Trib spellings. AI

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Link to old Chicago tribune orthography, including spellings like thru

The Chicago Tribune adopted simplified (or "reformed") spellings as part of a long-running campaign for English spelling reform, influenced by movements like the Simplified Spelling Board (backed by figures such as Andrew Carnegie and Theodore Roosevelt). This practice began in the late 19th century under publisher Joseph Medill and expanded significantly from 1934 to 1975 under publisher Robert R. McCormick, who introduced around 80 reformed words (e.g., "tho" for though, "thru" for through, "altho" for although, "thoro" for thorough, "frate" for freight, "hocky" for hockey, "burocrat" for bureaucrat, "catalog" for catalogue, and others like "agast," "iland," "rime").

The newspaper gradually scaled back the list over time, retaining some (like "-og" endings: dialog, epilog) and fully abandoning most—including "thru" and "tho"—in 1975, as announced in an editorial titled something along the lines of "Thru is through."

Key resources with details on the Tribune's orthography and the broader history:

Wikipedia: English-language spelling reform (section on U.S. efforts and the Chicago Tribune) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_spelling_reform

Detailed historical overview from the Simplified Spelling Society (PDF): Chicago Tribune's spelling reforms — https://www.spellingsociety.org/uploaded_media/tribune-media.pdf

New York Times article (1975) on the end of the practice: "‘Thru’ Is Through As Chicago Tribune Ends Spelling Fight" — https://www.nytimes.com/1975/09/30/archives/thru-is-through-as-chicago-tribune-ends-spelling-fight.html

Columbia Journalism Review: "Why you will never spell anything correctly" (discusses the Tribune's role) — https://www.cjr.org/language_corner/orthography.php

Note: This is distinct from the Chicago Manual of Style (published by the University of Chicago Press), which has never advocated simplified spellings and follows standard dictionaries like Merriam-Webster.

You don't have a link to the Tribune's actual list of revised spellings from the 1930s and 1940s?

No, there isn't a single publicly available primary source link to the Chicago Tribune's official full list of revised spellings as announced in the 1930s–1940s (the initial 80-word batch introduced in early 1934, later adjusted). The changes were rolled out gradually via editorials and internal style guidelines under publisher Robert R. McCormick, rat https://www.spellingsociety.org/uploaded_media/tribune-media.pdfher than as one comprehensive published roster.

The most detailed historical resource is this PDF from the Simplified Spelling Society (now the English Spelling Society), which compiles research on the Tribune's reforms, including timelines, examples, and context:

https://www.spellingsociety.org/uploaded_media/tribune-media.pdf

It draws from archives and secondary sources but doesn't reproduce a verbatim "master list" from the paper itself.

Secondary sources (like Wikipedia's English-language spelling reform page and various articles) consistently cite the initial 1934 introductions including words like:

agast (aghast)
burocrat (bureaucrat)
frate (freight)
harth (hearth)
herse (hearse)
iland (island)
rime (rhyme)
staf (staff)
telegraf (telegraph)

By 1939, unpopular ones (e.g., crum for crumb, sherif for sheriff) were dropped, and prominent additions included tho, altho, thoro, thru (and derivatives). Later tweaks in the 1940s–1950s added things like frate/frater, and "ph" to "f" changes (e.g., autograf, philosofy, sofomore).

The list fluctuated over decades (peaking around 80, reduced over time), and most were abandoned by 1975 except some "-og" endings (dialog, catalog, etc., which became standard American variants anyway).

If you're looking for primary evidence, archived Tribune issues from 1934 (via ProQuest Historical Newspapers or similar library databases) would show the changes in use, but no single "official list" article seems to exist online.

There must be at least a pretty good approximate list out there

Yes, while no single "official" exhaustive master list from the Chicago Tribune itself is publicly digitized or widely reproduced (the changes were introduced gradually via editorials and internal stylebooks rather than one big announcement), researchers and historians have compiled pretty comprehensive approximate lists based on Tribune archives, style manuals, and contemporary reports.

