Comment by xantoxis@lemmy.world on You can feel how cathartic this must have been for someone

On the one hand, a sign like this definitely did have enough room for the full spelling of “through”. There seems to be no reason to abbreviate it.

On the other hand, isn’t drive-thru just, like, its own noun now? Part of me thinks this was always spelled correctly.

According to Merriam Webster, “thru” is an acceptable, albeit less common, variant of “through”. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thru

Dictionaries are descriptive, not prescriptive. They don’t decide if something is “acceptable”, just if it is widely used enough to report. If a mistake becomes common, it will enter the dictionary.

Maybe they meant, only drive on Thursday?

It seems like shorthand for signs that has been used enough that it’s basically normal now, like “lite” instead light, or “donut” instead of doughnut.

Donut is straight up just another way to spell doughnut, though. It’s fully accepted, and not shorthand.

“lite” has a different meaning (or at least connotation) to “light”

I can hear the commercial in my head…

Ohh I thought donut was the American spelling of doughnut.

We spell it both ways.

Yup, doughnut if you’re being fancy, donut if it’s some trash from the grocery store.

Not necessarily. Some hole in the wall serving the best damn breakfast pastries our country has to offer is gonna call it a donut. A donut is a working class doughnut.

Yup, fancy is usually less tasty IMO. I prefer the ghetto donuts at our grocery store to the fancy doughnuts at the fancy bakery.

Right, the distinction I’m making is this isn’t just “normalized” but actually the correct spelling. As in, if a newspaper editor saw it written as “drive-through” they would be obliged to correct it.

The correct way would be “drive-through.”

“Drive-thru” is purposely spelled wrong to attract attention. The same as “Krispy Kreme” or “Dunkin’ Donuts.” It’s only “correct” in that it has become ubiquitous through usage.

Pretty sure thru is to save space.

Yup, esp since it’s often written on the pavement.

It’s only “correct” in that it has become ubiquitous through usage.

What you are describing is called “language”

“You” wasn’t always allowed to be singular. Colour vs color. Doughnut can be donut. Etc. Languages evolve over time, and “drive-thru” is in plenty of dictionaries.

Yup, “drive through” is an instruction, “drive-thru” is a noun. So you’ll drive through the drive-thru.

Suppose both aight?

A drive-through or drive-thru (a sensational spelling of the word through), is a type of take-out service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars.

Sensational spelling is the deliberate spelling of a word in a non-standard way for special effect.

I still call it an air-port.

My kid calls it a plane station and frankly it’s growing on me

Or we could go with train-port.

How about a nite-lite?

I’m gonna take a ride in a aero

“I would like to send this letter to the Prussian Consulate in Siam by aeromail. Am I too late for the 4.30 autogyro?”

All my homies call them aerodromes.

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You can feel how cathartic this must have been for someone(lemmy.world)

Funny

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