Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Heh - Pedantic Grammarian Edition

Stolen from the Shoebox blog:


Don't laugh.  You have NO ideer how many times I've seen this since I started reading blogs.  And don't get me started on apostrophes.  Just don't.
Committed to the Inter-tubes by on
Labels: ,

22 comments:

  1. Andy14 February, 2012 10:13

    I think you mean apostrophe's.

    Your welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dapper Dan14 February, 2012 10:32

    Amen, Buck. And I love the cartoon.

    Sorry Andy, that would be "you're welcome." :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. tim14 February, 2012 10:55

    Putting aside the stated grammatical error, (since I’m not about to cast the first stone) I’m slightly confused about the often used, and I believe incorrect term - “desert island”.

    How can an island, a piece of land surrounded by water, be in the desert, an arid land void of water. Seems like an oxymoron. (That being, of course, an unintelligent ox.)

    The correct term is “desertED island”, no?

    ReplyDelete
  4. IT (aka Ivan Toblog)14 February, 2012 10:56

    So for some unknown reason I Googled Valentines (without the apostrophe) Day, clicked the images tab, and what's the second image that appears?
    The EIP hisself's cartoon from last year. Don't bother to look now (on Google) 'cause it's buried

    Funny how some things don't change and others change before your eyes

    ReplyDelete
  5. Buck14 February, 2012 11:07

    Small Tee: I think either would be correct. There ARE barren islands in the sea, with no water other than rainfall, no?

    Ivan: We can split hairs here if you'd like. There's a required apostrophe if you're talking about St. Valentine's day. If you're talking about the habit of passing out cheesy Hallmark cards, it would be Valentines Day. No? I've used both conventions in the past.

    ReplyDelete
  6. IT (aka Ivan Toblog)14 February, 2012 11:33

    I'm talkin' about typing into the Google search box. It seems Google doesn't care?

    ReplyDelete
  7. IT (aka Ivan Toblog)14 February, 2012 11:37

    BTW - Pedantic Grammarian Edition WBAGNFARB


    V-word = catubry pirated chocolate Easter eggs?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Buck14 February, 2012 11:42

    I googled "valentines or valentine's" and got appropriate results, so mebbe they DO care. And they SHOULD care... coz today is a caring kinda day.

    Or Engrish chocolate eggs. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Andy14 February, 2012 13:30

    I'm with small-tee. I've always said "deserted." Not necessarily for the reasons you give, tim, but because 100 time out of 100, the implication is that it is an island WITH NOBODY ELSE ON IT.

    Dan - Not sure which one of us needs to adjust the old sarcasm meter, so I'll go ahead and fix mine. Its usually me. You can adjust you'res, to, though. And anyone else who needs too can also adjust there's.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dapper Dan14 February, 2012 13:56

    Andy, I apologize. It was a knee jerk old teacher reaction. BTW, my sarcasm meter is plumb busted. And so is my SD, Sarcasm Detector. And, its always danged embarrassing when my Apostrophe Corrector gets it's gears all jammed up. SeewhutImean?

    Buck, one more note on this fun subject. The Harbrace College Handbook (which I dutifully carried around with me like a preacher carries a Bible during my career) indicates that issues with apostrophes, commas, periods, and other marks, are categorized under the heading "Punctuation." Proper placement of apostrophes, commas, etc. is certainly important in written communication, but these are not, technically, grammar issues.

    That's only "technically." I and the teachers I worked with frequently used the term grammar in reference to such issues.

    The biblical reference reminded me that like a lot of preachers, I've had and still have my own problems with the rules, in this case, with mechanics and grammar. There were others in our department who had a far better command of these rules than I. Guess that's why I kept the book with me all the time!

    Glad I'm retired and don't have to fight these wars anymore.

    Sorry I wrote so danged much.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Suldog14 February, 2012 13:58

    Personally, I think peoples who use apostrophe's are loosers.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Buck14 February, 2012 14:52

    Guess that's why I kept the book with me all the time!

    I once held the additional duty of Public Affairs Officer (I suppose that should be PA NCO) for my unit in England. I was issued a copy of the AP's Style Book when I assumed that duty and that became MY Bible. I still have it, to this day, and it got a lot o' use in my third or fourth (brief) career as a technical writer. That and the Chicago Manual of Style.

    An interesting side note... a woman who was once near and dear to me has her BA in Modern Languages and TWO MA's in English. Rumor has it she's working on her PhD in English. Can the woman write and/or spell? Not only no, but HELL no. She needs to carry a book around, too.

    Jim: Yeah, and I HATE loosers.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Buck14 February, 2012 14:55

    Small Tee: Interesting, that Wiki thang. I've always said "desert island." And, apropos of nothing, there used to be a program on the Beeb called "Desert Island Discs," where some celeb would sit side-by-side with the host and play his or her favorite tunes... records they would take to a desert island.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Buck14 February, 2012 14:58

    Desert Island Discs

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bag Blog14 February, 2012 15:02

    What do I know? For years I thought it was chester drawers. But if the day belongs to St. Valentine, it would be apostrophe s.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Andy14 February, 2012 16:05

    Ivan, the EIP thing showing up high on your results is a new Goobleistic deal. They've started giving you results from your contacts at the top of the page. Buck's joint shows up high on all of my GoobleSearches, too.

    Not to burst Buck's bubble or anything...

    The 'toon is spot on! It is a "dessert" island. Isnt it? I mean, its got chocolate syrup's & a cherry, do'nt it?

    Maybe not.

    Good toon'!

    BTW, whood have thunk that a cartoon couldv'e got 17 commentories'?

    Excellent!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Matt Conlon14 February, 2012 18:33

    Love the cartoon, I've made that mistake myself... 15 albums I'd take to a dessert island...

    Google doesn't pay any attention to any punctuation at all. If you got a "keyword" from an SEO site, you might find something like "love valentines day". You could work that phrase into a blog post as "do you love Valentine's Day?" Or, "For those of you in love: Valentine's day!" or hell... "love,..,.;:Va'lin..tine's! Day.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Moogie P14 February, 2012 22:03

    Apparently, blogger ate my comment and I have no idea what I said now. Sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Craig15 February, 2012 08:59

    Their are just so many weighs for people to screw up they're grammar. . .

    ReplyDelete
  20. (not necessarily your) Uncle Skip15 February, 2012 11:13

    @ Craig - Har!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Buck15 February, 2012 11:54

    Not to burst Buck's bubble or anything...

    Heh. I'm bubble-free at the moment, so you can't burst what ain't there.

    Matt: Interesting about google and punctuation.

    Moogie: Blogger has been bein' a snot lately.

    Craig: Heh.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Andy15 February, 2012 14:18

    @Craig - Nyuk! (Bitchin' posting photo, too...)

    ReplyDelete

Just be polite... that's all I ask.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)