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My name is Michelle and I am a spelling snob.


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There, I said it (although it's probably not evident in my posts! Message boards are for "talking" not "writing" LOL ).

 

Anyway, I went to an event last night where there were exhibitors. One exhibit was for a chiropractor. Seeing as how chiropractic is an interest of mine, I went to the booth and picked up a flier for some informational seminars. On the flier was the following:

 

$20 per event or $30 for BOTH!!

Includes wine and horse devoirs.

 

:svengo:

 

At first, I thought, "WTHeck is a horse devoir?" Then it hit me. What they meant was, "hors d'oeuvres". I'm sorry, but I don't think I want to trust my neck and spine to someone who pays so little attention to details. This is beyond a typo, and just looks tacky and ignorant. And, things like this totally turn me off. People who run their own businesses REALLY need to pay attention to these kinds of things.

 

How hard is it to use spell check and grammar check? Don't most word processing programs have this? It just makes me nuts to see professionals distribute fliers and pamphlets they make themselves riddled with mistakes that could have been easily corrected with a 30-second spell check.

 

How important to you are things like this? Am I just a freak about this?

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Amen sister!

 

I'm a spelling snob too. As a matter of fact I am really bucking down on my dd about spelling because nothing makes you look more ignorant than spelling mistakes. And I do agree that some people are just not natural spellers, so they have to work harder at it.

 

For Pete's Sake, write out "appetizers"!!:lol:

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You would think. But I worked for Starbucks for many years, and I have a MUG with a spelling error. That sucker went through design and production and distribution to stores. It's my favorite mug.

When my husband was a beginning Graphic Artist he worked at a packaging company. He spelled "aluminum" as ALUMINUMINUM and not one person caught it all the way through production. :001_huh:

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You are not alone. I got fed up last night and blogged about one of my most hated misspellings. Of course, I was kept humble by missing my own misspelling of "MISPELLING"! :lol:

 

I'm not the best speller, but on something like a flier you bet your booties I'd be spell checking! My blog doesn't count, it's my place to just "chill" not worry about anything. ;)

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That was my first thought too.....APPETIZERS!

 

Spelling is a difficult one. I wasn't a good speller until college and I am even better now that I have spell check! :lol: But I really think I was never taught correctly.

 

I am working on teaching my boys but I really need to work harder at it. My middle son is a natural speller but my oldest struggles a lot.

 

Dawn

 

Amen sister!

 

I'm a spelling snob too. As a matter of fact I am really bucking down on my dd about spelling because nothing makes you look more ignorant than spelling mistakes. And I do agree that some people are just not natural spellers, so they have to work harder at it.

 

For Pete's Sake, write out "appetizers"!!:lol:

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I think all of our liquor stores here in NC are called ABC stores. I have been making fun of drunken rednecks for years with that one!

 

Dawn

 

I was in the mall about 10 years ago, and one of the stores was undergoing a facelift. The sign on the wall said, "XYZ store coming soon--formally ABC store." URGH!:confused:
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Michelle, you'd fit right in with me and my older sister.

 

We both have the same spelling and grammar hang-ups. I know it's wrong. I know I need to get over it. But when I read something (website, sign, whatever) that's supposed to be professional, and it's full of spelling or grammar errors, it makes me cringe. I don't want to give my money to that business anymore.

 

Spelling and apostrophe abuse are the worst to me. Not in everyday communication, like here on the boards. But professionally? For sure. Can't. Stand. It.

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Amen sister!

 

I'm a spelling snob too. As a matter of fact I am really bucking down on my dd about spelling because nothing makes you look more ignorant than spelling mistakes. And I do agree that some people are just not natural spellers, so they have to work harder at it.

 

For Pete's Sake, write out "appetizers"!!:lol:

 

Sorry, i.love.lucy, I couldn't resist. :D And please know that I spell things incorrectly on this board that I'd never miss on paper...sheesh! (A couple of days ago it was the word "reccomendation" in a subject line where I couldn't go back and edit. Grrr! So, I'm not throwing stones--it just struck me as funny.

