A series of thoughts zipped through my head while browsing my Twitter stream, and a conversation popped into my head.
Spelling of words comes up now and then, and “check” is one of them.
I noticed this on a sign. It Canada, and presumably everywhere but the States, it is spelled c-h-e-q-u-e. It took me a minute to realize it was referring to that piece of paper you fill out and sign with your bank account and routing number at the bottom.
America spells it c-h-e-c-k, which now seems confusing as that is also how you spell the mark you often put in a box to “check something off.” Except that doesn’t seem to bother us Americans. We’re supposed to know the difference based on context.
And that reminds me of a commercial for Kraft cheese.
K-R-A-F-T. How America spells cheese.
And here I’ve just been thinking words for things were different. And remind me later to tell you how I got schooled on “American English” by the night attendant at a boutique hotel in Paris, France.