Which one? Through vs. thru vs. threw

If only writers would dump the mixing up of these three words into File 13!

Threw is the easy word to distinguish among these three. It means to toss, as in A movie star threw the baseball season’s opening pitch or He threw away the old papers.

Through means to go in one side and come out the other, as in They drove through a long mountain tunnel.

Thru is an informal, simplified spelling of through. So you technically would be correct to write They drove thru a long mountain tunnel.

As an informal word, thru is probably fine in emails, texts and letters to friends, but in academic papers, book manuscripts and business communication, you’d want to use through.

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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.