U
No: upmost | Yes: utmost
While this word does indicate that efforts are up, the word is “utmost,” a(!) historical variation of “outmost.”
V
No: verbage | Yes: verbiage
Here is another word that loses its [i] in speech. Pronouncing it correctly will help you spell it correctly.
No: volumptuous | Yes: voluptuous
Some voluptuous women may be lumpy, but please avoid this Freudian slip that apprises them of it.
W
No: wadn’t | Yes: wasn’t
That pesky [s] before [n] again. See “bidness” and “idn’t.” ways way “I have a ways to go” should be “I have a way to go.” The article “a” does not fit well with a plural.
No: wet | Yes: whet
In the Northeastern US the sound [hw], spelled “wh,” is vanishing and these two words are pronounced the same. Elsewhere they should be distinguished.
Y
No: yoke | Yes: yolk
Another dialectal change we probably should not call an error: [l] becomes [w] or [u] when not followed by a vowel. Some people just confuse these two words, though. That should be avoided.
Z
No: zuology | Yes: zoology
Actually, we should say [zo], not [zu], when we go to the zoo.