Split Infinitive

I spent more time pondering this headline than it took me to read this article and the articles surrounding it. To sue is an infinitive. (An infinitive is to plus a verb.) Traditionally, one commits a great grammar offense when one puts a word between to and the verb. This creates the dreaded split infinitive. Split infinitives aren't possible in many languages since the infinitive is one word in other languages. As English rules have been relaxed, the split infinitive has become more and more acceptable. Whether or not it is okay to use a split infinitive, it is not okay to confuse the reader. This headline is in error because it requires mental gymnastics and a close reading of the article to understand. To move the word not changes the meaning of the headline. I think this writer should return to the proverbial drawing board on this one.

Hambugers--Ewwwww!

Leaving off the "g" is totally acceptable since this is a sign from the South. "Hambugers," ummmm, not so much. Gross! (Can you tell I teach middle schoolers?)

Swanky Doodads Store

I don't remember the name of the store from which this came. It is a store in west Little Rock, Arkansas. My husband took the picture with my cell phone because I was too much of a chicken. Surrounded by signs touting 24-hour video surveillance, I feared the wrath of the shopkeepers. We escaped unscathed. The full quote is, "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's [sic] limits. --Einstein." The difference between it's and its is that it's means it is or it has and its shows possession of something. Someone should have checked that before embroidering it. I am pretty sure that Einstein didn't get it wrong. He was, after all, an Einstein.