Err body in the club

Attack ads are pretty pathetic, but they are even more so when they contain ridiculous spelling errors. "Everbody" thinks you should spell check your propaganda.

Quote, Unquote

I've never copy edited a floor covering before, but I got my first opportunity this past weekend at a movie theater in Alexandria, Va. This colorful carpet in front of the concession stand was peppered with famous movie quotes -- everything from "The Godfather" to "Forrest Gump." Although it was fun to peruse while waiting for a bucket of popcorn and some Junior Mints, I couldn't help but scoff at its liberal use of punctuation.

This particular quote is from "Midnight Cowboy," which perhaps explains the wild, wild west treatment of quotation marks and apostrophes. If I could take a red pen to this carpet, I would suggest, "I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' here!" But I don't think they'd take too kindly to my edits.

Tip of the Week: Possessive Acronyms

Everyone knows that to make a word plural, you add an “s.” To make a word possessive, you add an apostrophe (‘) and then an “s.” The same applies for acronyms.

Correct:
Something belongs to one chief executive officer (better known as a CEO): “The CEO’s life is hectic.”

More than one CEO: “Many CEOs attended the networking event.”

Something belongs to more than one CEO: “All CEOs’ lives are hectic.”

Contraction with “is” (informal): “The CEO’s coming to the networking event.”

Incorrect:
There are 12 CEO's on the board.

The Bottom Line:
Don't be fooled by those capital letters. Treat acronyms (CIA, ATM, UFO) like any other word when it comes to plural vs. possessive.

Stop the S's!

If you own a business, please learn how to spell "business."

(As an aside, for those of you who would argue the apostrophe in this entry's title, I am following the AP Stylebook's guidelines regarding pluralizing single letters.)

Bad Grammar Rears Its Head

I'm not usually one to pick on a person's spoken grammar too harshly. If one were to transcribe everything I've said out loud, I'm sure I'd be quite embarrassed. However, some spoken grammar transgressions are too egregious to ignore: when sentences cease to adhere to the basic subject-predicate format, looping about endlessly with phrases and clauses dangling in the ether, you no longer deserve the benefit of the doubt. Enter Sarah Palin.

This amusing Slate article attempts to diagram some of Palin's most colorful interview answers to date. Perhaps Palin's nervousness caused this verbal diarrhea; perhaps these words represent a lame attempt to include every political buzzword in each response; perhaps they are a reflection of a confused mind. Regardless of whether you agree with the "content" of her answers, grammar enthusiasts should concur that these sentences stray quite far from the acceptable limits of the English language.

Mavriks and Morans

The political process often brings out the worst in us, and in these cases, it brought out the worst spelling. When it comes to "morans," perhaps this gentleman was illustrating the point that it takes one to know one, but ultimately, I think his sign undermines its own message. Also, while John McCain purports to be a "maverick," I don't suppose he had maverick spelling in mind. In both instances, if you can't say something correctly, it's better to say nothing at all.