1.

accommodate - Remember, this word is large enough to accommodate both a double "c"
AND a double "m".
2. accumulate - “Accumulate” wanted to accumulate a few more [c]s, but the Letter
Rationing Authorities said two was plenty.
3. aficionado - This word comes from the Spanish verb, aficioner, which means “to become
fond of.” It was originally applied to bullfighting fans.
4. beginning - Well if it only had one [n], then the [i] would have to say its own name, and
then we’d be saying “be guy ning,” which is just silly.

5. calendar - This word has an [e] between two [a]s. The last vowel is [a].
6. colonel - Pronounced just like “kernel,” as in a kernel of corn, this spelling doesn’t make
any sense at all. The problem is that the word has been through so many changes, and
we’re still using a pronunciation that went with a spelling (coronel) that died 300 years
ago. The origin of the word is Italian. A colonnello is a “column of soldiers.”

7. committed - If you are committed to correct spelling, you will remember that this word
doubles its final [t] from "commit" to "committed."
8. .

9. deceive - Remember your rhyme rules, now, kids. [I] before [e] except after [c].
10. disappoint - The same goes for “disappoint.” Adding an extra [s] will only disappoint
your sixth grade teacher.

11. embarrass (ment) - This one won't embarrass you if you remember it is large enough for a
double [r] AND a double [s].
12. ecstasy - In recent years, “ecstasy” has sort of taken a dirty turn. People tend to think of it
more and more in conjunction with sex and illegal amphetamines, but “ecstasy” has its
roots in religious mysticism and self-transcendence. It comes from the Greek ekstasis,
which literally means “standing outside oneself.” There is nothing X-rated or illegal
about it, so leave the [x] out of ecstasy.
13. foreign - Here is one of several words that violate the i-before-e rule. (See "believe"
above.)
14. fulfill - Look, three [l]s is plenty for one word, wouldn’t you say?

15. grateful - You should be grateful to know that keeping "great" out of "grateful" is great.
16. guarantee - I guarantee you that this word is not spelled like "warranty" even though they
are synonyms.
17. generally - General + ly.
18. grammar - Your Gramma would be very upset if you used incorrect grammar.
19. hypocrisy - A classic case of a [y] acting like a vowel when it’s really not. How
hypocritical!

20. jewelry - Sure, sure, it is made by a jeweler but the last [e] in this case flees the scene like
a jewel thief. However, if you prefer British spelling, remember to double the [l]:
 "jeweller," "jewellery." (See also pronunciation.)

21. leisure - Yet another violator of the i-before-e rule. You can be sure of the spelling of the
last syllable but not of the pronunciation.
22. library - It may be as enjoyable as a berry patch but that isn't the way it is spelled. That
first [r] should be pronounced, too.
23. license - Where does English get the license to use both its letters for the sound [s] in one
word?
24. lieutenant - This is one of those rare words in English where you really do pronounce all
the letters. The first three vowels happen so quickly that they come out sounding like
one /u/ sound, but if you slow it down, they’re all in there.
25. lose - “Lose” is commonly confused with “loose,” meaning not tight, but just remember
that “loose” has more room for an extra [o] (it’s not too tight), and “lose” has lost an [o],
so it only has one.

26. maintenance - The main tenants of this word are "main" and "tenance" even though it
comes from the verb "maintain." English orthography at its most spiteful.
27. medieval - The medieval orthography of English even lays traps for you: everything
about the MIDdle Ages is MEDieval or, as the British would write, mediaeval.
28. memento - Why would something to remind of you of a moment be spelled "memento?"
Well, it is.
29. millennium - Here is another big word, large enough to hold two double consonants,
double [l] and double [n].
30. missile - It has the same final three letters as “projectile,” and when one is fired, we hope
it will miss.

