No, I don’t stutter when I write, although I do tend to repeat myself. Now there’s a thought—our world’s population would explode exponentially if one could repeat one’s self. Given our narcissistic nature and our propensity for self adulation, the result would be a Malthusian catastrophe of epic proportions. However, that’s a subject for a future post, so back to the question: Do you ever misspell misspell?

Most Most Misspelled Words lists include the word misspell. I’ve always had difficulty remembering how many esses to use, so I’ve devised a simple (and simple is the operative word) formula to use as an aid, and I’m passing it on for the benefit of anyone who has the same problem. Just remember this formula and you’ll never misspell misspell again:

miss – 1 s + spell = misspell

If you can’t remember the formula, just remember your first-grade teacher whose name (an amazing coincidence) was Miss Pell. When you’ve recalled that, simply join the two words and you’ll have the correct spelling of misspell (that rule was never much help for me—my first-grade teacher’s name was Miss Helen).

You’re welcome.