this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2025
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Can anyone explain what's "i before e"?
I before E except after C
And when sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh
And on weekends and holidays and all throughout May
And you'll always be wrong no matter WHAT YOU SAY
Heh, onlu rule in English: Memorize them all!
It isn't often I see Brian Regan bits in the wild. The same thing came to mind.
I wouldn't go that far. Sometimes I'm not sure which way around they go, and that will usually lead you the right way.
I feel like it works more like 90% of the time when it comes up, so maybe this. And could it be that the words where "ie" appears are more ambiguous somehow, like don't fit neatly into some existing pattern?
I don't remember the "after c" bit ever being of use, though, so that part totally makes sense.
Edit: For an example, I'd never forget the spelling of "either", because it's so common and initial letters are more memorable. But, "piece" is tricky - "peice" is my first instinct, and I literally say "i before e" in my head when I write it now.
I thought it was specifically about words with long e sounds? So "Keith" would be an exception (but it's a name and those are always weird - though "weird" itself is a better example), but most of the stuff on the mug it never meant to apply to. And overall for long e sounds it applies far more often than not. Ultimately english spelling will always be a clusterfuck though.
And I sure wish people would stop spelling wiener as weiner. The city is called Wien ffs.
Rules for English that aren't absolute.
I before e except after c. Which obviously is not totally accurate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_before_E_except_after_C
Thanks for the link. Explains why I never heard of it, it's more or less useless. Though English spelling has many problems, not just this.