This is what Gemini AI says:
Yes,
"frate" was intentionally used as an alternative spelling for "freight", but unlike "thru," it was part of a highly coordinated, 20th-century media campaign to forcefully change the English language. [ 1, 2, 3]
The Chicago Tribune Experiment
While "thru" evolved naturally as an informal phonetic spelling over centuries, "frate" was
explicitly introduced by Robert McCormick, the eccentric editor and publisher of the Chicago
Tribune. [ 1, 2, 4]
In the 1930s, McCormick became obsessed with the Simplified
Spelling Movement, which aimed to strip English of silent letters, useless vowel clusters, and confusing rules. He ordered his editors and writers to rewrite common words phonetically in all published news articles. [ 1, 4, 5]
For decades, readers of the Chicago
Tribune had to get used to seeing modified words, including:
-
Frate instead
of Freight
-
Fantom instead
of Phantom
-
Telegraf instead
of Telegraph
-
Ility instead
of Ability
-
Tho instead
of Though []
Why "Thru" Survived But "Frate" Failed
The Chicago
Tribune fiercely kept its simplified spelling rules alive for over forty years, but finally abandoned the experiment and went back to standard dictionary spelling in 1975. []
The experiment failed because the changes felt too forced, bizarre, and distracting to the general public. While "thru" successfully crossed over into mainstream driving signs ("No Thru Traffic") and fast-food culture ("Drive-Thru"), "frate" never gained traction
outside of Chicago and completely died out. [ 1, 4, 5]
On Aug 14, 2026, at 8:21 PM, Rupert Gamlen via groups.io <gamlenz=hotmail.com@groups.io> wrote:
And the C&S and FW&D retained "caboose" even through they were part of the Burlington.
Rupert Gamlen
Auckland NZ
-----Original Message-----
From: CBQ@groups.io <CBQ@groups.io> On Behalf Of Leo Phillipp via groups.io
Sent: Saturday, 15 August 2026 10:57 am
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Frate vs. Freight
As to caboose and waycar they are not regional terms for the thing at the end of a freight train back in the day. Each RR had its own term for that car, there were many variations. But on the Burlington and on the BN at least on the Chicago and Aurora
divisions the term was waycar.
Leo Phillipp
Is this a regional spelling of the word freight? Like caboose vs. waycar?
David
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