Welcome back to another fun-filled extravaganza of errors, FF fans! Let us all sneer at the gaffes collected by the (almost) infallible Grammar Cop!

1. CHICAGO.SUNTIMES.COM: “Bill Cosby was outed as a sexual predator in 2014, but a lot of performers were loathe to criticize the iconic TV star.”
2. THE SUBURBAN: “How can I make a family dinner without becoming a short order cook?”
3. MONTREALGAZETTE.COM: “Any time allegations of sexually predatory behaviour by a well-known personality make headlines, there’s…”

The corrections:

1. The correct word here is loath, not “loathe.” Loath is an adjective meaning “reluctant” or “unwilling.” (The verb “to loathe” means “to despise.” Although we may despise Bill Cosby, it’s the other word – the adjective – that’s needed in this sentence!) Ten points off if you said a lot of performers should be “alot of performers”! A lot is a phrase consisting of two separate words. How often do I see the mistake of glomming them together? Too often!
2. Here’s just one example of the rampant hyphen-o-phobia at this local weekly newspaper: “short order cook” should be short-order cook.
3. When I first read this sentence, it looked as though it was saying: “Any time allegations of…”  I wondered what on earth a “time allegation” was. And: since when do “time allegations” make headlines”? And: what does that even mean?!  But after reading it several times, I finally saw the intended meaning, which actually is: Whenever allegations of sexually predatory behaviour…   I have to say I like my version better. 😀 Seriously, it’s always a good idea to read back what you’ve written before hitting SEND or POST, whether it’s for a newspaper article or just a comment on social media. You might catch a typo or an unintended meaning.

The Grammar Cop is off to get an early start on next week’s citations of bad language boo-boos. Have a great week, y’all! 😀