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February 16, 2010 at 4:27 am #593891
PSPSParticipantFebruary 16, 2010 at 4:30 am #688528
SemeleParticipantthat’s been up there a couple of weeks at least. Every time I drive by it I mean to call them and talk to the manager. But by the time I get home I am already thinking about more important things. It’s very sad though.
February 16, 2010 at 4:35 am #688529
JustSarahParticipantPossibly more sad is the fact that I’d wager half the people who see this see nothing wrong with it. Just read through some of these forum posts, or comments on main page stories, to see some egregious spelling and grammatical errors. In just one comment thread, one person used “weary” when “wary” was the needed word, and another chose to describe a coyote as a “viscous” predator (I assume he meant “vicious,” unless maybe the coyote was slow as molasses.)
Those were the funniest errors in the thread, but were certainly not the only ones.
One of my coworkers always types “conformation” instead of “confirmation.”
February 16, 2010 at 5:39 am #688530
datamuseParticipant“per say” is the one that always gets me; it should be “per se”.
And “here, here” which should be “hear, hear”.
February 16, 2010 at 5:51 am #688531
JustSarahParticipantFebruary 16, 2010 at 6:03 am #688532
HelperMonkeyParticipantIRREGARDLESS, Sarah Scoot….
February 16, 2010 at 6:12 am #688533
celeste17ParticipantI am a pretty good speller but I have problems as to punctuation. I am unsure of when you need a comma or a semi colon. But the one grammar error that gets me is who and whom. I was reading a book the other day and the author used who and I feel it should be whom.
February 16, 2010 at 6:15 am #688534
tanyar23ParticipantI love it when I use site for sight or vice versa.
February 16, 2010 at 6:19 am #688535
RobindianneParticipantAnd, when you need something, ask John or myself to help. Hee hee. That is such a mute point if you leave it on it’s own.
February 16, 2010 at 4:03 pm #688536
KatherineLParticipantReal spelling errors and the misuse of homonyms annoys me as much as anyone. But let’s make allowances for errors that are probably simple typos. That’s something else again. That “viscous coyote,” for example, probably started out right, but the key stuck or was missed. It’s funny, but not necessarily ignorant.
February 16, 2010 at 4:23 pm #688537
BonnieParticipantI had a friend once who would send me an email and say ‘Let’s meat for coffee.’
Ummm…okay… LOL!
February 16, 2010 at 4:43 pm #688538
LindseyParticipantHere’s a funny cartoon on how to use a semi colon. Pass it on!
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon
I can’t stand it when people say, “I could care less.” It’s “I couldn’t care less.” I’m also driven to insanity by the phrase, “the same difference” when used to compare two things.
February 16, 2010 at 4:55 pm #688539
JustSarahParticipantKatherineL, I agree that typos happen (though I’m a perfectionist and try to correct them as they happen or edit after posting), but I think the “viscous” error was a true misspelling. There is no “S” in “vicious” when spelled correctly.
Another misspelling that doesn’t even make sense: “defiantly” in place of “definitely.” That one does make for some humorous reading, at least, i.e. “I defiantly want to go back to that restaurant!”
February 16, 2010 at 4:59 pm #688540
berthaParticipantSaw this on Twitter and I laughed for the rest of the day.
RT @thisisbree: ‘Let’s eat Grandma!’ or, ‘Let’s eat, Grandma!’ Punctuation saves lives.
February 16, 2010 at 5:04 pm #688541
JustSarahParticipantLindsey, have you ever discussed the phrase “I could/couldn’t care less” with someone who misuses it? I have, and have made some see the error of their ways, but I also had a friend debate the subject with me. She said “I could care less” is correct, and that it means one just doesn’t care at all, so he could care less.
I was so dumbfounded by this (lack of) logic. I refuted with the explanation that the correct phrase is “I couldn’t care less” because one cares so little that it is impossible to care less. She was still convinced her version was correct.
Side note: I seem to hear “I could care less” used more frequently on scripted television shows than “I couldn’t care less,” which is very discouraging. It’s gotten to the point that I get excited when I hear the correct phrase used. *Blush*
February 16, 2010 at 5:10 pm #688542
JustSarahParticipantWow, I must step away from the WSB forums; I can’t stop commenting on this subject!
Bertha, yes, punctuation is so incredibly important. I see far too many questions that end in a period (“Anyone know a good tailor in West Seattle,” will get no response from me, as it’s not a question, just a nonsensical statement.)
And yes, commas are vital. “Come on people,” is different than “Come on, people.”
February 16, 2010 at 5:16 pm #688543
sam-cParticipantmy husband freaks out when people on the radio say “enamored with” instead of “enamored of”
found this on the subject:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/enamored.html
lol
February 16, 2010 at 5:19 pm #688544
WSBKeymasterBertha – that reminds me of the excellent book “Eats, Shoots and Leaves,” which has a cover showing an armed panda bear. (Take out the comma and you’ll get the joke.)
I am a spelling/punctuation perfectionist (though I am sure my fellow perfectionists can point to something I’ve written on this site that made them clench), but I do refrain from calling people out on it unless they truly have written something with a resultingly indiscernible meaning.
And by the way, for better or for worse, I refuse to use spell-check. Point of pride. (I also was the rebel in math class who refused to use a calculator. Gotta keep that brain working, till the very end.)
TR, who still has the 6th-grade spelling-bee trophy (but bombed out when things got really hard in the 7th-grade qualifications for the National Spelling Bee – those are the words you’d never ever use in real life)
February 16, 2010 at 5:39 pm #688545
austinMemberWhen looking for housing on Craigslist a few years back I couldn’t help but notice that the word “quiet” is misspelled “quite” more often than it is spelled correctly. A common transposition of letters or something more sinister, I’ll never know.
On the topic of signs, but not fail signs, I like the oft changing and clever punnish phraseologies on the West Seattle Nursery reader board.
February 16, 2010 at 5:47 pm #688546
HuindekmiParticipantThis thread is rediculous. Your all a bunch of loosers.
February 16, 2010 at 6:00 pm #688547
DOCMemberHuindekmi:
First, you could have used a semicolon to connect your statment as in, “This thread is rediculous; your all a bunch of loosers.
You also used “your” when you should have used “you’re” because we are not talking possesive but a conjunction of “you” and “are”.
Rediculous is spelled with an ‘i’ not and ‘e’.
Loosers should have one ‘o’.
So if we put all this knowledge together it comes out as, “YOU’RE rIdiculous and possibly a lOser for posting on this thread; (note semicolon) I hope this was a joke statement for you”.
February 16, 2010 at 6:07 pm #688548
JanSParticipantDOC…I do believe huindekmi was just following the trend in the posts to misspell and misuse words…not being serious :)
February 16, 2010 at 6:20 pm #688549
nuniMemberWell the sign definitely succeeded in one goal. It made you look :)
February 16, 2010 at 6:21 pm #688550
LindseyParticipant“Eats, Shoots, and Leaves” comes with a tear-out page of punctuation stickers. <3
Sarah – When I hear people say “I could care less,” I always ask, “Then why don’t you?” :D
February 16, 2010 at 6:40 pm #688551
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