Do you remember a day before computers were everywhere? Then you probably know which of the following two spellings – sound bite or sound byte – is correct.

Sound bite is right. The term was first used in 1980 to describe quick, clever statements, often made by politicians, that could be played in a few seconds on the evening news. In those days when computers weren’t commonplace, the term played off the notion that viewers’ preference for such news was like taking a bite of a meal rather than fully consuming it.

Sound byte does make sense in that a byte is a small unit of information in computing. Perhaps one day this spelling will overshadow the original and become commonplace.

For the time being, though, when writing just remember this snippet: Use i not y.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past decade, I’ve helped more than 300 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.