From ThinkPrank

Contents 1 The Great List of Words that don't follow "i before e except after c" 1.1 Some exceptions 2 "ei" without a "c" 2.1 "ay" sounds 2.2 "ee" sounds 3 ie after c 3.1 -cie 3.2 -cies 3.3 -cies because of plural -cy words 3.4 Words based on greek stuff 4 Words you could sound out correctly because of a two-syllable ee-i or i-ay or ee-ay sound (or some damn French thing) 5 Just plain wrong

The Great List of Words that don't follow "i before e except after c"

I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET ME STARTED. Now the wrath of He Who Was Lied To In Grade School is upon you. The One Who Was Lied To has obtained an electronic word list and has applied his vast Unix skillset to find the hidden truths. This document is the result of His efforts in unlocking this enigma, hidden in secrecy by Grade School Teachers of the Evil I-before-E conspiracy.

Some exceptions

I am omitting names (Liechtenstein), except that you must know how to spell this name:

  Fahrenheit

I'm omitting words with double ee's (absenteeism), or other reasonable places for an ei combination, such as glued-together words such as words formed on re-* and *-ing for example: being, wellbeing, reimburse, reiterate.

Also, plurals can form -cies, as in democracies, etc.

Note: there are no "iegh" words, only "eigh" words. Note: except for "floroscein", there are no words that contain "-cein".

In fairness, the rule that some grade school teachers use (not mine) is "i before e except after c or sounds like a." But this doesn't help completely, as you will see below.

"ei" without a "c"

"ay" sounds

   beige
   deign,
   deity
   eight
   feign,
   feint
   feisty
   freight
   heir, heirloom
   geisha
   heinous
   homogeneity
   inveigh
   inveigle
   neighbor, neighborhood
   obeisant
   reign, rein, reindeer, sovereign
   seine   (large net.  When capitalized, the name of a river)
   sleigh
   surveillant, surveillance
   their,
   veil
   veiled,
   vein
   vermeil
   villein
   weigh, weight

"ee" sounds

  (Except that many ie words that do follow the rule sound like "ee" also: field, grief, ... etc.)

   caffeinate, caffeine, casein, cysteine
   leisure
   protein
   seize
   seizure
   sheik
   weir

ie after c

-cie

specie  (word meaning in kind, or in coin, sometimes refers to gold, or gold coin)

-cies

species

-cies because of plural -cy words

democracies, etc.

Words based on greek stuff

 science
   conscience
   conscientious
   science
   scientific
   scientist
   omniscient

 -cient
   deficient
   efficient
   inefficient
   insufficient
   proficient
   sufficient
   ancient
   coefficient

Words you could sound out correctly because of a two-syllable ee-i or i-ay or ee-ay sound (or some damn French thing)

   albeit
   theism
       theist
       atheism
       atheist
   deify
   deity
   nuclei
   simultaneity
   spontaneity

   concierge
   financier
   glacier
   hacienda   (follows Spanish pronunciation rules)
   societal
   Societe
   society

   pharmacopoeia
   plebeian

Just plain wrong

   counterfeit
   forfeit
   height
   neither
   kaleidescope
   kaleidoscope
   leitmotif
   leitmotiv
   meiosis (mI-'O-s&s)
   seismic,
   sleight
   surfeit
   weird
   onomatopoeia
   onomatopoeic