Every episode of A Way With Words is a labor of love made possible by your support.

From research to radio, we're here because of you.

Show your love and donate at wayward radio. Org slash donate.

Thank you.

You're listening to A Way With Words,

the show about language and how we use it.

I'm Grant Barrett.

And I'm Martha Barnett.

And the emails about the word dilemma are still coming

Oh boy how many years running is this oh man so many we have this discussion

yes several times yes and there were a lot of people who spell the word

dilemma right not m m m m m n as a nancy or not right not right yeah and we've had a strong suspicion all along that there's a

Catholic connection. Yeah we did and that's what we keep hearing. We heard

from Hazel Hunt singer in Kildare, North Dakota who said she's always been an excellent speller, but she's always

spelled the word with an n. And she said, I was baffled to learn as an adult with spell check

that I had been spelling it wrong my whole life. I still double check on the rare occasion that I

use the word because it's hardwired in there now. And then we also heard from

Maxine Leary in Montpelier, Vermont. And she writes,

Finally, I realize I didn't make up dilemma.

I'm almost 86 years old, and I've always spelled it

dilemma until just a few years ago.

Had never thought anything about it.

...