what is the simplest way to have text show if a tableview section is empty?

Question

Preferably without looking like a cell. I would like to display "tap edit in the upper right to add syllables"

Answer 1

Adding a sub view to your tableView with the same bounds should do it.

Answer 2

Your best bet would probably be to implement the tableView:titleForFooterInSection: method in the class that implements UITableViewDataSource.