We know that time is money but Americans seem too busy to actually write out words properly. This leads to all sorts of lazy spelling – such as ax, drive thru, lite, nite and my pet hate “EZ” (that’s “easy” for the uninitiated – *shudder*).
The most incomprehensible examples of all appear on road signs – it seems that every “Twp” (township) has a “byp” (bypass), and the towns themselves are positively riddled with “ped xings” (zebra crossings – or maybe pelican ones). Now this would even make sense if the signs were tiny. But they aren’t – they can manage to write something like “
I guess we Brits have the last laugh. The yanks might be able to speak the language (sort of) but they’ll never get the hang of the spelling.