The proponents of phonetic spelling are usually dismissed as sandal-wearing cranks, but if their ideas were put into practice the average blood pressure of pedants (I prefer the term 'purists') such as myself might be a bit lower.
My current bugbear is the almost universal confusion between the words 'reign' and 'rein'. A reign is the period during which a monarch rules; a rein is part of the system of straps with which a horse is controlled. The words are usually confused in two specific figures of speech, or clichés, if you prefer, viz: 'rein in' and 'free rein'.
The use of 'reign' in the first is indefensible and a marker of illiteracy. In the second, however, there is a tiny bit of wriggle-room: it is conceivable, just, that there is some higher earthly power than a monarch who is in a position to grant said monarch freedom to reign. Conceivable, but most unlikely, since a monarch is defined as sovereign.
Thanks for reading. I feel better now.