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I think all of our liquor stores here in NC are called ABC stores. I have been making fun of drunken rednecks for years with that one!

 

Dawn

 

Oops! I was trying to cover up the fact that I no longer remember the actual name of the store; I didn't know that there was such as thing as ABC stores! :lol:

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Oops! I was trying to cover up the fact that I no longer remember the actual name of the store; I didn't know that there was such as thing as ABC stores! :lol:

 

It's really a fascinating phenomenon. They are either "package stores" or "abc stores". Or the strangest one...NO NAME...just 3 big red dots. One of my favorite oddities from the south.

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My guess is the chiro spelling was meant as a red "neck" joke. I grew up in southern Virginia and people would say (not write) "horse devoirs" as a joke for hors d'oeuvres. Not sure of the origin of the joke (maybe from an old TV sitcom or something?)

 

I agree it is tacky for the situation to actually write it that way.

 

-crystal

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Was it a horse show?

 

Maybe it was a joke...one can always hope.

 

No, it was a Taste of Home Cooking School, which had some odd exhibitors, imo. Outside of the expected caterers, kitchen appliances, and food-related booths, there was a bank, a floor cleaning service, a pet store, a jewelry maker, Arbonne, a Catholic elementary school, 2 hypnotic therapy booths and 3 chiros. It sort of made me wonder what the thought processes were for exhibiting at a food-related event!

 

It would have been funny if it had been a horse show! LOL

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How important to you are things like this? Am I just a freak about this?

 

If someone makes a spelling error on message boards, I really just don't think twice about it. But when someone makes a spelling mistake on an advertisement, in a book, in something that is posted boldly and should have been proofread 10 times and spell checked, my grace doesn't seem to extend that far.

 

I had a friend who sent me an invitation to her new business. There were 2 spelling errors in the title alone. There were more in the body of the invite. I just don't get that. I think it was sent to about 30 people. That's when I feel like hiding for that person, kwim? I suffer the humiliation for them, even if they remain completely unaware of the mess-up!! :lol:

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If someone makes a spelling error on message boards, I really just don't think twice about it. But when someone makes a spelling mistake on an advertisement, in a book, in something that is posted boldly and should have been proofread 10 times and spell checked, my grace doesn't seem to extend that far.

 

I had a friend who sent me an invitation to her new business. There were 2 spelling errors in the title alone. There were more in the body of the invite. I just don't get that. I think it was sent to about 30 people. That's when I feel like hiding for that person, kwim? I suffer the humiliation for them, even if they remain completely unaware of the mess-up!! :lol:

 

Yeah, message board typos don't bother me that much. But when you're presenting yourself to the world and want that world to spend money with you, it helps to look like you have at least some communication skills and sense.

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There, I said it (although it's probably not evident in my posts! Message boards are for "talking" not "writing" LOL ).

 

Anyway, I went to an event last night where there were exhibitors. One exhibit was for a chiropractor. Seeing as how chiropractic is an interest of mine, I went to the booth and picked up a flier for some informational seminars. On the flier was the following:

 

$20 per event or $30 for BOTH!!

Includes wine and horse devoirs.

 

:svengo:

 

At first, I thought, "WTHeck is a horse devoir?" Then it hit me. What they meant was, "hors d'oeuvres". I'm sorry, but I don't think I want to trust my neck and spine to someone who pays so little attention to details. This is beyond a typo, and just looks tacky and ignorant. And, things like this totally turn me off. People who run their own businesses REALLY need to pay attention to these kinds of things.

 

How hard is it to use spell check and grammar check? Don't most word processing programs have this? It just makes me nuts to see professionals distribute fliers and pamphlets they make themselves riddled with mistakes that could have been easily corrected with a 30-second spell check.

 

How important to you are things like this? Am I just a freak about this?

