Grammar Giggle – Specfic Stats?

This was an ad I recently received in the mail. It looks to me like this is an example of your brain knowing what it is supposed to say and tricking your eyes into seeing it that way. It might be better to have someone else look at it before it goes to press. If the three people mentioned in the ad all looked at it and didn’t see it, they need to slow down and really read it. Avoiding errors takes a little bit of extra time, but it is time well spent.

Grammar Giggle – My Kind of Wine Glass!

I saw this in a catalog I received. While I would definitely use the second one for wine, since the page before uses the same description on a typical wine glass, I’m just saying that someone missed this in the review. When you’re proofreading, you need to read everything in that document (or catalog) as a whole paying attention to whether the photos go with the words, whether all the words are spelled correctly, and whether it all makes sense. I’m bringing it up today just to make you laugh. I know mistakes happen (goodness knows I’ve made more than my fair share), but sometimes all we can do is laugh and learn. And perhaps we’ll start a new trend with a new kind of wine glass!

Grammar Giggle – Obvious Phishing Emails

I received this email recently. Obviously, when the header has multiple errors, it is not from Chase bank. Also obviously, the link in the email is NOT to Chase.com. I know that because I hovered over the link to see where the link went and it was a string of letters and numbers. I guess I should be grateful that the mistakes saved me time in reading the entire email.

Grammar Giggle – Complimentary Complements

A friend recently rode in an Uber that had this on the back of the seat in front of him for his use. While I appreciate the thoughtfulness that goes into making your passengers comfortable during their ride, the wrong word was used. They are confusing, so we’re going to explore the differences:

  • Complement:  something that fills up, completes, or makes better or perfect.
    • Her shoes were the perfect complement to her dress.
  • Compliment: an expression of esteem, respect, affection, or admiration
    • He appreciated the compliment on his new haircut.
  • Complementary: serving to fill out or complete
    • The pink shoes were complementary to her whole outfit.
  • Complimentary: given free as a courtesy or favor.
    • The wine was complimentary with a spa service.

In this example, the use of the charger was free and while I suppose it could complete or make better a day going bad because your phone was dead, I think the intent was that charging was free while you were in the Uber vehicle.