this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2024
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[–] [email protected] 101 points 4 months ago (3 children)

On the one hand, a sign like this definitely did have enough room for the full spelling of "through". There seems to be no reason to abbreviate it.

On the other hand, isn't drive-thru just, like, its own noun now? Part of me thinks this was always spelled correctly.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 4 months ago (5 children)

It seems like shorthand for signs that has been used enough that it's basically normal now, like "lite" instead light, or "donut" instead of doughnut.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (7 children)

Right, the distinction I'm making is this isn't just "normalized" but actually the correct spelling. As in, if a newspaper editor saw it written as "drive-through" they would be obliged to correct it.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

Suppose both aight?

drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word through), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars.

Sensational spelling is the deliberate spelling of a word in a non-standard way for special effect.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (6 children)

I still call it an air-port.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

All my homies call them aerodromes.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (2 children)

My kid calls it a plane station and frankly it’s growing on me

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"lite" has a different meaning (or at least connotation) to "light"

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

Ohh I thought donut was the American spelling of doughnut.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

According to Merriam Webster, “thru” is an acceptable, albeit less common, variant of “through”. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thru

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Don't get me started on "donut" instead of "doughnut".

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

Deez nuts are my favorite

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Surely you mean doughknot?

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I wonder what the Venn diagram of prescriptivists and graffiti artists is

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago
[–] [email protected] 41 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

Wy do yu insist so strongly on writing thre mor letters that do nothing to chang the pronunciaton of the word? Ar yu French?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago (5 children)

If ther's on thing I hat, it's words ending with silent e's. And whil we'r at it, we ned to get rid of doubl e's as well.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (8 children)

I don't mind silent e's, they do actually change the way words are pronounced at least.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (5 children)

They work like an e after a vowel, making it a long vowel, but with a letter in between. They have absolutely no reason to exist as haet is pronounced the same as hate but has the letters in a more logical order.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Magic Es they taught them to me as. Come to think of it as an adult a magic e could mean something entirely different...

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago (4 children)

If you want to be more accurate it is a Drive Next to, unless you drive through the building to get your food.

Oil change places where you don't get out of your car are drive through, everywhere else is a drive next to.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

You drive through the line not the building

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (5 children)

Americans don't like "ou" in their words.

So it is thereby, by law, and without question, "Drive throgh".

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago

For a moment, I thought, this was a misprint and they had to officially get out a spray can to complete the word...

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (8 children)

Loved the show Dress to Kill by Eddie Izzard. He thought thru was much better than through coming to the conclusion that through should be pronounced like thruff.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (4 children)

You say erbs, and we say herbs. Because there's a fucking h in it.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 months ago

I don't think the British need to pick the "who's worse about skipping letters" fight. Lol

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (2 children)

there are two "l"'s in cancelled, i will die on this hill.../s

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Merica gave England that other L.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Darn. They missed the hyphen.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Ah, yes, the drive thro-ugh

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Kinda sad where you live in a state where every little misspelling or mangled punctuation causes such stress.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Sounds Canadian.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Thru /throo͞/

preposition, adverb & adjective

  1. Through. 

preposition

  1. Alternative spelling of through

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition • More at Wordnik

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Just a quick reminder that dictionaries are descriptive, they document existing language use rather than set down rules.

If enough people break an existing rule often enough, it makes it into dictionaries. Just ask anyone who doesn't think that "ironic" should mean "coincidental".

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (4 children)
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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Aluminum came before aluminium.

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