From now on, I am a woman on a mission. The madness MUST stop.
I know people fear adverbs, but things like the State of Washington (and apparently the state of Texas and New Jersey) wanting me to "Drive Friendly" and Apple wanting me to "Think Different" can't go unpunished forever. From now on, I am on the lookout for you linguistic scofflaws. There may be nothing I can do except EXPOSE you for your... mangling misdemeanors, but I will, darn you all! I will!
Just say STOP!
This afternoon, I saw a Furry Friend's Pet Grooming sign. I thought, "Okay, that one could have been just a mistake of writing too quickly on a window... except that a.) it's on a window. Anything painted on glass can be removed or corrected. Then I realized that b.)... it's on the license plate holder of the owner's car. Perhaps also in the phone book. Oh dear. Perhaps their name is Furry Friend?
But the MOST Egregious Mis-punctuation of the Day I had to look at three times to be sure it was as bad as I thought. It is indeed quite as bad, and it wins today for All-round Most Egregious English Mangling Misuse: several handmade signs seen on Interstate I-80, outside of Dixon: Fresh, Ripe Cherrie's...!
Ladies and gentlemen: there are no words.
7 comments:
HA! You are my hero, TadMack! I've often thought my dream job would be running around the world, correcting all the grammar and spelling mistakes I see on signage, kind of an Editor-at-large.
Have you seen S.P.O.G.G.? I think you'd like it:
http://grammatically.blogspot.com/
You saw this photo of mine, right? I had to drive back to the intersection just to take a picture (fortunately, it was just a mile or two from my house).
Constant egregious punctuation (and spelling) drives me INSANE. If I read something that has consistent errors, I tend to lose my faith in the author and/or editor. (I hate to say it, but there were multiple punctuation errors in the latest SCBWI Bulletin...)
One of my favorite parts of M. T. Anderson's Burger Wuss involves the grammar graffiti artists. They drive around town correcting grammatically incorrect signs, billboards, and graffiti.
Right there with you, TadMack! You're making me want to re-read Eats, Shoots & Leaves.
a. fortis, that is a brilliant photo.
I can't STAND that. Oh my gracious. I can't believe when such errors appear on official signs for stores or HOMES (The Jone's! NO! WRONG!) as well as store windows and names. SHUDDER.
Thanks, lectitans! I just adore that somebody took matters into their own hands and put up a "comment".
I love Eats, Shoots and Leaves! I might have to re-read that one, too. Richard Lederer's Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay is pretty good, too.
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