Multimangle, # 56

This does not reflect well on the writer, the education system, or an industry that largely seems to have decided that sub-editors aren’t necessary:

Link: SomersetLive, ‘Crocs are Bad for Your Health Say Experts, as Patients Complain of Heel Pain on Daily Basis’

footwear that are Crocs; [punctuation]

Double-take, # 245

This is not an adjective:

Link: South Hams Gazette, ‘Dog Alerts Dartmouth Family to Fridge-freezer Blaze’

hero for heroic

Double-take, # 243

A mangled headline precedes and presages further mangling. In fact, the adverb in the report’s first paragraph, flagged by red text, is included as a variant form by Merriam-Webster, though not by British-English dictionaries. The report’s second paragraph is included here only to add colour:

Link: Daily Record and Sunday Mail

Colvend women accident sets fire; accidently

Multimangle, # 54

Dubious grammar and punctuation:

Link: The Scotman, ‘Scots Students Losing out to English at Home Universities’

number … are + punctuation

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 117

Spotted on Clarendon Road, Watford:

11 minutes walk

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 115

Dr Faustus is unimpressed by the persistent misuse of apostrophes in this press release:

Link: ResponseSource Press Release Wire

CV’s (x3)

The Wrong Word Entirely, # 109

A very odd use of a word here, in a sentence whose grammar is also dubious:

Source: Rugby Observer, ‘Violent Attacker to be Deported after Prison’ (19 May, 2016), p. 9; and online

suspect remains outstanding [+hoped that he may still be identified]

Double-take, # 235

A confusion of past forms (with bonus mangled syntax):

Link: The Telegraph, ‘Debtor days are over as BIS calls time on world credit binge’

rang for rung

Singular or Plural? # 19

Spotted by Dr Faustus at Locksbridge Park, a new housing development in Andover:

The early bird gets the house they want

Double-take, # 231

The Mangling English email provider is now sending mangles direct to the inbox!

This mangle is related to one covered in more detail in December 2012. The construction here uses a personal pronoun (you) instead of the reflexive pronoun (yourself) that is needed to express the idea of performing (as the verb’s subject) an action on oneself (as the verb’s object).

An explanation, with examples of correct usage, can be found on the Oxford Dictionaries website.

Protect you and your loved ones

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 111

Running since 1950, and discussed regularly in the news, this radio soap’s title is The Archers…

Link: The Telegraph, ‘The Archer’s [sic] domestic abuse plot […]’

The Archer’s

Other Englishes, # 4

I’m guessing that the writer of this spam email is not a native speaker of English, but I can’t decide quite how this range of mangles, spanning subject line to sign-off, has arisen:

you get new tax refund from GOV, You'are, An payment, King Regards

Multimangle, # 40

Today’s mangle of ‘appropriate’, which may be an unchecked error rather than a typographical slip, comes from a German university and brings for company some dubious syntax and grammar:

Link: CENIDE (Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen), ‘PhD project’ breadcrumb

apropirate; candidates for PhD theses which have a master’s degree; syntax

Not Washed or Cooked, # 289

A thematic run this week, starting with a reminder that, should you choose a condescending stance, it is vital to proofread before posting:

Link: Lexington Montessori School, ‘Outdoor Clothing - Tis [sic] the Season!’

Tis the Season!; approrpiate weater; your child(ren) need; CLOTHINGS

Spellchecking Is Never Enough, # 219

From the competency test featured yesterday, Dr Faustus now sends problems with prepositions:

Source: CEB — SHL Talent Measurement

talk on her phone 7,000 minutes; suited for

Multimangle, # 38

Dr Faustus has found this piece of prose, which mangles grammar, syntax, punctuation and meaning:

Link: Generator, ‘More than a hostel’

your for you’re; shifting perspective; syntax; spacing

Double-take, # 204

Some better than others might have been a better response in this case given the grammatical mangle arising from inaccurate reproduction of the quotation, possibly coupled with unfamiliarity with the English second-person singular:

Link: Richard Bowker, Dover Beach (Shrewsbury, PA: ePublishing Works!, 2012) at Google Books

are thou

Double-take, # 197

A humdinger of a mangle spotted by Dr Faustus:

Link: BBC News, ‘Russian plane crash […]’

There are lot’s of anger

Singular or Plural? # 17

Someone in Sainsbury’s sign-writing department seems confused about grammatical number, and varying the order of the nouns doesn’t help:

chicken and beef is; beef and chicken is

Not Washed or Cooked, # 263

Dr Faustus points out that today’s submission is especially reprehensible because of its source: a college that specializes, according to its logo, in ‘courses in proofreading, journalism, writing and marketing’. The mangles — a misspelling and a noun pretending to be an adjective — come from its page outlining the NCTJ [National Council for the Training of Journalists] diploma:

Source: The College of Media and Publishing. ‘Do the NCTJ diploma with the experts’

receive; specialist for specialized