With approximately 11,000 stores in the United States, Starbucks has definitely earned the right to have its name spelled correctly. The ONLY way this is acceptable is if it’s actually a Battlestar Galactica-themed cafe. Which would actually be really cute, come to think of it.
Contributor John submits: “I saw this one in the in-flight magazine on a flight to Mexico. It’s a bit different from your usual fare, but I certainly found it confusing.”
Fear not, John; wrong is wrong, whether grammatical, factual, or logical. Alas, a Red Pen-er’s work is never done.
That said: MAJOR SURVEY-WRITING FAIL.
Ponder this one, as you go into the weekend:
Seriously. Ponder the process by which a major brand designs, (presumably) market-tests, and produces a brand named “Steam’ables.” Is it their small contribution to the fight against the elimination of the apostrophe? Or is it marking the abbreviation of some other word — something like “Steamamabobables”? Hee. “Steamamabobables.” Say that twenty times fast.
In accordance with my gut feeling, Merriam-Webster has no definition for “whirl” as a noun. Dictionary.com does, but not any that would make sense in this context. I think the word they were looking for was “whorl,” but that would look silly on a cereal box, right? Of course, my very basic Spanish (and, let’s be honest, Merriam-Webster’s Spanish dictionary) also indicates that “Espirales” means “spirals,” and these dudes are clearly circles. So there’s all kinds of crazy liberty-taking with words here.
A little light misspelling for a midweek boost:
The ritzy new Kroger is giving Whole Foods a run for their money. It’s so nice, they even feature “artichoke and feta torta with carmelized walmuts.” I don’t know if they meant “torta” or “torte,” so we’ll let that slide. But the exotic “walmuts” sound too tasty to ignore.
Reporter #1 says, “I prefer the ‘platoon monthly’ method, myself…”
…remember to spell the Vice-President’s name.
As always, tip and title due to Reporter #1.
…a 12-step program for apostrophe offenders! Thank goodness there are kindred souls all over.
(Found at Apostrophe Abuse.)
This is another debatable one. I’ll mention that it is in a federal building adjacent to the federal courthouse. I’m pretty sure they should have gone for “Chambers” or, if they were really feeling the apostrophe, “Chambers'”.
