Problem punctuation, # 1

I think I’ve found one of the commas omitted from the 4News report discussed yesterday:

Link: LA fitness

Or maybe LA fitness [sic] intended, but forgot, to insert ‘like’, indicating the company’s hipness, and it’s supposed to say: ‘Get ready to, like, join the resolution’. With proofreading like that, it’s hard to be sure if the pun is intended…

Spellchecking Is Never Enough, # 28

Bob Godiva sent me a link to a recent report on the so-called 'bedroom tax', which suggests that the occupancy required is even higher than previously reported:

  Link: 4News, 'Bed tax'

Are they rationing commas at 4News?

It turned out, however, that I hadn't read far enough down the page… It was this that Bob's eagle eye had spotted:

Link: 4News, 'Bed tax'

Bob Godiva wants to know: Who is Hugh demand?

 

Spellchecking Is Never Enough, # 27

Some biblical studies today, extracts from a document called 'Doctrine of Temptation'. First the Old Testament:

  

Now the New Testament:

Perhaps this is the kind of temptation in question:

 Link: 'desert temptation'

It certainly looks very tempting, but you're safe: the recipe hasn't been included.

Not Washed or Cooked, # 7

No spellcheckers or proofreaders in Oxford University's Department of Experimental Psychology?

Link: UOxford, Experimental Psychology

It's not the only one, and this one seems more reprehensible: 

 Link: UOxford, Continuing Education

Perhaps the 'artifical intelligence' will help with this kind of thing when it's been created. It'll probably have a spellchecker built in.

You Cannot Be Serious, # 7

It's not entirely clear what Vitality (a gym/health club) is offering here:

Link: Vitality Gym, hen parties
 

Accident or design?

Spellchecking Is Never Enough, # 26

An essay on Homer's Odyssey, available online:

  Link: Lesley Roswell, 'Penelope: A Female Heroin'

 

I think this is what's called a double whammy.

You Cannot Be Serious, # 6

Today's contribution, courtesy of Bob Godiva, suggests that sponsorship can be a dangerous thing:

You need really good, clear diction for this one…

Here's the online version, where the illustration sports an unlikely caption, perhaps written tongue in cheek:

Link: Fair City News, Cox Sucker Days

Sadly, like so many of the best things in life, this turns out to be a mirage: as you've probably already guessed, Fair City News is, of course, a spoof publication (and well worth a look).

 

Not Washed or Cooked, # 6

Someone must have been paid to take the time to scan this in, run Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software, save the file, and upload the result: 

Link: HRVH Historical Newspapers, Southeastern New York Library Resources Council

Why, though? Never mind 'not 100% accurate': what possible use is the result to anyone?

With all the material there must be to archive, surely it's better just scan the original and upload it. This works:

Link: HRVH Historical Newspapers, Southeastern New York Library Resources Council, 2

 

Now Try It In English, # 2

This was quoted in a Daily Telegraph report that was rather generously supplied with mangles:

Link: The Telegraph, 'we would crime it'

A trawl round the internet shows that, so far at least, this mangle seems not to be widespread, though it's not unique —

Link: Yahoo, 'Crime Referrance Number'

— and it may, of  course, be standard police jargon, as this clip from a PoliceUK.com forum suggests:

 Link: PoliceUK.com, 'crime it'

The slogan 'Stamp Out Crime' was once common. How about 'Stamp Out "Crime" As A Verb'?

Not Washed or Cooked, # 5

It's fair to say that spellchecking isn't possible in this situation, and it's too late for proofreading at this stage. This photograph of a friend-of-a-friend's arm has been going round the internet for a while:

It was his first tattoo, and may well be his last; if not, I recommend a move to graphics-only.

Now Try It In English, # 1

This is rather eye-watering:

Link: The Telegraph, 'poor families are likely to be obese'

 

The speaker is Anna Soubry, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health, who has previously worked in journalism and law.

Spellchecking Is Never Enough, # 25

A quick return today to a familiar and frequent mangle: 

Link: The Pubic Face of Wilkie Collins

The copyright on the webpage is 1997-2005. You'd have thought someone would have mentioned the error by now; but then there's no obvious way to contact the author…