Maybe it’s because of all the text messaging I’ve been doing,
but I find the word “through” to be padded out, like an umpire with a chest protector
under their blues. It just feels like we’re sticking with a spelling structure
that’s overstayed its welcome. Would there be any confusion if we just did away
with “through” and replaced it with “thru”? I doubt it; Americans still seem to
be able to find their way “through” the drive “thru”. Is this an elaborate ruse
perpetuated by the nefarious Auto-Correct? I’m not ruling it out.
The only time Thru vs. Through might be confusing is when
used in conjunction with the word “out”, as in “throughout”. When written as “thruout”,
it doesn’t read, thus necessitating the aide of a helpful hyphen: “thru-out”.
Let’s look at the PROS and CONS of making a permanent
substitution, shall we?
PRO
Less confusion with its cousin “though”
Quicker to write, type or text
Reads just like its spoken
CON
Looks weird when standing next to “out”
Seems a bit unfinished, aesthetically
There you have it! My unscientific process has once and for
all determined that we, as a society, are thru with through!
