Simular

Simular \Sim"u*lar\, n. [Cf. L. simulator, F. simulateur. See Simulate.]
One who pretends to be what he is not; one who, or that
which, simulates or counterfeits something; a pretender.

I'm at the vet the other day, bringing Coco in for her semi-annual array of very expensive and probably completely needless vaccines and tests. I'm tired, and a little crabby, and I want to get home. After the appointment I walked up to the counter. Coco was her usual bundle of unmanageable energy, trying to "see" the kittens in the cage in the corner.

Three girls at the counter, all in their 20's. They cannot process my obscene bill until they agree on the correct spelling of the word "simular". One thinks there is an "e" on the end, and another thinks it has an "e" instead of a "u" in the "middle. They ask me for help to solve the conundrum, because none of them can find it in the dictionary. Finally she finds it and all it says is "something about pretending". She looks puzzled..."you know, like, this condition is simular to that one?".

I rest my head in my hands as Coco goes nuts all over a lab puppy that just walked in. By now you can also see that the word they were looking for was "similar". When I told them this, they looked at me like I was some kind of genius. No hint of embarrassment that three educated girls couldn't spell a word that they use every other day. None, whatsoever. Just awe.

I wish the rest of life was that easy.