Monthly Archives: October 2015

Grammar Giggle – Dribble Your Insult In Some Other Court

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This one popped up in a service that lets me know when people are using “Proof That” so I can make sure things are not being used in an inappropriate manner. It also flags “proofread” which prompted this piece of a comment on an article on a particular political page (which I won’t mention).
Dribble
“Dribble” as a noun means a small trickling stream or a drop; a small quantity of anything; in sports, bouncing a ball or puck. I’m pretty sure what they wanted to say was “drivel,” which as a noun means silly nonsense. It always entertains me when someone is trying to insult another person, but uses improper grammar to do it.
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Grammar Giggle – Textspeak Is Not Appropriate For A Government Page

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A friend sent this to me. Unfortunately, it is part of the City Clerk’s webpage for the City of Apache Junction here in Arizona. Apache Junction already has a not-so-great reputation in the Valley of the Sun, but it is my current home. I’m not sure how this actually got published as it is a hot mess.

City of AJ orig

“No 1”? Really? I assume they mean “No one is allowed.” Six words later, they are breaking the Gregg Reference Manual rule on spelling out numbers from one to ten unless the number needs to stand out to be comprehended or is in statistical information. I don’t consider that sentence statistical information nor do I think that the numbers need to be used instead of the words to be comprehended. Then, the comma after “jurisdictions” should be a semicolon since the sentence is two independent clauses and the comma could be replaced by “and.” It could also be two separate sentences, but the way it is written is confusing. Come on, AJ, you’re not doing your reputation any favors!

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Grammar Giggle – Résumés Should be Accurate and, In Some Cases, Heavily Edited

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A reader sent this one to me. Résumés are a potential employer’s first impression of you so be extra careful to spell check it, read it, and then have someone else read it. Simple spell check would not catch this error. Yes, it’s that important.

res mistake (1)

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Grammar Giggle – Accessories for Whom?

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I saw this in a Las Vegas shopping area last week while there for the NALS Educational Conference and I was a little confused. Does this store sell Women’s Accessories? Or are they selling accessories to one specific woman making them the Woman’s Accessories (and not selling them to anyone else)? Or are they a new accessory line designed by a person named “Woman”? It was a big sign on the outside of a store to lure you in . . . unless you are as highly disturbed as I am by mistakes that should not be on display in public places in signs that obviously cost a lot of money.

IMG_2366 (2)

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Grammar Giggle – Millions of Adults, One Birthday

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I was wandering through Target the other day and spotted this sign. Because I’m particularly sensitive to issues involving the apostrophe, those errors seem to jump out at me. This sign made me wonder if all adults share one birthday, because that is what the sign–as written–actually says. It should be “Adult’s Birthday” indicating the birthday belonging to an adult or, even easier, leave the apostrophe out and call it “Adult Birthday.” Really, Target?

Target2

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