description

We all make errors, and sometimes, those errors can make us look like idiots. Especially when that error gets published out in the world, even though it likely went through a host of gatekeepers to get there. And that's why we're here. To shame those gatekeepers with an internet scarlet S. I don't expect you to be perfect. It takes a village, and every village has an idiot. But for the sake of your company's reputation, hire a village that has at least one member THAT CAN SPELL.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Presented With a Small Comment...

IT'S HARD TO SEE THROUGH ALL THE COBWEBS DOES THIS THING STILL WORK?

Ahem. Hi, everyone! I hope you're all still with me. I'm getting myself organized to hopefully get back on some sort of schedule, so I wanted to throw up a post with this awesome picture that some of you may have already seen, since it's been floating around the social media for a bit. But really, it was too good to pass up.

via THE INTERWEBS
Yes, it's been proven to be a fake, so I'm not even going to bother taking them to task, which is why it's perfect for this brief post. But really, it's hilarious. You can totally see autocorrect doing this to a text you're about to send to your mom.

I LOVE YOU ALL! Did you miss me? I MISSED YOU!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

No theme. NO THEME!!!!!

Yes, today there is no theme. I know. It's stressing me out, too, but sometimes, you just have to roll with it, because I had to get these out to y'all for your viewing enjoyment.

Photo by IU
Once again we have a Montoya (as in Inigo) mistake. Yep, that's what I'm gonna call them from now on. Read the first sentence. Out loud if you have to. Your office mates won't mind. You see which word I'm talking about? WHEREAS is just...wrong...here. But the part I can't quite figure out is what did they actually mean? "Such as" would be weak here, but it'd work. There are also 2 works in that first sentence, which is generally a writing no-no. And then you move on to the second sentence, which has its own issues. IU sent this photo to me a while back, and I don't remember where she was when she took it, but I'm guessing it was a museum, which makes this even sadder. Museum descriptions should be clear and concise, and not poorly written and confusing. Hire someone to write your copy for you, museum. Don't just assume because your employees are knowledgable they can write. These two things do not necessarily travel together.

Photo by JR
Seriously. How do you not hear that this is wrong EVERY TIME you say this word out loud? "If you head back to our CLEARANCE section..." Listen, I get typos. You should see the first draft of every single thing I type. This is why it is acceptable to READ OVER the things you type before you hit print. You are allowed! Permission is granted! And if you are actually pronouncing this word this way, then your friends hate you, and you should look into getting new ones.

And finally, this little project:

The food was excellent. The spelling? Not so much. 
I made this one extra-big, so you can see. There are a few problems here. How much time do you have? A quick glance turns up misspellings on PROSCIUTTO, BISCUIT, and LAVENDER. Oh, and HOMINY. I think that might be it, but it's hard to tell. This handwriting is both neat and confusing. Do you see anything I missed? But here's what I really want to know. What is potato fondant? And truffle foam? I mean, I think you can guess that I'm not an adventurous eater, but at what point does the whole molecular gastronomy thing go too far? Does every food NEED to be done in a new form? Blergh. I'm cranky now. Get off my lawn!

POTATO FONDANT IS SCARY, YO.

Ok, that's it for now. Send those submissions in!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The word of the day is...

Brains can be tricky things. You're just typing along, putting together a sign for your store, and you reach for a particular word, and your brain provides, well, something. But it's not quite right. Or, in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Photo by DC
"Sorry for Any Innocence: A High School Survival Story," coming to Lifetime this fall!

But as it turns out, this word is really challenging. Like, elaborately, bizarrely challenging. Ranging from move-a-letter confusion...

Photo by JS
...to just-drop-a-syllable epic fail.

Photo by BM via JR
Additionally, I would immediately want an explanation for why they couldn't make a sandwich. I mean, who can't make a sandwich? I can barely cook and I have sandwiches mastered. Are they out of bread? Meats? Cheese? What is it, man? I will provide my own materials if necessary! JUST MAKE ME A SANDWICH FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY.

But I have a well-documented sandwich problem. Anyway, just for the record, it's INCONVENIENCE. In case you were all confused now.

Happy Tuesday, gang. Keep sending those submissions in!


Monday, June 24, 2013

My first love...

TV will always be first and foremost in my heart. It's my job AND my hobby, and pretty much everything in between. That being said, it can also bring me pain. Deep, abiding pain. As some of you know, I've been unemployed off and on since 2009. The industry just isn't what it once was, and probably never will be again. Skill is no longer valued when cheap labor can be found. And as they say, you get what you pay for. Just have a look.

