Thursday, January 20, 2011

Dubble Spelling Fale


While out and about the other day, I saw the sign pictured above.  Imagine my excitement when I realized that, finally, I had found a place where I could remot my start!  Since the last time I motted was at least ten years ago, it’s definitely time to remot.  Now my seats, on the other hand, do not need to be weaved.  They are in perfectly good shape.  However, it is good to know that there is a seat weamer working at the same place my start could get remotted.  What luck!  Hmmmm, maybe they meant “seat weaner”.  Perhaps it is a new age technique to pry people from their heated seats when all other attempts have failed.  Well, they had best not try to pry me out of my comfortably (but unheated) bolstered seats.  I will poke their eyes out.

I really hope they didn’t mean “seat wiener”.  That brings up visions of things like this:


If they are running a car and bicycle shop, best of luck to them.  In this economy, people need to be creative in order to make ends meet.  Of course, “seat wiener” could mean other things as well, but I really don’t want to go there.

When I showed DH the photo of the sign and told him I might put it on this blog, he said, “Why don’t you just tell them the truth?  You are a spelling Nazi.”  Okay, I admit I am kind of retentive about spelling.  When it comes to blogs and such, I can let spelling errors go.  We’ve all typed furiously, trying to keep up with our brains.  Often, our fingers can’t move fast enough and miss words all together.  I can deal with that.  What I can’t deal with are people who make signs for a living.  If you can’t spell (or can’t copy accurately) and you make signs, you are in the wrong line of work.  Same thing if you are a book editor.  I mean, come on!  I find spelling errors in just about every book I read.  These days, with spell check, it’s inexcusable.

My descent into spelling vigilantism began early.  Two misspelling incidents in particular stick out in my mind, although my friends and family may have more that I have conveniently forgotten.  The first incident was in my early twenties.  While driving along, I noticed road workers putting up new street signs.  I pulled over, and got their attention.  Through much laughter on my part (and confusion on theirs), I let them know that the street signs were spelled incorrectly.  I was laughing so hard, I could barely get the words out.  Later that day, I also called the Dept. of Transportation and told them what I saw.  They had a difficult time understanding what I was saying.    However, they must have figured it out sufficiently, as the signs were replaced within the next month.

While my biggest spelling annoyances are signs and then books, next on the list are menus.  When you’re in Europe or anywhere that English is the second language and they have made a menu for less-than-fluent tourists like me, it’s understandable.  When you’re in Canada (except Quebec ;-) ) or the US, it’s not.  Misspelling is particularly rife in Asian restaurants.  However, I always cut them a break because I love their food so much.  This brings me to a second incident, which occurred in an American food restaurant.  A group of us from high school got together for a meal at a nice waterfront restaurant.  It wasn’t “nice” as in upscale, it was just clean and trendy with good views and a menu with lots of variety.  We had our meal, and then it was time for dessert.  What did I spy on the menu but one of my favorites, chocolate mouse!  When the waiter arrived, I inquired about the mouse, and asked him a few questions, including if it was fresh or frozen.  Fortunately, he had a good sense of humor and went along with it.  My friends, however, were mortified.  Come to think of it, I don’t think we have been out for dinner since!


20 comments:

  1. That's too funny. Do people not proof read when making signs? I mean come on!

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  2. "Prepair to stop" was on one of those lit up signs for road work awhile back. I about died.

    I, too, am big on spelling. I re-read my posts so many times so that I hopefully do not have any spelling errors.

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  3. it was prolly made in china..but i cut them some slack cuz like you i love chinese food..

    the idiot that hung the sign..not so much...

    but hey it got your attention, and mebbe that is really all the wanted...

    think about it...
    or not..

    Bruce
    bruce johnson jadip
    evilbruce
    stupid stuff i see and hear
    Bruce’s guy book
    the guy book
    Dreamodel Guy
    dreamodeling!

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  4. I always catch spelling mistakes in books and on signs but am horrible at spelling. Even with spell check things get past me and because I do not edit my blogs...but rather go with my first thoughts and emotions...I am sure there are plenty in my blog.

    I know plenty of people that it drives crazy but personally I make a mental note of it and move on.

    Loved the post.

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  5. JM: That's just it! You'd think someone would catch these errors.

    J.Day: I do the same thing. However, I'm sure I will miss some misspellings here and there due to my impatience. :-)

    Bruce: Remember when you were a kid and learned that bad attention is still attention? It's kind of the same thing.

    Jewels: I have a theory that people are born either having an affinity for spelling or not having it at all. There doesn't seem to be much in between.

    Chief: It's amazing how many misspelled signs are out there. However, what always cracks me up is when my father writes on his shopping list "hanbugger buns". Good thing he doesn't paint signs.

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  6. Hehehehe... Those signs are so funny.. :D
    I'm a bit of a Spelling Nazi myself, sometimes. But as you said, most times I'm in such a hurry to get everything in my head onto my blog, a lot of spellings go for a toss. I edit them if I see them, even if it is month after I published the post.. :\

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  7. Mrs. Hyde, I should know by now to never, ever be eating or drinking near the keyboard when your name comes up. It could get really messy.

    PencilGirl, welcome! I, too, will correct a spelling error months after the fact. :-) BTW, I'm enjoying your blog!

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  8. I gave you an award...come check it out.

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  9. Awww, thanks so much, JM! You made my day. Looks like I'd better get crackin'. :-)

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  10. This is great and relateable (relatable?) feck... me and my retentive spelling and I'm not even sure about that one.

    I spell check and proof my posts, and re-read, but always catch errors when/if reading along with or out loud to BF.

    I am not sure why I am so rigid about it. It bugs me when I see lots of errors on other blogs, simply because of the spellcheck feature.

    Seriously?... Reeeally??... Seriously?

    I also want a seat weiner. You heard me.

    EDIT: Grrrrr to word captchas! GRRRRRRR! I hate those damn things!

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  11. Welcome, StephanieC! The visual of the seat wiener is soooo cracking me up. I'm just glad I didn't google it for images....

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  12. I must be a spelling Nazi too then, so I'm with ya!

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  13. Sins that amuse are my thing especially when they can be interpreted in a way that was not intended.

    Signs even!

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  14. Too funny, but to be to romot my start with a weamer might be fun! My daughter posted a poorly spelled ad for a take out restuarant on FB that she ended up having to delete..some people can be offended at the silliest of things...This is great! Thanks!

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  15. I am so amused.
    As I am an English teacher, I sometimes take out a pen and correct signs that drive me nuts. :)
    (And I've got some funny ones on my blog today. C'mon over and see.)

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  16. Seat Weamer sounds uncomfortable!

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  17. That some sign. LOL and if you've been watching the news for the past week you KNOW where I want to go with this, but I'm going to behave.

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  18. I'm more of a formatting and punctuation Nazi myself. The inconsistent font size/spacing and random asterisks bug me about your sign more than the misspellings.

    In any event, it's a good sign for the theme!

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