Another Michelle spelling snob here! You're not a freak! Or maybe we both are.

 

My ds13 asked me the other day if I just go around *looking* for spelling mistakes. :glare: I told him they JUMP OUT at me! It's an illness or something, for Pete's sake! I do it with grammar and punctuation, too.

 

I do notice them everywhere...here, church, e-mails, billboards, flyers, books, magazines...but the ones that truly bug me are the ones where you *know* somebody *paid* to have it done!

 

Chelle

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Another Michelle spelling snob here! You're not a freak! Or maybe we both are.

 

My ds13 asked me the other day if I just go around *looking* for spelling mistakes. :glare: I told him they JUMP OUT at me! It's an illness or something, for Pete's sake! I do it with grammar and punctuation, too.

 

I do notice them everywhere...here, church, e-mails, billboards, flyers, books, magazines...but the ones that truly bug me are the ones where you *know* somebody *paid* to have it done!

 

Chelle

 

I'm not a Michelle, but I can totally relate to this post.

 

One memorable mistake I've noticed was in a book written by a college English professor... a preposition was missing.

 

My 12yo finds them all the time in books. She says she can't help it.

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There, I said it (although it's probably not evident in my posts! Message boards are for "talking" not "writing" LOL ).

 

Anyway, I went to an event last night where there were exhibitors. One exhibit was for a chiropractor. Seeing as how chiropractic is an interest of mine, I went to the booth and picked up a flier for some informational seminars. On the flier was the following:

 

$20 per event or $30 for BOTH!!

Includes wine and horse devoirs.

 

:svengo:

 

At first, I thought, "WTHeck is a horse devoir?" Then it hit me. What they meant was, "hors d'oeuvres". I'm sorry, but I don't think I want to trust my neck and spine to someone who pays so little attention to details. This is beyond a typo, and just looks tacky and ignorant. And, things like this totally turn me off. People who run their own businesses REALLY need to pay attention to these kinds of things.

 

How hard is it to use spell check and grammar check? Don't most word processing programs have this? It just makes me nuts to see professionals distribute fliers and pamphlets they make themselves riddled with mistakes that could have been easily corrected with a 30-second spell check.

 

How important to you are things like this? Am I just a freak about this?

 

No, I don't think you're a freak about this. I feel the exactly the same way. I have to say, however, that spell check IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. I see tons of errors from spell check. How about good old-fashioned proofreading; someone that would actually take the time to care about this stuff and read it over? How about someone that would take pride in everything they put out? There's that other post on this site about kids texting and being able to multi-task and how great it is or not. Well, it's not, because nobody can take the time to spell and put out decent work. And yes, it's through advertising and trickles down to the bottom through spelling and grammar. Heck, I can't find ONE kid who doesn't talk about their personal crap as I wait for my groceries to be bagged. It's all connected.

 

He'd lose my business as well. I think there's no excuse for it. I see it on the TV news (a planet was incorrectly spelled), newspapers, magazines, books. In fact I have a flyer from a church that, while it's not misspelled, it reads incorrectly due to the set up. Also on it there's a title, but one is not quite sure because of the capitalization errors. Its just everywhere.

 

I say if they can't take the time to do it right, then they can't take the time do anything I'd like them to do right. The dumbing down of society. Pretty sad.

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I'm a spelling snob too. I try not to be, but really, it's hard for me.

 

I'm part of another homeschooling forum and I see a lot of common things misspelled, not typos, because they type it the same way repeatedly, and it drives me crazy.

 

manditory

rediculous

close (meaning clothes)

experiances

injoy

consintrate

hole (when they mean whole)

 

I know there's more I'm forgetting.

 

I saw a sign in a truck stop when I was traveling from Ohio to Florida many years ago that I have never forgotten:

 

We do not exept no checks are credit cards.

 

Thankyou

The Mangement

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I'm part of another homeschooling forum and I see a lot of common things misspelled, not typos, because they type it the same way repeatedly, and it drives me crazy.

