Talk:Tar Heel

Tarheel/tarheel

Shouldn't Tarheel and tarheel be added as separate entries, for alternate spellings? 24.29.228.33 22:58, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Only if there is evidence that those spellings are used with high relative frequency. When I lived in North Carolina, I never saw the words run together. --EncycloPetey 22:59, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

There are a lot: [1]. 24.29.228.33 23:01, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Although 829 may be a high number, it's the relative frequency that's important. In this case, I find about 1300 for "Tar Heel", so the frequency you found is high relative to the standard spelling. If there had been 100,000 returns for the standard spelling, then the alternatives might not merit an entry. At least, this is how we usually judge variants when we apply Google Books hits. --EncycloPetey 23:11, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

The difference isn't that great. Keep in mind that this is Google Books, where there will necessarily be fewer hits than a regular Google search. 24.29.228.33 23:12, 2 December 2008 (UTC)