The Grammar Lounge

"Karen, there is something seriously wrong with you."

2006-12-14T19:32:00.000-05:00

So said Carlos after I pointed out yet another spelling mistake I couldn't help but notice. "Normal people don't notice these things," he explained. I told him that there are many others like me in the world, but I don't think he believed me. You know who you are, however...and these are for you:

It is a nice roof deck, but "breath taken"?

Too bad the sentence has already plunged off the cliff...

Just to prove that there is NOT something seriously wrong with me, I'll confess that I've walked past this shop (at the 57th Street exit of the Columbus Circle subway station) about a zillion times without ever noticing anything wrong with the sign.

Vigilante proofreader strikes again!

For the record, the ladie's room (er, ladies' room) at Katz's wasn't actually all that filty (er, filthy).

At These Prices, They Could Run a Spell Check!

2006-11-28T00:17:00.000-05:00

(via Curbed)

A, E, I, O, U, sometimes Y and sometimes . . . W!

2006-11-27T22:14:00.000-05:00

Oh, Ossining...

2006-11-25T11:28:00.000-05:00

As far as I can tell, this is the only C-Town in the country to sport this additional moniker. So official! So proudly displayed! Sigh.

And then there is the matter of the town parking-meter regulations, which my understandably baffled father pointed out to me when I was up for Thanksgiving:

The Two-Million-Dollar Comma

2006-11-06T18:01:00.000-05:00

From Toronto's Globe and Mail:

"It could be the most costly piece of punctuation in Canada.

"A grammatical blunder may force Rogers Communications Inc. to pay an extra $2.13-million to use utility poles in the Maritimes after the placement of a comma in a contract permitted the deal's cancellation.

"The controversial comma sent lawyers and telecommunications regulators scrambling for their English textbooks in a bitter 18-month dispute that serves as an expensive reminder of the importance of punctuation."

The rest of the story is here. Tee hee hee hee hee...

Et tu, Hollywood Video?

2006-11-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

(Thanks again to Brian for sending us this painful -- yet somehow uplifting -- souvenir of south Brooklyn.)

Glamerous Hair & Beauty

2006-10-22T22:05:00.000-04:00

How dum.

Vigilante Proofreader Strikes the Maine Turnpike

2006-10-16T21:20:00.000-04:00

Here's a closer look:

And really, it was like that when I got there.

Why waste a valuable apostrophe when a comma will do just as well?

2006-10-12T11:05:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to Brian, intrepid photographer and fellow follower of grammatical justice, who risked the wrath of hungry midtown lunch-cart patrons to share the Rafiqi,s experience with us here today. Oh, how the mighty apostrophe has fallen!

Even Mens Need Room to Rest Sometimes

2006-07-08T11:32:00.000-04:00

(seen in the basement of the Park Avenue Armory)

Attention, Unemployed Proofreaders!

2006-06-09T00:21:00.000-04:00

Express India: "Grammar Grooming"

2006-04-03T21:26:00.000-04:00

You may think, "Grammar, schmammar. Usage, schmusage," but when you use words incorrectly, you sound as funny as someone wearing underwear for a hat looks.

It's true! Read more!

The Oregon Coast Is in Need of Our Assistance

2006-04-02T18:33:00.000-04:00

Exclvsive Qualily! Believable Store!

2006-02-12T20:22:00.000-05:00

A Bad Sign: Chicago

2006-01-31T19:16:00.000-05:00

Can This School Be Salved?

2006-01-20T17:00:00.000-05:00

Same Story, New Hed

2006-01-16T17:43:00.000-05:00

The Sacramento Bee's piece on the hot new grammar trend has been republished by the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer with an arguably better title: "Grammar acquires glamour." The real improvement is that the News & Observer does not require registration. Way to chase off readers, Bee!

Vigilante Proofreader Strikes Again

2006-01-14T19:50:00.001-05:00

Some concerned citizen has drawn a circle to call attention to the fact that this apostrophe does not belong.

A Disturbing Develpoment

2006-01-14T18:03:00.000-05:00

The Things That Westfield Do

2006-01-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

From Flickr: "What? Grammar? Anyone?"

"It's hip to be grammatically correct"

2006-01-09T20:51:00.000-05:00

Take it from the Sacramento Bee! (registration required; just get a login at bugmenot). It starts like this:

"You know the language-maven type: the one with a sharp pencil in her bun who gasps in horror at misspelled words and corrects the grammar of strangers.

Could it be that she is becoming cool - even, dare we say it, hip?"

Consider reading it anyway!

Typo Alert

2006-01-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

You know, like the Winchester Mystery House or this place.

Gallery of "Misused" Quotation Marks

2006-01-04T19:32:00.000-05:00

It's an "oldie," but a "goodie!" Also, look at this little "story" from Malaysia and see if you notice "misused" quotation marks!

Cliche List From Hell on Acid

2006-01-03T16:06:00.000-05:00

Breaking news for editors! Hunker down with the red pencil--Lake Superior State University has had it up to here with overused phrases and cliches! How they missed "ironically," I don't know.

From Reuters:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - For the New Year please, dawg, spare us your tired, meaningless cliches: ponder the "surreal," take a deep breath before "breaking news," lose the "person of interest" and, whatever you do, don't utter "hunker down."

The curmudgeons at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, warmed their cold hearts again for 2006 with their 30th annual list of words, phrases and acronyms deserving banishment from everyday usage.

"Surreal" led the new year's list of cliches culled from the poisoned e-mails of fed-up contributors. The all-purpose adjective belongs to dreams, not spilling from the lips of talking TV heads, complained list contributor Tracy of Murray, Kentucky.

"Hunker down" made the list for wearing out its welcome as a description of bracing oneself for a hurricane, a political storm or just a staff meeting.

When someone meets the criteria "person of interest," it ought to imply trouble with the law, but its broadening application may "mean the rest of us are too boring to deal with," wrote in contributor Patricia Johnson.

In the interests of clarifying the vagaries of the U.S. Senate filibuster, denizens of Washington, might want to lay off "up or down vote," the list-makers said.

And can the deliverers of television news be excused from having to provide a dollop of "breaking news" with every broadcast?

The verbal shenanigans of shill also came in for criticism; among the doozies: "designer breed" (does my mutt qualify?), "first-time caller" (who cares?), "pass the savings on to you!" (suuure), and "97 percent fat-free" (leaving 3 percent lard).

Other phrases marked for death: "an accident that didn't have to happen," "junk science," "get-r-done" and "talking points."

Oh yeah, and calling people "dawg" doesn't make you cool, it just contributes to that pile of cliches awaiting the spring thaw.

NY1 Local News Busted on Live TV by Automated Grammar Checker

2005-12-29T16:22:00.000-05:00

Panopticist has the screen shots! (They also have a picture of what just might be the worst typo of all time.)

The Best Is Yet TK

2005-12-29T15:42:00.000-05:00

...and won't it be fine?

(A: Yes!)