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   Mignon Fogarty (grammargirl@zirk.us)'s status on Friday, 23-May-2025 00:45:09 JST Mignon Fogarty

   in reply to

   Spelling reform once had major backers: Roosevelt, Carnegie, Mark Twain, and the National Education Association all supported it at different points. In the early 1900s, it looked like English spelling change might really happen.

   Roosevelt even ordered the U.S. Government Printing Office to use simplified spelling in official docs. 😮

   Words like "though" became "tho" and "tongue" became "tung." It lasted … about three months. (2/4)

   • Embed this notice
     Mignon Fogarty (grammargirl@zirk.us)'s status on Friday, 23-May-2025 00:45:10 JST Mignon Fogarty

     Did you know the Chicago Tribune used simplified spelling as its house style for more than 40 years? Words like "kissed" were printed as "kist," and "through" became "thru."

     Why? Mostly to save money on ink and paper. The publisher made the change during the Great Depression.

     But local surveys found that people liked it! 🧵 (1/4)

     #GrammarGirl

     Mr. Bill repeated this.