Spelling: a. ECSTASY b. ACCOMMODATE c. THRESHOLD

These three words are notorious for tripping up even the most confident spellers, often due to tricky consonant combinations and silent letters. A classic example is "accommodate," which is one of the most frequently misspelled words in English because it requires both a double "c" and a double "m." A helpful way to remember this is to think of the word as being generous enough to accommodate two of each letter.

The word "ecstasy" often causes confusion with its "cs" pairing and "-sy" ending, leading to common misspellings like "extacy" or "ecstacy." The spelling makes more sense when you trace it back to its Greek root, *ekstasis*, meaning "to be or stand outside oneself," as in a trance. This origin helps explain the unusual letter combination that gives the word its distinct look.

Similarly, "threshold" can be a puzzle, with a common error being the addition of a second "h" in the middle. The word has a fascinating history from Old English, where it referred to the piece of wood at the bottom of a doorway meant to hold in the *thresh*—the straw and rushes that covered the floor. Remembering this practical origin of holding in the thresh can help you keep that single, crucial "h" in its proper place.