The Glade 4.0

Not really intending this to be a question of right or wrong, just wondering what y'all were taught in school. Also, when and where were you taught this word?

Dilemna / Mid-70s / Cape Cod, Mass

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Go back to zero, take a pill, and get well ~ Lemmy Kilmister

I was taught dilemna. One day I learned it was actually dilemma and it really frustrated me that my teachers lied.

Dilemna / Medway MA / 90s.

I was unaware that a spelling other than the correct one was being taught.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

This.

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Women are from Hoboken, men are from Trenton. ~ Jimmy Kimmel

Totally not making it up. Wiki-confirmed, with links to external sources:

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Go back to zero, take a pill, and get well ~ Lemmy Kilmister

Why would you think they lied to you, instead of maybe having some other reason? Do you really think they were plotting to have you spell it "dilemna" instead of "dilemma"?


Just curious

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Dream as if you'll live forever...
...Live as if you'll die tomorrow

Vivere Senza Rimpianti

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dilemna

That spelling is also not legal for Scrabble according to the official Scrabble player's dictionary. An alternate spelling implies that both spellings of the word are correct, which is not the case.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

I was just exaggerating. I'm sure they thought it was spelled dilemna.

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I suppose it's sad that I thought my disclaimer would have any effect whatsoever on the way some people would respond to this thread.

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Go back to zero, take a pill, and get well ~ Lemmy Kilmister

Dilemma in the 90's

I can honestly say that in all my years of dealing with the word "dilemma", this is the first time I've ever seen "dilemna" mentioned as an intentional and deliberate spelling taught by anyone. Consequently, I read the wikipedia entry, checked its three sources (all forum threads elsewhere on the internet), and then proceeded to see what the OED had to say on the manner.

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Hrm. I took a lot of Greek in my undergrad program and I can't figure out where you would even get -mn- from. g is the usual screwy consonant in Greek.

I exclusively saw it everywhere as dilemna until I started going on the Internet a lot. At least that's what I remember.

Maybe it's like the word "damn".

Pretty sure "damn" is just a shortening of "damnation", but someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'd look it up on the OED, but since they re-did their website, I've lost my ah...access and can't be assed to go find another atm.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

Can't come up with a logical explanation as to the reasons for the "dilemna" spelling, but there are several words that end in 'mn'.

Autumn
Condemn
Column
Hymn
Solemn

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Go back to zero, take a pill, and get well ~ Lemmy Kilmister

Dilemna, early 90s, Oregon Coast

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

Dilemma. Don't remember when I was taught it, but I do remember it was cold and snowy, and we had to walk uphill both ways. Talk about a dilemma.

Regional (mis)spellings are funny. My wife - and MANY people in California, I think - say "re-la-tor" instead of "real-tor" for the folks who help you buy and sell real estate. I used to get frustrated by it, now I just let it go.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

"mm", early 80's, WA state.

This is strange. I wonder if it was a misprint in a batch of English books from a certain era and no teacher ever caught it or questioned it?

I dunno. With a lot of words there actually is some lee-way with spellings and pronunciations so it wouldn't be far-fetched to think that could have happened.
My English teacher in college bugged the crap out of me with the word "says" which she pronounced with a long "a" sound instead of the short "a" sound we usually use. So we all said "so and so sez" while she always said "so and so seighs."

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

So you're saying that wikipedia's sources on this matter are hardly authoritative?

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

Vowels change a ton! It's quite natural.

Consonants... not so much. That's what makes this interesting to me. It's not that they're immune to the same sort of changes as vowels, but it's a lot rarer. Still enough to be of mild interest.

Dilemma / Mid-70s / Wisconsin

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Dilemma Midwest 80s

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Hokanu
Duty is a magnificent blessing because it is the sign of trust from the universe.
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