Stormy weather
The hurricane season is upon us, and the forecast is for the usual goofs. We’ve spoken often about having too many qualifiers, and how it’s a form of cowardly writing. That a hurricane will hit Florida? The chances are high. That a hurricane may hit Florida? That’s 100 percent. (And it would be might.)
Bruce Moore
This headline writer lose our vote.
Remember the rule about “only,” which we talked about back in August 2021. This headline should read, “Ablation procedure recommended only if medications…” And, newspaper layout pros will point out, the headline still fits.
The Florida city is Lake Wales. You know, like it says in the second paragraph of the story.
Jones isn’t missing his third straight game against the Jets. He’ll be missing his third straight game the night his team plays the Jets. These guys below, describing a different streak, got it right. Of the last 15 times the Patriots played the Jets, the Patriots won.
As with commas, misplaced quote marks can change everything. The political action committee is called “Save America.” Not “Save America PAC.” So it should be “Save America” PAC.
Dang that! punctuation. It makes us %one^hyndred!percent crazy.
This is a tough one, and it might get us labeled as grinches. Look. It’s a sweet sentiment. We just think it’s creepy. If you own a pet, you are NOT its mother or grandmother. Your dog had a grandmother. It was another dog. (PS: It would be granddog.)
And we go to the video archives for Segment 65: Still more homophones. https://youtu.be/crvm8yAcIhQ?si=8yFma3mdkPx16cT2
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, menus, TV news graphics, 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!