Cancel this spelling: “cancelled.”
This time of year it’s hard to miss, whether you’re flying somewhere or just privy to ubiquitous news stories about what’s in store for the flying public. Count on seeing photo and video shots of airline boards showing scheduled flights that are often canceled or all-too-often “cancelled.” Which is it?
As a public service–and a pet peeve about those who should know better–here’s the word right from my old “Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual,” although a middle-school textbook should cover it as well. When to double that last consonant or not?
If the stress in pronunciation is on the second syllable, double that final consonant. Hence: con trol’ becomes controlled.
But if the stress is on the first syllable, do not double the consonant. Don’t you dare. Hence: can’ cel becomes CANCELED.