lasagne and bolognese?

X!!! for sure!

So now the big question...is dd going to stand her ground with the teacher? Perhaps you could print this thread off for her to take in as evidence?

Collins Dictionary says -x
Oxford Concise says -x or -s
and Oxford School Spelling Dictionary says -x
[Rather encouragingly contradicting the ODWE]

I would have said x too.

Great response -- thank you, everyone! Clearly if attempting to generate the largest no. of responses in the shortest time on a Sunday evening, one should choose spelling pedantry over Calpol every time.

Glad you all agree with me dd1 will feel vindicated! But I fear I shall have to encourage her to Let It Go she's already been sent out of the classroom four times in a fortnight for being a PITA, so probably shouldn't be encouraged in further displays of Attitude.

Gateaux definitely. My dd was once sent home with "fourty" as a spelling too

She'll go far, frogs

Of course it's gateaux, it's a French word ffs!

Just got Oxford Concise Disctionary out and it has both spellings as possible plurals - both S and X. However neither are classed as the "normal" or "alternative".

Think the teacher here is being very unencouraging to your DD. She should ahve said well done; that is the other spelling allowed yes. Grrr!