 

manditory

rediculous

close (meaning clothes)

experiances

injoy

consintrate

hole (when they mean whole)

 

I know there's more I'm forgetting.

 

 

cirriculum

 

 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! :lol:

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But when I type something incorrectly (even on this forum) my misspelled word is underlined in red and if you don't know how to correct it yourself, all you have to do is to right click the red underlined word and it will give you a choice of words (or in some case only one word) to choose from for the correct spelling. I realize that in the case of homophones that wouldn't work but not all words are homophones. . .

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Sorry, i.love.lucy, I couldn't resist. :D And please know that I spell things incorrectly on this board that I'd never miss on paper...sheesh! (A couple of days ago it was the word "reccomendation" in a subject line where I couldn't go back and edit. Grrr! So, I'm not throwing stones--it just struck me as funny.

:w00t::smilielol5:

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Guest Dulcimeramy

I would happily forgive one episode of horse devoirs if only people the world over would agree to quit using dilemna when they mean dilemma.

 

On another forum, someone is constantly typing, "Walaah!" I finally figured out that she means, "Voila."

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Guest Dulcimeramy
Sorry, i.love.lucy, I couldn't resist. :D And please know that I spell things incorrectly on this board that I'd never miss on paper...sheesh! (A couple of days ago it was the word "reccomendation" in a subject line where I couldn't go back and edit. Grrr! So, I'm not throwing stones--it just struck me as funny.

 

I have no business being a spelling snob because I have to look up "recommend" every. single. time. I use the word. I don't know why I can't remember it!

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I'm not a Michelle, but I can totally relate to this post.

 

One memorable mistake I've noticed was in a book written by a college English professor... a preposition was missing.

 

My 12yo finds them all the time in books. She says she can't help it.

 

We Michelles can surely allow in a Chris or two! ;)

 

It drives me crazy in books, too. When my dad was writing a book, my sister told me that the publisher said there WOULD be spelling errors--it's nearly impossible to not have them. My sister said I would have to just :chillpill:. I really wanted to ask the publisher if I could spell check, but decided I didn't need the pressure. :tongue_smilie:

 

Chelle

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No, I don't think you're a freak about this. I feel the exactly the same way. I have to say, however, that spell check IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. I see tons of errors from spell check. How about good old-fashioned proofreading; someone that would actually take the time to care about this stuff and read it over? How about someone that would take pride in everything they put out? There's that other post on this site about kids texting and being able to multi-task and how great it is or not. Well, it's not, because nobody can take the time to spell and put out decent work. And yes, it's through advertising and trickles down to the bottom through spelling and grammar. Heck, I can't find ONE kid who doesn't talk about their personal crap as I wait for my groceries to be bagged. It's all connected.

 

He'd lose my business as well. I think there's no excuse for it. I see it on the TV news (a planet was incorrectly spelled), newspapers, magazines, books. In fact I have a flyer from a church that, while it's not misspelled, it reads incorrectly due to the set up. Also on it there's a title, but one is not quite sure because of the capitalization errors. Its just everywhere.

 

I say if they can't take the time to do it right, then they can't take the time do anything I'd like them to do right. The dumbing down of society. Pretty sad.

 

Don't sugar coat it! Say what you really feel! ;) I'm just teasing...I totally know what you mean!

 

Chelle

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A few years ago I made fliers for a homeschool/public school bazaar. In HUGE letters I typed BAZZAR. I printed and then drove around:auto: hanging the 20 signs. Once I noticed, there was NO way I was going to undo all the work, so I just left them for the one day event and hoped that not too many people noticed. :lol::lol::lol:

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I have no business being a spelling snob because I have to look up "recommend" every. single. time. I use the word. I don't know why I can't remember it!

 

I always have to think of it is "commend again" Re Commend. That one's never just stuck in my mind. I always have to kind of talk myself through spelling it.

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