Why can't people spell "faint"?

[Cookerhood]

I keep seeing "feint" instead of "faint" on Covid test threads. Why? Surely "faint" is a simple word with "feint" being more unusual?
(I've now typed it so often that both look odd )

[SciFiStirFry]

I suspect it’s because feint is often associated with ruled lines in exercise books? I could be wrong though!

[WeatherwaxOn]

Haven't seen this as much as other misspellings.
I'd like to know why people write "aswel/aswell" and "alot".

[ExtraPlinky]

Bare with me / bear with me

[Halsall]

‘Tow’ the line……

Tbh I haven’t noticed ‘feint’; that’s a new and irritating one!

[AuntieStella]

I spell much better when I'm writing than when I'm typing.

Clever keyboards turn the intended word into another very easily, or even do it because they think they should. Mine turns 'well' into 'we'll' for example, and capitalises words like 'reading' unless you tell it not to.

So I think tech has more to answer for than people, though I do find bare/bear, rein/reign can intrude to the detriment of effective communication, plus the perennial irritation of loose/lose and ect/etc

[Neolara]

I've also noticed that particular misspelling.

[Pinkywoo]

I'm constantly seeing wonder/wander being mixed up, they're completely different words!

[HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime]

Oh good, I spelt it 'faint' on a covid thread and then others were spelling it 'feint' I thought I had spelt it wrong.

[Itwasntmeright]

Definately OP, you would of thought people would of noticed at some point during their life they were writing it incorrectly.

I can spell definitely and I do know it’s would have BTW.

[LetHimHaveIt]

Doesn't annoy me as much as when people write 'weary' instead of 'wary' ('I'm a bit weary about getting back with him') although I think it might be because they're combining 'wary' and 'leery/leary' which mean broadly the same thing. Still infuriates me, though.

[Blackbird2020]

I think it’s because the verb form is more common in some people’s vernacular. Maybe the first time they’ve regularly spelt faint as an adjective is during this pandemic and they can’t quite get their heads round it!

[Iprefergin]

I was reading a thread from 10 years ago on a different forum and it was written as 'feint' so many times I started to think I was actually wrong. Glad I saw this post!

[Blackbird2020]

Wonder why they are picking the ‘feint’ spelling? It is actually a rather unusual word related to only a few specific sports

[Appleseesaw]

It amused me to come across this thread as I was wondering the same last night.

Can I add ‘none’ when it should be ‘non’?
E.g. It was a none event.

[ElvenDreamer]

Lose and loose get mixed up all the time. I think that is the one that winds me up most.

[OutlookStalking]

Oooh now I have always assumed "non" for non event etc and none is SO often used on here I wondered if I had it wrong.

[TwoLeftSocksWithHoles]

@Appleseesaw

It amused me to come across this thread as I was wondering the same last night.

Can I add ‘none’ when it should be ‘non’?
E.g. It was a none event.

or even a nun event (if it's held at a convent!)

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Has to be autocorrect, surely. Feint is an unusual word. Faint is very common, and a more obvious spelling for the sound than feint, in my view. Autocorrect can have odd quirks that way.

[FussyLittleFucker]

I think the use of 'feint' originates from exercise books, we've all stared at the little writing on the back in a bored moment.

Why it's spelt like that on books I don't know.

[Appleseesaw]

@OutlookStalking

Oooh now I have always assumed "non" for non event etc and none is SO often used on here I wondered if I had it wrong.

I’m not perfect and am happy to be corrected if I’ve got it wrong. It’s so so rare that I see ‘non’ rather than ‘none’.

TwoLeftSocks- that is an extremely fair comment.

[MagpiePi]

I think your all loosing you're minds over this and I could care less if people get there spelling wrong. Your all being to judgmental.

[Wagsandclaws]

I see this all the time - I have no idea how people can confuse faint with feint 😐

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

@MagpiePi

I think your all loosing you're minds over this and I could care less if people get there spelling wrong. Your all being to judgmental.

Defiantly, @MagpiePi!

[tcjotm]

@SciFiStirFry

I suspect it’s because feint is often associated with ruled lines in exercise books? I could be wrong though!

I agree with this. We spend years seeing ‘feint’ written on exercise books, in the context of ‘faint’ printed lines, and it seeps into our brains. Then even though people should know it’s ‘faint’ there’s just enough doubt to cause confusion and think it might be a trick. So they go with ‘feint’.

People seem to assume the English language is trying to trick them. It’s like how people feel so insecure about getting ‘and I’ or ‘and me’ wrong that they now choose to be 100% wrong by going with ‘and myself’.

[Abra1d1]

Sever for severe gets me.