The most detailed and reliable reconstruction comes from scholarly articles in the Journal of the Simplified Spelling Society (now English Spelling Society), particularly John B. Shipley's multi-part series "Spelling the Chicago ‘Tribune’ Way, 1934–1975." These draw from Tribune stylebooks (e.g., 1953, 1958) and announcements.

Initial 1934 Introductions (around 80 words, rolled out over two months)

Early batches included removals of silent letters, shortening "-gue" endings, and phonetic adjustments. Common examples:

advertisment → advertisement
agast → aghast
burocrat/burocracy → bureaucrat/bureaucracy
crum → crumb
frate → freight
harth → hearth
herse → hearse
hocky → hockey
iland → island
jocky → jockey
missil → missile
rime → rhyme
staf → staff
telegraf → telegraph

Many others in this wave focused on "-og" endings (e.g., catalog, dialog, prolog) and dropped silent letters.

Adjustments in 1939

Unpopular ones dropped (e.g., crum, sherif → sheriff), list reduced, but prominent additions:

altho → although
tho → though
thoro → thorough
thru → through
(and derivatives like thruout → throughout, thorofare → thoroughfare) This brought the active list to around 40.

1940s–1950s Additions

frate/frater → freight/freighter (1945)
"ph" to "f" in non-initial positions (1949): autograf → autograph, philosofy → philosophy, photograf → photograph, sofomore → sophomore, telegraf → telegraph

Others added sporadically: aging (from ageing), cantaloup → cantaloupe, hiccup, sodder → solder, tarif → tariff, tranquility

Peak usage was around 80 in the 1930s–1940s, reduced to ~60 by mid-1950s, and further trimmed post-McCormick's 1955 death.

Retained Until 1975 (or longer)

The most famous and longest-lasting:

altho, tho, thoro, thru (and variants)

-og endings: catalog, dialog, epilog, pedagog, prolog, synagog (these became common American variants anyway)

Some others like canceled (single l), drouth → drought, skilful → skillful

By 1970, a stylebook update dropped many (e.g., clew → clue, frate, sodder, tarif). In 1975, most were abandoned except -og forms, with the editorial "Thru is through and so is tho."

For the closest to a full historical list, check the English Spelling Society's resources, including Shipley's articles and this overview PDF: https://www.spellingsociety.org/uploaded_media/tribune-media.pdf (it timelines changes with many examples). Secondary sources like Wikipedia's spelling reform page aggregate similar compilations from these studies.

This was never a fixed, rigid set—it evolved based on reader feedback and editorial decisions—but the above covers the vast majority cited across reliable sources.

50 most favored Chicago Trib nu stile spellings

The Chicago Tribune's "new style" (simplified or reformed) spellings were never a fixed set of exactly 50, but rather an evolving list that started with around 80 words in 1934, peaked there, then gradually reduced based on reader feedback, editorial decisions, and practicality. The most favored ones — meaning the longest-lasting, most prominently used, and least controversial (many retained for decades until 1975 or beyond) — centered on a core group of about 40–60 during the peak years (1940s–1950s).

Here is a compilation of the 50 most commonly cited and favored Tribune-style spellings from historical sources (including scholarly reconstructions by researchers like John B. Shipley, Kenneth Ives, and the English Spelling Society). These were the ones most consistently used, defended in editorials, or retained longest (e.g., the iconic "thru/tho" family and "-og" endings). I've prioritized longevity and prominence, with approximate dates of active use where known:

[See list on separate page]

These represent the "most favored" based on frequency in Tribune archives, longevity (many "th-" and "-og" words lasted until the 1975 abandonment), and mentions in historical accounts. Less favored early ones (e.g., crum for crumb, sherif for sheriff) were quickly dropped in 1939. The "-og" endings and some single-L forms became widely accepted American variants anyway. For deeper details, John B. Shipley's articles in the Journal of the Simplified Spelling Society provide the most exhaustive analysis from Tribune stylebooks.