How’s your driving? Only slightly better than your punctuation!
Oct
31
Here’s another one from my work. Granted, it is in Spanish. But I’m pretty sure that “floor” in Spanish is “piso”, not “plso”.
The making of this mistake might be excusable, though, because the person who made this sign probably didn’t speak Spanish and therefore didn’t know better. But what about the poor Spanish speaker who doesn’t know how to read English? Is he going to know what’s wet? Will this caution sign do the trick?
Ok, I know, I know…I’m being picky. But I think this one’s funny!
BTW, what’s the consensus on the comma and period within the quotation marks? I thought they’re supposed to be on the outside, so long as what’s inside the quotes isn’t a complete thought or sentence, and that they should be on the inside if it is a complete thought or sentence.
I see it both ways, you know, and I see it both ways from professional writers, so I know I’m not the only one confused on this issue. I suppose I could just look it up, but I’m too lazy!
Oct
26
See if you can spot the little flaw here.
Sunday's
Once again, it seems that the apostrophe has won. The problem with this is that it’s from my place of employment. The place that would rather let pesky little apostrophes sneak through the cracks than give me a promotion and let me do the writing and editing for marketing materials. Ah, but who really cares about correct punctuation anymore, huh? BTW, I’ve attempted to blur the name of the establishment to protect the innocent, including myself. I’ll say just one thing. I see this mistake over and over and over and…
Oct
18
I wonder if this is supposed to be possessive?
Ah, the sweet, troublesome apostrophe. So difficult, untamed, impossible to master. I think we get what this guy’s trying to say.
Apr
08
Breeng yer pupps.
Yes, I realize it’s been a while. But you know, it seems that I never seem to have my camera when I see funny signs that would fit in here. I did see this sign, though, prominently posted on the patio of one of Old Town Temecula’s most popular joints, Texas Lil’s. It’s okay that they can’t spell ‘dining’. They have great people watching (think Harley gangs), great(ish) food and good beers on tap . Just don’t go there if you’re on a diet!
Dinning Doggs Welcome
Jan
28
One of my very favorite things about living in Southern California is the Mexican Food. There’s nothing like a lard-laden, post-bar burrito to really make a girl feel complete. One of the best places to go for a delicious gut bomb is Santana’s. I already know that my favorite item of theirs is the California Burrito. There’s just nothing like it. Carne asada…queso…papas fritas… I don’t even have to look at the menu while I’m in the drive-thru line. That’s why, instead of looking at the menu board, I notice little lovelies like this:
Too bad the reflective sticker letters don't come with Spellcheck.
Note: I realize that English was probably the second (or third) language spoken by the person who put this warning up. That doesn’t, however, mean I can’t get a kick out of it.
p.s. Their chicken burrito is also really good!
Jan
11
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a procrastinator, but that’s no excuse for not posting this lovely picture I took at my most recent manicure…like three weeks ago.
Typically when we see messages like this the item or items that they don’t accept is plural. I guess I’m not sure why, but it struck me as sortof funny that it doesn’t say “No Checks Accepted”. At least they apologize for not accepting check!
Dec
11
This entry isn’t in line with the point of this blog, exactly, but I have to post it because when I saw it I actually laughed out loud. That may not mean much to you, but if you knew me you’d know that I very rarely laugh out loud. It’s not that I don’t like to laugh, or that I’m not a happy person….no, that’s not entirely true…I’m not really a happy person per se… but I digress. Really, I don’t laugh out loud very often because there aren’t many things that truly tickle my funny bone. I just don’t think all that much is funny enough to laugh out loud about. I mean, sure, you crack a joke and most of the time I’ll foster a heartfelt chuckle or at least a courtesy laugh, but I’m just not cut out with a sense of humor that regularly keeps me the center of the party. But, again, I digress…
I went to a holiday party this weekend at a friend’s house. We all live in the sunny SoCal suburbs where the Christmas spirit is so overwhelming that Negative Nancies like myself can hardly drive down the street at night without a tightening of the chest and a clenching of the fists and teeth. People don’t just trim their houses with simple, pretty, respectable lights anymore. Now it’s all blow-up Santas, lit-fr0m-within snowmen and giant-sized snow globes that eerily resemble colorful, clowny corpses by day but with the help of a fan blow up to circus size to delight the children at night. It’s no longer a silent night with simple white lights twisted to mimic icicles; it’s a clashing cacophany of fifty plastic Santas lining the path to the front door, it’s all of Santa’s reindeer clomping and racing around the front yard, or it’s the one forlorn house trimmed in blue lights just to make a quiet statment and play along with the whole ’spirit’ thing.
