Saturday, May 12, 2012

Meet the Grammar Curmudgeon

Hello!  I'm the Grammar Curmudgeon.  Sometimes I find examples, out in the wild, of blatantly incorrect use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.  Since complaining about them in public is quite curmudgeonly, I shall do so here.  Of course, even the most curmudgeonly can make mistakes, so if anyone wishes to pick apart my spelling, grammar, or punctuation, I'm more than willing to hear your views.  I might disagree . . . or you might convert me.

Today's example was in a local newspaper, but I've seen this problem many places.  What is the problem?  The difference between "every day" and "everyday."  (Yes, I am aware that the last sentence is a fragment.  It was done intentionally.)

"Everyday" means normal, common, or ordinary.  So, does this ad mean "an ordinary, common, normal party in May"?  Or does it, perhaps, mean "A party every day in May"?  In other words, a party that happens daily.  The latter is what I believe was meant.  It's unfortunate that whoever designed this ad didn't know the difference between "everyday" and "every day."

There's my sample for today.  Check back to enjoy others as I find them.

(A note on the picture.  It was taken from a rather fuzzy newspaper with my cell phone camera, so the quality is not high.  But it should get the point across.)

2 comments:

  1. Good call. I had two yesterday: first, in a history book which should have known better, the Black Death "decimated the population of Europe by a third." I'm still trying to figure out the math of that one. And second, on a friend's friend's blog, the delightful phrase "societal morays." I think that last one should qualify as a story prompt.

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  2. I believe Gary Larsen did a cartoon of a cocktail party of "social morays". Deliberate is funny; clueless, not so much.

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