WHY AREN'T THEY SINGING? 
I have a serious love/hate relationship with Bunheads. I desperately want it to be good because I love both its lead actress and its pedigree. I come back every week to see if it's improved, and every week it hurts me in a new and painful way. Usually it's the script that kills me, but this particular week, it was that sign behind Michelle. AVACADO? Really, TV show? That's how you want to play this? I mean, come ON. The Fosters are already NOT singing or dancing in this scene, which is just a waste. And then you're not even going to proofread AVOCADO? It's like you don't even know me. Which you don't. Which I guess is why your dancers walk around outside with their VERY EXPENSIVE dance shoes on, or all take class together even though they're at different levels, and can learn fairly complicated choreography in mere hours. See? I love, but I also hate. But at least *I* know how to spell avocado. (and I'm available for work! Call me!)

Possibly the most boring scene in the entire season.
Do you watch Scandal? Of course you do. Everyone digs Scandal. It's tons of fun, well written, and gloriously well acted. In some sort of effort to capitalize on the themes of Scandal, my local news station posted this ad for a story on the news following the show. I like how the fake word, sexting, is all good, but the real word, DECIPHERING, is just wrong. Also, how hard is it to decipher a sext? I confess I have no experience with sexting, but I feel like it's not really a complicated thing. You probably don't have to bring in Huck or even Baby Huck to solve the riddle, I'm guessing.

Look at that crystal clear picture on my TV! 
I posted this pic on my twitter feed (@SpellFailBlog), where we debated it back and forth for a while. Officially, this tarot card from Hart of Dixie is spelled incorrectly here in the good ol' USA. JUDGMENT is the preferred spelling here. However, it's correct in many other countries, including Canada, Australia, and the UK. So, maybe these are foreign cards? Hard to say. But I don't like it! It makes me itchy. Let's save that E for another day.

I think he's about to spit in our faces. 
I posted this pic on the Facebook and Twitter feeds, but it's a good one, so everyone should get to see it. I hated this show. I really did. I gave it a few different chances because man, that cast was fantastic, right? But wow, those were possibly the MOST incompetent FBI agents in the history of the FBI. They were masters of bad choices. Yes, by all means, let's send Kevin Bacon somewhere with one person as backup AGAIN, because that person never ends up dead. Anyway, as I said on Facebook, at least one good thing came from watching that silly show. Blatant comma abuse, and from a character who's supposed to be a literature professor! In a perfect world, Joe Carroll has already had the author of this chyron killed, and then offered a lengthy lecture on how Poe would be pleased. (Did anyone else feel like the whole Poe thing was weird? I mean, Poe is a noted whackadoo who was fascinated by the macabre, but was that almost TOO obvious an inspiration for a serial killer? I guess out of all the silly stuff on that show, that was one of the less silly things.)

So, what are you watching this summer?


Monday, June 17, 2013

Howdy!

Well, helloooooooo there! How are you? It's been a while, huh? I hope you've been having a fantastic 2013. I have missed you all terribly, but I was completely overwhelmed for a while there by my day job, and had to take some time to focus. However, my day job ended this past Friday, so I'm getting back into the swing of things.

You're delighted beyond words. I KNOW.

Ok, let's dive in, shall we?

Just a couple weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend the ATX Festival in Austin, Texas. It was really super awesomely fun. I'd never been to Austin, and it proved to be an excellent and easy-to-navigate host city. Basically, I'm already prepared to purchase my pass for next year's festival, and if you're a TV fan, I recommend you do so as well. You won't regret it. Yes, I'm CERTAIN.

In addition to being a fun time, it also provided me with some excellent blog fodder. You didn't have any WORK to do this morning, did you? Pish.

Still looks tasty
I was meeting some friends for dinner one night when I spotted this on my walk to the restaurant. Now, sure, it's possible this was on purpose. I mean, people do kinda doofy things on purpose all the time. But y'all know how I feel about printing a sign incorrectly on purpose. The kids, y'all. Will no one think of the children? The local spelling bee kids who are all "but I saw it that way on A SIGN!! Why would the SIGN lie to me?"

(Incidentally, if you google this place, you can find the yelp page, which helpfully explains that you can get both pizza AND adult entertainment here. So, yeah. Not so much with the kids, I guess.)

MOVING ON.

It was dark in there.
My first reaction: "Monday's WHAT?" My second reaction: "'Where are you thinking tonight' is an awkward phrase when typed out." And finally: "Are the collarbones of the lady in green part of a face that's smiling at me?"

I did not attend this panel. I was too busy sitting at a bar, talking about TV and drinking. Sorry. 
Now, I post this with love and encouragement because I want only the best for the ATX Fest staff. I'm confident this cancelled-too-soon bit is going to become a THING at this festival, so it's time to explore the correct deployment of this phrase. CANCELED is a perfectly acceptable spelling, though not the one I prefer. Like any good Anglophile, I'm just going to keep rolling with my double Ls until someone insists I stop. (DO NOT INSIST I STOP. I WILL BE SAD.) But we all know what the real problem is, and it's super easy to correct. Perhaps they were saving the o for somewhere else in the program? Somewhere there's a room that's a little too big for its britches, maybe. Or an ooh that lasted just a little too long. Whatever the explanation, this to is the wrong to. They had a 33% chance, and they chose poorly. Sometimes you do. There's always next year, ATX Fest! I have faith and confidence in you. I believe in you!

