Let’s start with those dang restaurant menus. How hard is it for them to email or hand over their draft to a proofreader? …or for that matter, to any English-speaking person preferably over six years of age?
Check out these à-la-carte lovelies:
- Avacado
- Hollendaise
- Chiken and green papers
(By the way, I had to fight with my Word program, which automatically wanted to correct the errors!)
Perhaps surprisingly, the media are just as bad – CNN.com, for example. In fact it is more worthy of being scoffed at than mere menu booboos. Why? Because surely a major English-language TV network has access to a proofreader/editor, and can get it right! There’s no excuse for abominations such as:
- “Take the reigns” (Where do you plan to take the king or queen?)
- “The family plans a christening with gypsy flare.” (I suppose the flare will attract many attendees who would otherwise miss the great event.)
- “A hale of bullets” (I’m glad they’re healthy!)
And don’t get me started on our daily English newspaper, not to mention our English weeklies. And TV or movie subtitles!
The booby prize for Most Offensive Mistake of the Week (and possibly ever): IT’S for ITS (or vice-versa). Argh.
On the other hand, words I type that my iPhone’s Autocorrect decides to ‘correct’ are sometimes hilarious: “haha” becomes “jags”! “Frenglish” – the intermingled French/English jargon that bilingual Montrealers often utter – becomes “feeling lush.” (However, when I need a laugh again, it refuses to replicate it!) See? Autocorrect learns. While apparently we humans often don’t. Sigh… 😉
Crossed Eyes and Dotted Tees 
You made me laugh out loud. Especially the “healthy bullets”
I also noticed auto-correct is able to learn. Amazing.Now if we could also say the same about humans!
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Heh, yay! I know, I guess there’s something to be said for artificial intelligence. Although… as that scary old joke goes – the robot flying the plane says to the passengers… “…but don’t worry! Nothing can go wrong… go wrong… go wrong…”
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How about sites and sights!! I never understand how businesses pay to have a sign printed and it has spelling mistakes.
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Oh, totally agree!! It’s unreal. The only time I relent a bit in my condemnation is when the perpetrator’s first language isn’t English. But even then, *especially* then, why don’t they spend a teeny bit on a proofreader for Pete’s sake. Are they so arrogant that they think their English is perfect? Hmph.
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Oh and jmcgjuin7 (that’s a mouthful! 😉 ) I forgot to say: Thanks for following me!
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Oh, I am totally with you. As an English teacher in a former life, these things still haunt me. As the Grammar Nerd says to calm herself, “They’re. Their. There.”
Incidentally, I like the portmanteau “Frenglish.” (When I was in high school learning French, we used to call our back-and-forth English to French “Franglais.”)
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Haha!!! “They’re. Their. etc.” – love it!!
Franglais – that too!! Gosh, u are so au courant!! 🙂
Did u see my other post yet re grammar? “Grammar Nerd or Grammar Cop” Oh wait, no, u haven’t reached that one yet, in your backward reading of my posts! rotfl! HA, I just now see u also liked the Hamptons post! You’re a fast reader, girl!!
BTW, my rule is: double exclamation marks are allowed in certain blogs & comments. So there!!
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