Morton's fork
"morton-s-fork" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Morton's fork” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A false dilemma in which contradictory arguments lead to the same (unpleasant) conclusion.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Morton's fork |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Morton's fork” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Morton's fork is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Morton's fork, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Said to have originated with the collecting of taxes by John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury in the late 15th century, who held that a man living modestly must be saving money and could therefore afford taxes, whereas one living extravagantly was obviously… The correct English form is Morton's fork, spelled M-O-R-T-O-N-'-S- -F-O-R-K.
Definition
- 1A false dilemma in which contradictory arguments lead to the same (unpleasant) conclusion.
- 2A coup in contract bridge that forces an opponent to choose between letting declarer establish extra tricks in the suit led, or losing the opportunity to win any trick in the suit led.
Etymology
Said to have originated with the collecting of taxes by John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury in the late 15th century, who held that a man living modestly must be saving money and could therefore afford taxes, whereas one living extravagantly was obviously rich and could still afford them.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Morton's fork”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-R-T-O-N-'-S- -F-O-R-K - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.