I was wondering why my blog was going crazy with visits today!
If you haven’t yet heard, I’ve been featured in another piece — “Fastidious Spelling Snobs Pushed Over the Edge” by Diane Mapes on MSNBC.com.
It’s a great feature. Nice work, Diane!
Welcome, readers. Enjoy the blog — and if you have any submissions of grammar or spelling errors in your community, feel free to email me at kate.mcculley [at] gmail.com.
If you’re a news organization and would like to contact me for an interview — I’ve done educational grammar consulting and I’ve been featured as the resident grammarian on a few NPR segments — feel free to email me as well.
Thanks for visiting!
The Grammar Vandal 
Your link to the article is incorrect. Here’s the correct one. Congrats on the publicity!
Fastidious spelling snobs pushed over the edge
Thanks for letting me know, Jane! I changed it up.
Bless your heart. I moved to Georgia recently and am amazed at the grammatical misinterpretations that are everywhere. I’m so relieved to learn that I am not the only one. Thanks for the chuckle.
It is with great regret that I, a fellow grammar snob, am just now finding your wonderful blog. So glad to see that another Bostonian gets as outraged at bad grammar, spelling and overall stupidity in writing and speaking the English language as I get! Lucky for me my part-time job requires frequent Sharpie use, as well as many grammatical errors on signs and announcements. Funny how it’s typically the big companies, Shaw’s Supermarkets – the aforementioned part-time employer, that should have the resources and intelligence to catch these sort of mistakes before they are approved for public viewing, isn’t it?
Well, despite my complete obliviousness to your blog, you’ve gained an avid new follower (thanks MSNBC!). I’ll be sure to provide any and all grammar atrocities that I stumble across in the Greater Boston area!
You people are nuts. Why not become outraged over something that actually matters?
Totally kewl d00d!
There is a school in Norfolk, Virginia touting it’s excellence in education. Or is it edumacation? If you’re Popeye, I suppose the latter would be more accurate.
It’s called the ABC Academy. They are convinced that stands for Alpha Beta Cappa. I always thought that Cappa began with a ‘K’.
Damn! I mean touting its excellence in education.
The article montioned is how I have belatatedly found my way here. Isn’t grammar & usage worse then it use to be?
I, too, have received a bump in visits today from your site, thanks! Welcome, MSNBC readers, I have some much needed perspective and truth for you!
I found your site through the msnbc article. I am happy yet jealous too. I am happy because your blog is great, but I am jealous because I have had an idea for a super-hero character for a long time. The character is called The Mad Caret: he/she goes around town correcting spelling and punctuation errors on signs and billboards. I feel like you stole my idea from the atmosphere.
I follow SPOGG and some of the unnecessary punctuation blogs and I was completely avid about following TEAL this summer, but somehow I’d missed you. Glad I found you!
I enjoyed Diane’s article, but snobbish? I prefer to think of it as being helpful to others, just as I would help someone who made an error in math or wrote $825,000 when they meant $825,000,000,000 for the amount of add’l debt the taxpayers will be saddled with. Right is right, and write is write. Proper grammar and orthography enhance communication and our collective ability to express ideas properly to one another.
The sandwiches at my local bagel place apparently all have “chedder” in them, proclaimed about 8 times on their outdoor menu board. I still go there, although I have mentioned the errors to them … more than once – lol!
Thanks for visiting, everybody!
I’d just like to say to RedVelvetCake that I am currently addicted to you in your Starbucks cupcake form.
This isn’t English, but talking about menu boards where is proclaimed “Hot Panini Sandwiches” or, to translate, “Hot Sandwiches Sandwiches”. A good example, perhaps, of how a language evolves, taking Italian and using it incorrectly by adapting it to fit our notions of how things ought to be expressed.
Pet Peeve #1 – PARTY as a verb. It’s rage against the machine, but PARTY is a noun, not a verb. Or is was when I was a pup.
I have to tell you about this one; Driving down the road I pass a Papa Murphy’s sign that says:
“Family Size Paparoni Pizza $12.99”
I about died.
Hey, Mister;
Didjya read the article?
