chicagotribune.com — They fight a losing battle, an unyielding tide of misplaced apostrophes and poor spelling. But still, they fight. For the last three months, they have circled the nation in search of awkward grammar. They have shone a light on typos in public places, sleeping on the couches of college friends. They are like a pair of Kerouacs with Sharpies.
May 21, 2008 View in Crawl 4
kzooMay 22, 2008
I don't think "'drive-thru' and 'donut' are meant to be tongue-in-cheek to get people to remember them." It's more likely the signs were cheaper if you had fewer letters printed on them, or someone didn't have enough room to paint the whole thing, or someone was just lazy, and then somehow it spread. Not funny, NOT clever, not memory-forming. At the least, that's definitely not current usage; current usage is a sort of tradition or a space issue, or for some people, ignorance of the proper form.Not that I'm bothered about it . . . I don't notice anymore. I notice things like "Now hiring $0.99 hamburgers." [Amusing in its lack of intention]
zippoMay 22, 2008
Globe trotting grammar nazis... I love it.
unklekumquat79May 23, 2008
You are of course right and picky at the same time. We live in a world of so many different languages that we have to recognise that it is a tool and the aim of using the tool is to communicate.There are suitable registers for different levels of formality.I ask you if you swear sometimes? Ever use blasphemy? Spell something wrong due to habit? have an unusual spelling for a name?Have you heard of pidgin languages? a combination of two languages which at some point when adopted become a creole (a blunt instrument but it does the job of communication). How about slang words that are not in the dictionary? are they unacceptable?I am just saying that Lynn Truss comes across as a massively pedantic smart arse who clearly should have better things to worry about. language is a means to an end, there is a time and a place for formalities e.g. journalism, application letters etc.I personally find it interesting and understand the difference it sometimes makes to punctuate incorrectly.Use some common sense though, if you are more intelligent than them, then figure out what they mean, keep it to yourself (unless they ask or it's funny) and get on with life:)Fa faks sake:)!
stilesjaMay 23, 2008
"erudite" - good word!
alpha754293May 24, 2008
People that are English illiterate should be sent back to where they come from right? Or so goes the thought process when talking about immigration and immigrants, regardless of their legal status? Where do you send Americans?Ans: Iraq.
daguyMay 27, 2008
It's spelled "Tappan," not "Tappen."