Fresh Squeesed Lemonade

Thanks to Erin and Dad for this one from Augusta Days in Augusta, Arkansas. It should be SQUEEZED. How do professionally-made signs such as these make it to production? I do love the lemonade from Augusta Days vendors. Mmmmm!

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

The paragraph beginning, "We're examining any implications..." has a pronoun/antecedent agreement problem. "No law-abiding person" is singular, and "be they" is plural. This could be corrected by saying, "be he/she" or by changing the first part to "No law-abiding people."
I see some other agreement problems...but that is for another blog...

Sink-sank-sunk

It is incorrect to use sunk without a helping verb such as has, have, or had. This sentence should read, "Bart dives into the ocean to retrieve food that was left in the bus after it sank." Yes, memorizing the irregular verb chart DID help me.

Peddle/pedal

Two problems exist with the description of this episode. "Peddle" should be "pedal." Peddle means to sell something. A pedal is something you could use to stop a bus. A second error is in the use of the word "with." I am not sure of the meaning since I have not seen this episode. Depending upon the meaning, either "with" should be omitted or the sentence should be rewritten so that the object of the preposition "with" follows the preposition "with." For example, "The kids cause an accident after a fruit with which they were racing gets caught under the brake pedal."

Spred/Spread

It should be garlic spread, not garlic spred. This stuff was disgusting. As I was throwing it in the trash, I noticed the mistake. I almost missed what little value this stuff had.

Searcy

Imagine my delight when my first-grader bounded out of school telling me that she had found a mistake for my blog. I must confess that I was a bit skeptical that she had really found a mistake. As you can see, she tried to correct it. It is hard to see it in this picture, but Searcy is incorrectly spelled "Searcoy." She wasn't quite sure how to fix it, but she knew that it was wrong. Atta, girl!! This is a social studies leaflet.

The Incontinence Inconvenience

A Facebook friend posted this sign he found at a Popeye's restaurant. He said that he went inside and didn't see any urine. (Maybe this writer didn't mean urinary incontinence.) I think the writer intended to use the word inconvenience. Improper capitalization plagues this sign, as well. Lobby, per, drive-thru, and working should not be capitalized. "Drive Thru" should be hyphenated since the two words are working as one. Informally speaking, thru is accepted when paired with drive, as in drive-thru, but our language has not yet deteriorated to the point that "thru" can be used instead of "through" when used as an adverb.

Riverfeist/Riverfest

It is Riverfest, not Riverfeist. Thanks, Melissa.

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.

Patient's

This should read "ALL PATIENTS" not "ALL PATIENT'S." The writer means to say that there are many patients, not that the patient possesses something. Robin found this one at her doctor's office. Thanks for helping to expose the mistakes.

Mom vs. mom

P&G's current ad campaign ends with the frame above. Moms should not be capitalized because it follows a possessive pronoun.

When the word mom is used where a name could be substituted, it should be capitalized.

I told Mom about my dinner plans. (I told Sarah about my dinner plans. This would work.)

When the word mom follows a possessive pronoun, it should not be capitalized.

I told my mom about my dinner plans. (I told my Sarah about my dinner plans. This would not work.)

This rule applies to other words such as dad, grandma, and grandpa.

Upon finding the commercial online, I was dismayed to see the misspelling of commercial on the website.