31. occasion - Almost every word that starts with o + c-sound + a has two [c]s.
32. principal/principle - The spelling principle to remember here is that the school principal is
a prince and a pal (despite appearances)--and the same applies to anything of foremost
importance, such as a principal principle. A "principle" is a rule. (Thank you, Meghan
Cope, for help on this one.)
33. privilege - According to the pronunciation (not "pronounciation"!) of this word, that
middle vowel could be anything. Remember: two [i]s + two [e]s in that order.
34. pronunciation - Nouns often differ from the verbs they are derived from. This is one of
those. In this case, the pronunciation is different, too, an important clue.

35. pigeon - These foul beasts (Get it? Foul? Fowl?) have been making pigs of themselves in
cities the world over for eons, eating any crumb or pizza slice or Thanksgiving turkey
dropped in the street. Perhaps that’s why their name starts with pig- and ends with -eon.

36. questionnaire - The French doing it to us again. Double up on the [n]s in this word and
don't forget the silent [e]. Maybe someday we will spell it the English way.
37. receive/receipt - I hope you have received the message by now: [i] before [e] except
after . . . .
38. recommend - I would recommend you think of this word as the equivalent of
commending all over again: re+commend. That would be recommendable.
39. referred - Final consonants are often doubled before suffixes (remit: remitted, remitting).
However, this rule applies only to accented syllables ending on [l] and [r], e.g. "rebelled,"
"referred" but "traveled," "buffered" and not containing a diphthong, e.g. "prevailed,"
"coiled."
40. reference - Refer to the last mentioned word and also remember to add -ence to the end
for the noun.
41. relevant - The relevant factor here is that the word is not "revelant," "revelent," or even
"relevent." [l] before [v] and the suffix -ant.
42. restaurant - 'Ey, you! Remember, these two words when you spell "restaurant." They are
in the middle of it

43. receipt - Never forget the rule, “[I] before [e] except after [c].” And in this case, toss a [p]
in there too.

44. remembrance - Remember, even though it’s related to “remember,” there’s no [e]
between the [b] and the [r] in “remembrance.”

45. ridiculous - It’s related to the word “ridicule,” so it starts with ri-, not re-.

46. schedule - If perfecting your spelling is on your schedule, remember the [sk] is spelled as
in "school." (If you use British or Canadian pronunciation, why do you pronounce this
word [shedyul] but "school," [skul]? That has always puzzled me.)

47. seize - Argh! A miscreant! Let’s seize “seize” for breaking the “[i] before [e] except after
[c]” rule and make him walk the plank!
48. twelfth - Even if you omit the [f] in your pronunciation of this word (which you shouldn't
do), it is retained in the spelling.

49. tariff - Even though it rhymes with “sheriff” and has the same single [r] and double [f], it
starts out with the same two letters as “tax,” which is exactly what it means.
50. tomorrow - “Today” literally means ‘this day,’ “tonight” means ‘this night,’ and
“tomorrow” means ‘this morrow.’ “Morrow” means ‘the following day.’
51. truly - Please, oh please, don’t put an [e] in “truly.”

52. until - I will never stop harping on this until this word is spelled with an extra [l] for the
last time !
53. usage - Just move the silent [e] to the end, and put an [a] and a [g] in the middle.

54. vacuum - If your head is not a vacuum, remember that the silent [e] on this one
married the [u] and joined him inside the word where they are living happily ever since.
Well, the evidence is suggestive but not conclusive. Anyway, spell this word with two
[u]s and not like "volume."

55. weather - Whether you like the weather or not, you have to write the [a] after the [e]
when you spell it.
56. Pamphlets
57. Parallel
58. Particular
59. pavilion
60. Peaceable
61. Peculiar
62. penetrate
63. Perceive
64. Performance
65. Permanent
66. Permissible
67. facsimile
68. fallacious
69. fallacy
70. familiar
71. fascinating
72. feasible
73. gauge
74. generally
75. genius
76. Ideally
77. Idiosyncrasy
78. ignorance
79. Imaginary
80. magazine
81. maintain
82. neighbor
83. neutron
84. Ninety
85. Opponent
86. opportunity
87. Oppression
88. Optimism
89. religious
90. remembrance
91. reminiscence
92. vengeance
93. vigilant
94. concede
95. conceivable
96. indispensable
97. Inevitable
98. influential
99. Information
100. inoculate