Writing Advice: “Alright” vs. “All Right”: Which is “Right”?

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alright or all right?

Is It Ever Permissible to Use Alright?

Authors have penned alright for more than 130 years. Common sense suggests that public acceptance should justify the existence of a word.

However, people have also used ain’t, a frowned-upon contraction, since 1706. And irregardless, a nonstandard adverb despised by editors, appeared in the 1870s. Therefore, we can discard any “common-sense” argument.

I researched the alright debate for a guest post at Chris the Story Reading Ape’s blog. Here’s what I discovered: Is “Alright” ever Alright?

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4 thoughts on “Writing Advice: “Alright” vs. “All Right”: Which is “Right”?”

  1. I cringe every time I encounter the spelling “alright”. I still remember using that spelling back in 1962 when I submitted a short story to my 8th grade teacher. He marked me down for spelling and said the correct term is “all right”. I bowed to his wisdom and have been doing so ever since.

    I know that usage and spellings change over time (which is why I’m not impressed with the 1884 statistic, back when “to-day” and “to-morrow” were common spellings), and words even change meaning (e.g., “gay” and “woke”). But I stand by “all right” even though it probably paints me as old and obstinate. I don’t care. Eventually “all right” will go away, but not while I’m alive.

    Just my dos centavos…

    • I, too, have been chastised for using “alright.” That was years ago, John, but I still remember the lesson. You’re an all right guy — not old and obstinate. 😉

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