Ripped from the headedlines!
Bruce Moore
Kathy Dull
Craig Pittman
Excited the vehicle? Not in a family newspaper! And running on food never is a good idea! (PS: This article says officers spoke only after the car became disabled. Oh, the power of a comma! “When the car became disabled, officers said, Jarrett…”
Again: As with “unique,” “iconic” is an absolute. It can’t be more or less.
The writer was attempting “Messrs.,” a now rarely used plural of “Mister” or “Mr.” Unless he was implying that former hockey all-star Mark Messier would be joining the presidential race, which is constitutionally impossible, as the NHL great was born in Edmonton.
(PS: it “darkens the political horizon.”
Born in Massachusetts or born in Ireland. Which is it?
Susan Salisbury
Good grammar in writing is where it’s at, baby! Just say, “Where is it?”
Dr. Baruch Kahana
It’s many accusations, but just one long list that was outlined. But that makes the sentence awkward. As we say, “write around it!” So: “The numerous accusations were outlined…”
Same thing here. In this case, we’d suggest, “Wave of attacks hits Moscow and Kyiv.” Or, “Wave of attacks on Moscow and Kyiv.”
Jan Norris
We’ve said collision is between two moving objects. The Rules Committee’s Lou Ann Frala reports our bible, the Associated Press stylebook, has dropped that objection. We still don’t prefer it. Also, the woman didn’t hit the pole; her car did.
We’ve explained this several times. This story doesn’t say the man allegedly did things. Nor does it say “police say.” So it presents as fact that he’s the murderer. Which, of course, is libelous. And raises the question: Of what was the man suspected when he definitely did these things?
Say: “Police say terror erupted…when a man walked into…”
And we probably wouldn’t say something as breathless as “terror erupted.” But that’s just us.
And we go to the video archives for Segment 64: Grammatical optical illusions. https://youtu.be/Vgt5xY_Y4Jg
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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