Troublesome Spelling Words

I consider myself a good writer--not outstanding, not bad, but somewhere in the middle. I am a fan of the AP Stylebook, and I think the answer to any writing question can be found there.

With that said, there are several words that stump me EVERY time. My 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Hosey, had all sorts of helpful hints to help us remember hard stuff. For example: seven times nine went up a tree, when they came down, they were 63. Another example: Trenton went shopping; he bought a New Jersey (a.k.a. Trenton is the state capitol of New Jersey)

I still remember every silly trick Mrs. Hosey taught us, so I'll try to pass my own helpful spelling hints on to you. Here is my list, along with some handy hints to help all of us remember:

• Apologize--I always try to put two p's in the word. HELPFUL HINT: A polo is appropriate dress to make a formal apology.
  
  
• Apprehensive--This one is just plain hard. HELPFUL HINT: I am apprehensive about the credit app.
  
  
• Awkward--It's spelled awkwardly too! HELPFUL HINT: When you GAWK, it makes the other person feel awkward.
  
  
• Courtesy--This looks like curtsy, like the bow I would give when I finally get to meet the Queen of England. HELPFUL HINT: Divide it up--COURT ESY.
  
  
• Definitely--I definitely always misspell this word. HELPFUL HINT: I definitely think you should memorize this one, because I can't think of anything clever.
  
  
• Judgment--Does anyone else want to put an e in here?? It just doesn't look right! HELPFUL HINT: The JUDGE will chop off your Ear if you put an extra E in judgment.
  
  
• Likelihood--There seems to be too many vowels in one place on this one. HELPFUL HINT: my initials, ELI are in the middle of this word.
  
  
• Noticeable--HELPFUL HINT: notice + able. Two separate words put together.
  
  
• Prairie--I always miss that extra i in the middle of the word. HELPFUL HINT: There is a lot of AIR on the prairie.
  
  
• Wednesday--This one isn't so hard for me because Mrs. Hosey taught me this HELPFUL HINT: We will be WED on WED-NES-DAY. Separating the word makes it easier to spell.
  
  
• Weird--Mrs. Hosey taught us "I before e, except after c." Do you see a c in weird?? No! That is just plain weird!! HELPFUL HINT: Weird is weird--it doesn't follow the rule.
  
  That's all for today. Special credit to Mrs. Hosey. I hope she knows how much I remember from her class.