Actually, sometimes spell-checker can save you

We editors love to criticize spell-check. We know too well how this tool designed to save you from embarrassing errors can let you down. If you type "Please remain clam," which as I reported in this space a few months ago one unfortunate writer did, spell-check won't know that you wanted to type "calm."

 f you write something about chickens attempting to escape their coup, your software will let you, utterly failing in its responsibility to tell you that you meant "coop." If you're talking about a street vendor pedaling his wares, spell-check won't realize you meant "peddling."

But in our more candid moments, many of us will admit that spell-checker isn't so much an enemy as a frenemy.

Yes, we love to hate it. But we could hardly do our jobs without it. The ugly truth is that it's already better than humans at a number of tasks. Here's my recent column  laying out some of the ways in which spell-check can save you.

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