The spelling of the phrase "wert cahoots" can be a bit tricky to decipher as it uses an archaic form of the verb "were" and a colloquial term "cahoots" meaning "secret partnership" or "conspiracy". In IPA phonetic transcription, "wert" is pronounced /wɜːt/ and "cahoots" as /kəˈhuːts/. This phrase can be written as "were in cahoots" in modern English. It is always essential to listen carefully to pronunciation when dealing with archaic and colloquial language to avoid confusion.