What are the word records for unusual spelling?
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Problem
What are the word records for unusual spelling? (Spelling / Structure / Subset of Word) a. to spell, most difficult b. exceptions to I before E [23-71] i. E before I c. American word ending "our" but pronounced like "or," multisyllabic d. variant spellings of a non-foreign word, most [ Editor: question framed by the editor from the headings of the Taxonomy of Wordplay. ]
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[ Editor: from the Taxonomy of Wordplay, www.questrel.com, retrieved 28 Oct 2026. Classes (common, uncommon, hyphenated words, phrases), scores, ties (-t) and the source codes in brackets are explained in language/english/word.records.introduction. ]
a. to spell, most difficult
common word: dumbbell [see "Misspelling" article]
uncommon word: desiccate [see "Misspelling" article]
b. exceptions to I before E [23-71]
i. E before I
see list "Word Spelled with E Before I, Beginning with Each Letter" below
ii. I before E after C
see list "Word Spelled with I Before E after C, Beginning with Each Letter" below
c. American word ending "our" but pronounced like "or," multisyllabic
common words: glamour, troubadour
d. variant spellings of a non-foreign word, most
uncommon words: catercorner : cater-corner & cater-cornered & catacorner & cata-cornered & catty-corner & catty-cornered & kitty-corner & kitty-cornered (9)
Word Spelled with E Before I, Beginning with Each Letter
--------------------------------------------------------
a albeit
b being
c counterfeit
d deity
e either
f feisty
g geiger
h height
i isocheim
j jangadeiro
k kaleidoscope
l leisure
m murein
n neither
o obeisance
p protein
q quisqueite
r reveille
s seize
t their
u ureic
v verein
w weird
x xylindein
y yankeeism
z zeitgeist
Word Spelled with I Before E after C, Beginning with Each Letter
----------------------------------------------------------------
a ancient
b boccie
c concierge
d deficient
e efficient
f financier
g glacier
h hacienda
i inefficient
j juicier
k kakistocracies
l liquefacient
m mutafacient
n nescience
o omniscient
p proficient
q quiescencies
r rubefacient
s species
t theocracies
u unscientific
v valenciennes
w wardencies
x xylomancies
y ?
z zincier
-- Taxonomy of Wordplay, www.questrel.com