Sizable time spent with a dictionary?

February 6, 2013 — Laura

No one at yahoo.com seems to know how to use a dictionary. Certainly, no one there has ever spent sizable time with one. If they had, they might know that the preferred spelling is sizable:

fp sizeable

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Posted in Misspellings. Tags: , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Sizable time spent with a dictionary?”

  1. ericjbaker Says:
    February 6, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    I’m not in love with the word choice, misspelling aside.

    Reply
  2. Laura Says:
    February 6, 2013 at 9:37 pm

    Yeah, you’re right. The expression is normally “sizable amount of” — a fact that might not be known if the writer is not a native English speaker or is located outside the U.S.

    Reply
  3. ZZMike Says:
    February 6, 2013 at 9:47 pm

    I’m ambivalent on that one. Words ending in “e” that necome adjectives are tricky. I want to pronounce the preferred spelling as “sizzable”. How about “likable”/likeable”? Many dictionaries consider “sizeable” as an alternative.

    Reply
    • Laura Says:
      February 7, 2013 at 8:21 am

      Yes, many dictionaries list “sizeable” as an alternative, meaning the preferred spelling is without the E. And some dictionaries list only “sizable” as the correct spelling. So, what’s a writer or editor to do? Organizations that take writing seriously tell them to always use the preferred spelling. But we all know that Yahoo doesn’t take writing seriously.

      Reply

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