Yes, the suburbs have the spirit. But I, the lonely Suburban Scrooge, cringe at the thought of all the hoopla.
Anyway, pulling up to the party I saw this:
The house on the left is fairly typical for our neck of the woods. The house on the right is just a little something to remind me that there may still be at least a glimmer of hope for mankind.
Of course, it’s this time of year when we’re reminded of all that we have to be thankful for, all that brings us joy and all that we live for. I have plenty of that. I’m spoiled, to be honest. I love Christmas, at least (and at most) for the 24-hour period starting right about happy hour on December 24th. I just don’t love all the crap that leads up to it. I’m really quite thankful for the guy — whom I’ll probably never meet — who decorated his house with the simple, yet effective word, “Ditto”. That, my friends, says it all: Happy Holidays.
Dec
01
My husband and I stayed at the Residence Inn by Marriott in Carlsbad last weekend. We attended our friends’ lavish and elegant wedding at the Four Seasons Aviara, but because rooms there were going for $350+ we decided to take advantage of the Marriott’s friends and family rate of $39.99. We had quite a lovely time, but of course my editor’s eyes couldn’t help being on the lookout.
Lo and behold, I noticed in the morning that whoever (whomever?) did the signs was a little confused about how to use the beguiling little apostrophe.
At the Marriott
Can you see what the issue is here? Because the ’safety and security’ belongs to the guests, ‘guests’ should be possessive. That means there should be an apostrophe here! And, just to make sure that no one is confused about where to actually place the apostrophe, keep in mind that for the most part the possessive of singular nouns requires an apostrophe and then an s, and for plural nouns you add an s and then the apostrophe. So, assuming that there are generally more than just one person taking up short-term residence in the Residence Inn, the above sentence should read: “This door is locked for our guests’ safety and security.”
Minor detail, I know, but…it’s all part of the fun!
The photo above also reminds me that I’ve noticed lately a serious overuse of capital letters. But, I guess ‘that’s neither here nor there,’ whatever that catchy little phrase means.
Nov
20
“Hey hon,” my dad asked.
“Yes, dear?”
“Where are you at?”
“BEHIND THE AT!”
I grew up with this dialogue. Nearly every day. Maybe it was the whereabouts of my mother that he was after, maybe the keys, maybe the remote, maybe his daughter. Whatever it was, wherever it was, it was always found conveniently behind the at. It’s pretty much ingrained into me that any time anyone asks where something is at, the answer is “behind the at!” My mom is a very intelligent teacher. She holds a master’s degree, excels in writing, always helped my brother and me with our writing assignments, and never fails to yell “behind the at” at any given opportunity.
Now, it pleases me, my mom, my brother and absolutely no one else that every time I’m asked where something’s at, my answer is invariably “behind the at!”
I ended up going to college without direction, without goals, and without any sense of where I was going, why I was going there, or what I would do once I arrived. When asked about my major, the inevitable reply to “I have no idea what I want to do with my life, so how could I decide on a major?” was: “Well, you’re still young. You still have time.” So, since I liked to read, I decided to enroll in Literature classes to bide time until I had an epiphany. That sense of timelessness and unlimited future led to a lucrative-career-inspiring major: Literature. (Lucrative…pshaw!) During my stint as a Literature student, I enrolled in English Grammar and Linguistics courses. Granted, I’ve always been a bit of a nerd - not really a smart nerd, just a nerd – but somehow I was surprised by how much I loved these courses. Well, I suppose at the time I actually hated them because they were quite difficult for me. However, those courses gave me the innate instinct to feel like a bona fide member of the Grammar Police. I couldn’t help it. And now, as I am out of school and in the “real world,” I can’t help but listen to the people who surround me, listen to the world around me, and wonder where the heck I’m at.
It seems that often I run into signs, ads, and random other artifacts of our society’s disinterest in grammar and punctuation. While I’m no expert (surely there are typos here already) I can’t help but get a little thrill every time I see a misplaced apostrophe in someone’s advertisement or on somebody’s sign intended to be helpful.
So here I am, in this little blog, to show the world all of the little things that crack me up. I see these things that seem like mistakes to me, and I take photos. Correct me if I’m wrong about them; I’m still learning my own language. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.
xoxo
Brittanie
Here’s an example of one offense, not too bad, that I ran into at the Farmers Market. Granted, it’s really not that bad, and maybe it’s correct after all. I just think that it should be “hoodies.” Am I wrong? Plus, is it the Farmer’s, Farmers’, or Farmers Market anyway?
At the Farmers Market
