A Playful Look at Letter Names, with Crossword Puzzles in Mind
Recently I pondered the correct spelling for W. Not finding an official answer, I went with “double-u.” Upon further contemplation, I realized having similar doubts about the spelling of many letters. Therefore, I advance this list, which I ultimately found in Google’s scan of the book “The Institutes of English Grammar” by Goold Brown. (I’ve parenthetically added my own thoughts and suggestions):
A – a (how about “aye”?)
B – bee
C – cee
D – dee
E – e
F – eff (TheFreeDictionary.com indicates “ef”)
G – gee
H – aitch
I – i (How about “eye”?)
J – jay
K- kay
L – ell (TheFreeDictionary.com specifies “el”)
M – em
N – en
O – o (how about “oh” or “owe”)
P – pee
Q – kue (I prefer “queue” or “cue”)
R – ar (how about “are”?)
S – ess
T – tee
U – u (how about “you” or “ewe”?)
V – vee
W – double-u (slang might be “dub-u” or simply “dub”)
X – ex
Y – wy (how about “why”?)
Z – zee
Although vowels are spelled with only one letter, I prefer an alternate, longer spelling.
Why do I need to know these things? It’s quite simple actually: I may need them for crossword puzzles. I’ve already used Cee, Dee, Ell, Ess, and Tee. I want to be ready in case the others pop up. (For the record, no self-respecting crossword puzzle will have a two-letter answer; perhaps that is why I gravitate towards three-letter spellings.)
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Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is a full-time, career author. He’s published scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, with experience as a publisher, editor, and commercial freelance writer. A passionate wordsmith, his goal is to change the world one word at a time. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
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