There is a special circle of grammatical hell for the Atomic Wings in Cobble Hill. For that, I am grateful.
I wish I could presume that one of the employee’s children made this sign, but, sadly, I know better.
Tags: atomic wings, grammar, sign, super bowl
Italics. Boldface. Underlining. Even CAPS, if need be. There are so many tools available that render unnecessary the need to use exclamation points!!! in the middle of a sentence for emphasis. If only someone had told this hungry-for-business restaurant in my neighborhood.
How one carefully placed sticker can make a vent the Happiest Vent on Orchard Street.
A friend of mine wrote a Happy Holidays email that read “Best Wishes, from my family… to yours!”
NO NO NO!
When you hear someone pause in a commercial, they’re not issuing an ellipsis. They’re employing a comma. Commas tells people to pause and thus connect two thoughts, they are not meant to create dramatic tension. “Oh my god, who is your family going to send their best wishes to?! Who?! I can’t wait to find out! Or is it that you just forgot who you were wishing your best to?”
So I’m bothered that people write the way they hear commercials. It bothers me because they think that they can abuse punctuation that way.
And that’s why this sign, with its blatant lack of DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN TWO SENTENCES really jars my preserves. I had to read it twice before I even understood what it meant.
“Why Choose? Get both!” is what it meant to say.
That’s what eating at Atomic Wings will do to your brain.
Tags: atomic wings, grammar, run-on sentence
A post for a fundraiser at my Grandma Sylvia’s apartment complex in Aventura, Florida, so I’m guessing the person who wrote this was probably at least 75 years old.
Gourmet, the meal is probably not.
Tags: menu, parmigiana, spelling
A chance wine-spilling speaks to our dismay at having spilled some of our precious wine.
It may be another language – or supposed to be – but it’s still been bastardized. I think that’s supposed to be a “hay” – ה – but the folks at Whole Foods made it look like an rotated “F.” More like Whole FOOLS.
…and I love design, I’m in swooning over this project.
http://bigthink.com/ideas/25322
Some cool screenshots from thenounproject.com:
The Queen’s advice is sound and apropos at any time (see pink sign on left) but her message is *entirely weakened* when ripped off (see red sign on right).
Granted, this is not a grammatically-related post. But it is letter-related, and do letters not comprise the very words that define my beloved grammar? And, clearly, letters cannot be used to their full potential when cheaply replicated in a bastardized font.
That’s what really struck a nerve with me.
There is currently no exact matching font for this inspiring WWII-era message, and do you know what that says to me? It says: Don’t even bother trying to recreate it.
It looks like the red poster on the right was typed up in Arial, quite possibly in Word. For shame, Cheap Poster Maker, for shame. You should be forced to attend Typeface Sensitivity Training.
It took about .003 seconds of internet searching to find the culprit (http://bit.ly/gugmeP). It’s taken much inner-strength to not contact this schmuck and ask him why bother recreating this when the original has now become so ubiquitous. JC Niemeyer, I’m sure you know the old adage: “If it ain’t broke, then leave it the hell alone.”
PS: Nice shot of old John Lennon flashing his peace sign in between the two pictures; my homage to yesterday’s tragic 30 year anniversary.
Tags: carry on, font, grammar, keep calm, queen, typeface, vintage poster
Like Touching, There Is Good Spam & Bad Spam
14 DecBad Spam: Canned meat; emails from your ex’s hacked account.
Good Spam: When a spammer hits up your Grammar Blog with the following message:
O, the irony!
It goes without saying that “Divert repress out of order my put as well and fail me be familiar with what you think” is my favorite part. But the lack of final punctuation following that “Thanks” perhaps delights me the most.
Tags: comment, email, grammar, hack, spam