I didn’t even know this blog existed until I read about you on msn.com. I am 55, have a BA in English, and go absolutely nuts inside when I see misspelled signs, logos, menus, etc. My husband is very patient with me when I point out errors I see in the community and when I get upset about it. I can’t stand it when people don’t spell commonly used words correctly. I’ll have to spend more time visiting your blog; thanks for being here! Smiles, Jann
A friend emailed me the link earlier today. I finally had a chance to read and saw that you were mentioned. Congratulations on the publicity!
Let’s go grammar-cop on Diane’s article, then.
Diane: “Putting somebody down by pointing out their bad spelling also could be a power thing.”
Um, Diane, “their” is plural and doesn’t agree with “somebody.”
Diane: “Indeed, researchers at Oxford University believe the ability to spell may have more to do with our DNA than the amount of time we spend with our nose in a dictionary. Others believe nutrition and sleep patterns can affect the way our brain manages the arduous task of learning the English language.”
In a generous mood, one might forgive “somebody/their,” but “our nose”? “Our brain”? You and I don’t share those organs, Diane. I’ve got mine and you have yours, and my nose tells me you weren’t using your brain.
Diane: ‘“I noticed a new dry cleaners was opening and the apostrophe was in the wrong place on their brand new sign,” she says. ‘
Irony of ironies, Diane, you’ve left the apostrophe out of “dry cleaner’s.” Were you trying to mock poor Ms. Nickerson, the person you were quoting?
I also note, Diane, that your use of serial commas is inconsistent. You may use them, or not; but you shouldn’t try to have it both ways. You might want to check the MSNBC style guide, if one exists.
I don’t often bother to do this with online text unless someone is paying me. But an article that asks whether grammar cops are being pushed over the edge should not contribute to the pushing.
I found your website today thanks to the MSNBC article and am happy! As a long-time verbal and written red-pen carrier, I have said that when I die, my tombstone will read, “Here lies Kalena, who died from a massive stroke over the incorrect use of the possessive apostrophe.” I’m certainly not always perfect and admit that, but I do know that I don’t want to eat somewhere that advertises their Rib’s.
A couple of weeks ago, I drove past an Applebee’s. The sign our front said “To cold to go out? Get curbside delivery.” Someone must have pointed out to them that they needed another “o” in the word “to”. The next time I drove past the sign read “To cold too go out?”
There is a sign along Rt. 26 in Oxford, Maine, that prominently advertises “Lobster” on one side and “Lobester” on the other side. It has been up for years and drives me crazy every time I see it.
I think party became a verb in the 1970s. We were always ready to party, meet you at 4:20.
I think recession-related stress is causing me to really hate this kind of “trend journalism.” Take another look–the story contains no actual research, just a bunch of random assertions from it’s author and then quotes from “experts” to back it up. This is why journalism is dying. Or maybe it’s already dead.
Love your blog! For several years I’ve been worried where our society is headed when blatant spelling and grammatical errors disgrace billboards, businesses, public transportation, and national parks. I am sometimes guilty of throwing out a “your” in place of a “you’re” when I’m sending a text message. (It actually pains me to type “ur” if I’m close to reaching the character limit.) My text messages, however, are not up for scrutiny by an entire city. Signage on display to the masses should be error-free.
Where can I get my very own comma stickers and standard-issue sharpie to take Tampa’s poor grammar by storm??
Not only is “party” now sometimes a verb, I see “pork” sometimes used as a noun these days!
Seriously, the trend of turning most any noun into a verb is a little tiresome, especially in the workplace. The other day I was “tasked” with “resourcing” my co-worker some files she needed from my department.
I found you on MSNBC by way of BlogCatalog. ( http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/is-stress-pushing-spelling-snobs-over-the-edge )
You’re blog “rocks!”.
I discovered you through an article on MSNBC on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, entitled “Is stress pushing spelling snobs over edge?” Well, I’ve been over the edge about spelling, grammar and the like for many years! My husband calls me a “grammar cop” and it was so good to discover your site! I will be a regular here. Thanks for hosting such a site, kate
Ugh! Forced to edit my last post to you, as I was looking at something on my desk as I finished my last entry on this blog, thus failing to capitalize your name, Kate, and failing to punctuate the sentence with a period. Please forgive me! I really am a grammar cop. I figure it’s a good use of that English/Writing degree I earned twenty years ago; heaven knows it isn’t monetary remuneration that serves as my reward.