We'll be watching.

Remember, gang, if you see it, SEND it! This blog survives only with your submissions. I won't be resuming daily posts until I get some more entries, but there are definitely some good ones coming in the next few weeks. WHOO!

Saturday, June 15, 2013

This is only a test.

Just seeing if my automatic post picker uppers are still working. Are they? I guess we'll find out!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Usual Suspects

Let's get this party started, shall we?

Like all usual suspects, this one turned up in a bar, leaving only this hazy photo as proof. Isn't that always the way?

Photo by SC
SC indicated that the "Gent's" sign was just as troubling. Why is it so difficult for some people to accept that a word can just be plural? It doesn't require accessories.

I know this is acceptable in some circles, but I don't like it.

Photo by SH
It's just off-putting. It makes me want to ask "for your SUV's WHAT?" What do you think?

I know I bag on local news a lot around here, but honestly, how can I not? This is the local news equivalent of the floral sack dress. They have officially given up.

Photo by AD
Your story lacks punch when the audience is snickering at your inability to spell. Meanwhile, just one minute earlier, on a different day, on THE SAME CHANNEL:

Photo by AD
When I graduated from college, I lived at home for about a year trying to get a job at a local Florida station, and no one would hire me. I'd like to think they're kicking themselves right now. They're probably not, but y'know. It makes me feel better about myself.

This is probably more of a judgment call, but really, if we're not here to judge, then what are we doing?

Photo by MLW
Stash? What are they doing? Stashing something somewhere? Keeping a stash of something? NO. They're abbreviating mustache. Which makes me (and photographer MLW) think they can probably just stick with the word's actual spelling, and go with stache. What do you think?

MLW sent me another photo, and in it, she may have discovered the earth's most challenging word. Now that she has Basset Hounds, she has discovered no one can EVER spell Basset correctly. This was spotted in the Skymall catalog:

Photo by MLW
Adorable dog. Very strange chair protector thing. Almost unforgivable misspelling in a published magazine that everyone on a plane will read, because what else are you supposed to do? Talk to your neighbor? Please. No one wants that.

My friend MAB spotted this sign that I'm guessing is pre-printed, though it seems an easy fix, given today's easy computering. There's no real need to pre -print signs anymore.

Photo by MAB
As Seen IN? Preposition Fail. But what I really need to know is if anyone's tried this beverage, and if I need to. Is it any good? I am, after all, a lover of chocolate! And a hater of incorrect prepositions.

And a couple of food fails to round out this post. First up, a sign that comes SO CLOSE.

Photo by KM
This signmaker obviously doesn't believe in doubling consonants, even when you're supposed to. Nope! Not gonna do it. And so we get zuchini instead of zucchini and batered instead of battered. Letters are expensive! And to this person, perhaps redundant.

And finally, I do love Fridays. All kinds of Fridays. Even potentially euphemistic Fridays.

Photo by CW 
If you guess what he means by "Friday," you get quadruple sides!

Thanks, all! Keep 'em coming!

Friday, January 4, 2013

It's back!


Sure, the post schedule has slowed down, but the menu/food-related errors sure haven’t. 

From regular submitter AS comes this menu from a coffee meeting of hers. Have a look at the soups of the day. I would prefer that my potato not leak out of my soup, wouldn’t you? 

Photo by AS
Not to mention the Cesar salad up there. Maybe it’s a salad made by Cesar? Eh, maybe not. 


MAB took this at one of my favorite salad spots. I spotted a spelling error at the same restaurant the same day, but didn’t have a chance to snap a pic. Fortunately, MAB was more on top of things than I was. 

Photo by MAB
Here in LA, whenever they misspell a protein name, I worry that it’s actually substitute meat, but I don’t think that’s what they mean here. Surely, they’d have gone with “chickn” instead of “proten.” PROTEIN, people. It’s what’s for lunch. 


There are a LOT of problems here, but I guess I can grant points for consistency? 

Photo by CP
I would guess these are drinks from the Fringe alt-verse, but that was spelled wrong differently. This is all a part of Windmark’s evil plan, isn’t it? 


Photo by SH
That’s…a lot…of ellipses. And an extraneous hyphen. And a dessert that sounds pretty gross to me. But I’m pretty firm in my belief that anything that is not chocolate is a waste of time. 


And finally, just remember that you should only use the restroom at the restaurant if you’re a customer. Otherwise, there could be a problem. 

Photo by CS, via JR
 Yikes!