Like many ex teachers, the misuse of words hurts me, grammar, spelling, sentence construction etc. I think that a career as an editor would have suited me,( though I have to admit that errors can slip into my writing ocasionally). So many modern fiction books have allowed mistakes to slip through, some unbelievably incorrect.
Recently I read an advertisement.
For Sale,
IKEA Chester draws.
Really??
Did they mean this? Was it a ploy to catch attention? It went on to say that a wardrobe was also available but one could buy the 'Chester' separately.
My mind then spun off down a rabbit hole, and envisaged Chester as a rather portly gentleman, maybe smoking a cigar, maybe with a monocle, and very well dressed. Phil May, (1864 -1903) who was a cartoonist for Punch, would have enjoyed portraying Chester.
I know there are more important things in life to provoke irritation, and sometimes mistakes can be quite funny, but I still want to get out my red pen!
15 comments:
We visited a relation in King's Lynn Hospital last week. The buildings are crumbling, held up by props, many areas cordoned off. There are printed warning signs everywhere, with so many mistakes. If there had been a Sharpie in my bag, I would have felt compelled to make corrections!
I am much the same way in how words and their usage seems to bother me more and more. I am even beginning to hate those shortcuts like LOL, or IYKYK.
God bless.
I hate it when I take out a library book and there are mistakes. I've had one or two where the words have been corrected - crossed out and rewritten.
My sister and I have made a bit of a hobby of finding such ads and sharing them with one another. (Yikes. Should I admit that? We have great fun with it though!)
I feel the same way about errors in grammar and spelling. Misplaced apostrophes are particularly irritating.
It's fun to let the imagination wander - Chester would be an interesting fellow!
What would I do without Spell check?
I often find spelling or punctuation errors in paperback books and it annoys me too! I make mistakes sometimes, nobody's perfect. In another life I worked in merchant banking and part of my job was to proof read reports my boss had typed up, I suppose I became about obsessed with accuracy! Betty
Well spotted! My blog posts are a morass of typos, not helped by autocorrect taking over when I'm not watching... (had to persuade autocorrect that I DID mean 'morass' and not 'morals'!)
I too get somewhat annoyed at errors, both spelling and punctuation. Like Lorrie, misplaced or lack of apostrophes also irritates me. Signs on a board displaying the price of a baked potatoe are too frequent, and one wonders what "Chester" was going to draw!
J.
Haha, auto correct is notorious for causing blatant errors. Also, our education systems are failing. Happy Spring days to you.
My pet peeve is when people end their sentences with 'AT'. I recall my 7th grade teacher punishing me for asking where the sport equipment closet was 'At'. Now, everytime I hear it, I shudder!!
'3-birth caravans' annoys me!
I recently texted my daughter-in-law to apologise for being slightly late in arriving at her home, explaing the reason why . . . her concise reply was "OK Mum, nw"
Thank you for the reminder about the importance of good punctuation, spelling and grammar.
I was wondering who was Chester? 😂 very interesting!!!
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