Upmost (error)

From Hull AWE
Jump to: navigation, search

Upmost is a spelling error for utmost. It is made by a process of assimilation: in hurried (that is, normal everyday) speech, it can be awkward to enunciate '-t-' followed immediately by '-m-' . So most speakers simply ignore the '-t-', and by preparing their mouths for an '-m-' immediately after the vowel '-u-', produce an audible '-p-'.

It is nevertheless a mistake to write utmost that way. Utmost is correct.