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Sensational spelling
Deliberate misspelling of a word for special effect From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sensational spelling is the deliberate spelling of a word in a non-standard way for special effect.[1]
 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (February 2025) |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2021) |
Branding
Sensational spellings are common in advertising[1] and product placement. In particular, brand names[1] such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (crispy cream), Weet-Bix (wheat, with bix being derived from biscuits), Blu-ray (blue), Kellogg's Froot Loops (fruit) or Hasbro's Playskool (school) may use unexpected spellings to draw attention to or trademark an otherwise common word.[2]
In popular music
Some bands in the mid-1960s (e.g. The Byrds and The Monkees) adopted sensational spelling. The Turtles successfully resisted an effort by their label, White Whale Records, to name them "The Tyrtles."[3] Although similar, The Beatles is a word play that fuses 'beat' and 'beetles'.
Other examples include Def Leppard ("deaf leopard") and Led Zeppelin, in which "lead" was deliberately misspelled to make clear it is pronounced /lɛd/ (as in the metal lead)[4] rather than the other pronunciation of "lead", /liːd/ (as in "lead singer", "lead guitarist", etc.)
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See also
- Cacography
- Catachresis
- Eye dialect
- Inventive spelling, the use of unconventional spellings in language learning
- Lolcat
- Ough (orthography) § Spelling reforms
- Pet Sematary
- Satiric misspelling
- Spelling reform
- Typographical error
- Typosquatting
References
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