Wednesday, March 16, 2022

I before E except after C

How many exceptions to the "rule" do you count here and in the mugs below?

Merriam-Webster says that the "I before E except after C" rule is highly inconsistent in the English language and should not be considered a solid rule.  Some exceptions include weird, forfeit, albeit, glacier, and seize, all of which break this well-known saying. ... Smart people tried to adapt the rule to actually follow English spelling.  That's where we got this variant:  "I before E except after C, or when sounded as 'A' as in neighbor and weigh."

This mug uses different exceptions to the "rule" that seems made to be broken.

Here are more exceptions to the "rule" that seems to be no rule at all.

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