You’ve met A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J. Now it’s time for the voiceless velar stop, better known as K.
Oh, K: here we are. Let’s talk about ...
Is this going to be yet another piece about how “unpopular” I am? About how I come twenty-whateverth in the most-used letters?
No, I want to discuss ...
Because you know what? I may not crop up that often in written English, but some people love me. Eastern Europeans. Bohemians. And spelling reformers.
Yes, I’ve seen that theory: that between Q, you and S, you’ve already covered all the jobs done by C.
Kwyte so. In fakt, if you ask me, we kood give Q and C the kybosh: have them killed off (like the kull of G). I think rational spelling would be a great suksess.
Yeah, good luck with that. By the way, not all Bohemians. Kafka ...
I know, I know. That line from his diaries.
OK, then how about the Greeks? When your readers see a word in a clue that means there’s a K in the answer, it’s probably Greek. Kilo, say, or kilometre. Or sometimes I’m indicated by just plain thousand.
Except when that thousand is $1,000 (G). Or when they should be thinking of Roman numerals (M) ...
Sure. Let’s move on to Scandinavia, then. Your basic Nordic currencies are abbreviated to K: krone, krona, not to mention króna. Or we could go to Asia. Cars from Cambodia have a K sticker ...
... because it used to be called Kampuchea. Those are the words that really stand out in clues. What are the common ones that solvers might miss?
I’d say knight (even knighthood) or king.
Again, though, in chess, a knight is an N. And on King George-era postboxes, the G is next to an R, not a K.
What’s your point, Alan?
I suppose ... that it’s not as simple as saying “Hey, we only need a K here.” Those spelling reformers? They would spell “knight” something like “nyte”.
But in old English, it was pronounced “ker-nikst”!
Knot know.
No.
And there, in a three-word exchange, are three examples of why our crazy spelling system can make words easier to identify.
Hmm.
So, know your place. Eleventh in the alphabet, twenty-somethingth in use.
... and – solvers might like to know for when they have got a K in a grid – probably followed by an E or an I, and most likely preceded by an O, an A or, most often, a C.
A completely redundant C.
Now, now.
’Kay then. Point taken.
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