White Christmas?
You don’t have to live in South Florida, as we do, to know that this in no way could be a photo of a college in Boca Raton, which doesn’t get nearly that much snow. Or any.
The operators of this web page might argue this is an image of one of the other colleges — 30 in all — that this article lists as “the worst,” and you’d see when you click in. But this photo doesn’t appear on that list at all. Nor do any Florida schools.
We did an image search. This is a college in New England which the respected U.S. News and World Report ranked 67th out of 1,859. So this picture is not Boca. And it’s not a worst.
To whoever is responsible for this clickbait: What college did you attend? Any?
We repeat: If your company is targeting an American audience, but English isn’t your first language, take a minute to find someone for whom it is. Then you won’t end up mixing verbs and adjectives. Or both misspelling a word AND forgetting to make it plural.
Bruce Moore
You avert a shutdown. Advert is British lingo for an advertisement.
We spotted this at a seniors complex. We argue this sign is redundant; that disrepair is presumed to be temporary.
(Lou Ann of the “Horribly Wrong” team does point out: “Unless it’s the elevator on ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ That one was broken for the whole 12-season run.”)
This was at another senior development in a different town. See a silver button? We don’t either. We finally found it, several inches below the emergency phone (see our red arrow). Not very user friendly! Especially in an emergency. In a facility full of seniors. Management should know better.
This graphic popped up on a 24-hour news network early on a Saturday morning, so we’re inclined to have a little compassion for the overworked writer.
Same network. Same day. In this case, remains is redundant. Isn’t it?
Probably would’ve been better to arrive at the hospital by ambulance.
Dan Scapusio
This awkward wording suggests the Palm Beacher had two fatal drug overdoses.
For the millionth time: Police say this guy definitely fired into a crowd. Then why do you say suspect? The attribution already covers you. You know what? Just take out the word! “…Sheriff’s Office says police shot and wounded a juvenile who had fired into a crowd…” And let’s split the over-long sentence at “game.”
And we go to the video archives for Segment 59: A second set of eyes. https://youtu.be/MkWtPCuGaQU
Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we can credit you properly. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com
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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!