weird | Doorway Between Worlds

How many of you had this rule taught to you in school?

I Before E

Except After C

Or When Sounded as A

As in Neighbour and Weigh.

There’s another version of this too, which goes

I Before E

Except After C

When the Sound is EE.

This rhyme would be helpful if it weren’t for those words that are exceptions to the rule. Words like their, weird, and caffeine are some of the more common ones. In fact, there are so many words that are exceptions to the I before E “rule” that some believe it is useless and should be abandoned.

Many of us have had this rhyme drilled into us in childhood and struggle daily with remembering how to spell the exceptions properly. Even drinking several cups of coffee, with all its caffeine, doesn’t keep our brains sharp enough to deal with these weird words.

So for today, I’d like to share a very short parable about coffee to help you recall some of the most critical words that break the I before E spelling rule.

After drinking a surfeit of caffeine, a kaleidoscope of weird images seized their attention like either a scientifically precise heist or a nonpareil sleight of hand. They saw foreign sovereigns leisurely riding feisty heifers of fantastical height. The resulting counterfeit seismic disturbance made them forfeit lunch.