Desert vs. Dessert
When I was in elementary school, spelling lists were a weekly terror (I’m not awn awesume spller), and I often found myself spending countless afternoon hours studying in the hopes of learning each new word.
Dessert and desert crept onto my list sometime between the 3rd and 5th grade, I can’t quite recall. I proceeded to struggle with what now seems an inconvenient difference between the two words. Which spelling belonged to which word and how could I remember the difference?
My dad, spelling hero of the day, came to my rescue and offered this tidbit of advice that I am now passing onto you:
Dessert is spelled with a double s because you will always want more dessert. It’s sweet, often made with chocolate and can always cure a bad day. Dessert is so nice, you’ll want it twice!
Desert is spelled with one s because you will never want two deserts. They’re hot, dry and boring. In fact, the desert is likely the cause of your bad day; why would you want more than one?
Do you have any clever ways of remembering the spelling of dessert and desert?