Most American (mis)spellings were a deliberate attempt to simplify spelling by people such as Benjamin Franklin. Some of them took, like dropping the u from col

Most American (mis)spellings were a deliberate attempt to simplify spelling by people such as Benjamin Franklin. Some of them took, like dropping the u from colour, honour, valour, et cetera. Others, while not necessarily considered correct, are widely used and widely understood. "Tonite," comes to mind . . . it was even in my phone's autocorrect.