But not in a good way - if ever there was an example of how important it is to get things right, the condolence notice that distracts you with bad grammar must be it:
When proofreaders go missing: a blog of errors, designed to demonstrate why sub-editors and copy editors remain important, at a time when they are increasingly regarded as optional extras (all contributions welcome; to follow on Twitter - zmkc)
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Monday, 30 December 2013
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
I Wish They Would
Perhaps this isn't even a mistake; perhaps Cate Blanchett meant 'take risks'. My suspicion though is that she was referring to 'the canon'. After seeing some of the efforts of her husband, plus his mates Benedict Andrews, (The Maids, shudder), and Simon Stone, (The Cherry Orchard, gnash teeth, and Hamlet, how dare he, jumped up, little - but enough said), I wish the whole lot of them would throw themselves at a cannon - or take a running jump from the Sydney Harbour Bridge (not that you could take a running jump, I suppose):
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Friday, 20 September 2013
Saturday, 20 July 2013
Be Less Specific
So that was London in 2008, but what about elsewhere - or could it be that the odd comma is missing:
Always Aspiring
Sadly the team at the AFR don't seem to have the same attitude to standards when it comes to copy editing:
I Never Knew It Was a Place
I thought 'PM' referred to a time of day or a political position. I never knew it had a spatial incarnation:
Monday, 3 June 2013
No Need to Make It Worse
If you're worried about readers being confused, it's probably a good idea to make sure you have a pair for every bracket:
How Else Are They Going to Pay Them Then
I'm assuming there ought to be a comma after 'properties', but maybe not - maybe the feds are cracking down on foreigners who sell properties for the purpose of paying capital gains tax. No, surely not.
Monday, 22 April 2013
Friday, 29 March 2013
Just a Game of Peekaboo
They're friends really; it was just a party game, designed to give everyone an exciting fright:
What larks.
What larks.
Plumbing the Depths
I think Ligeti probably went from a position in a government that is plumbing the depths in the polls to a - relatively - plum position elsewhere:
Exciting Times
Politics did get pretty interesting for a day or two there, and in all the excitement one or two journalists seemed to lose control of grammar as we know it:
Counting Can Be Hard
If you're innumerate, it doesn't matter how numerous things are - you can't count them, no matter what:
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Context
I don't think I'm the only person who, on reading this headline, wonders why these people think it's a good idea to toss the shark the odd toe - or indeed any body parts at all. Surely that is like feeding dogs bits from the table and will only encourage the creature to come back for more:
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Letting Off Steam
This is completely off the point. There is nothing wrong with the subbing on this item. I just want to say how much I loathe this series of advertisements:
I mean, just, eurgh.
While on the subject of advertisements, I find this one endearingly unlikely to be believed by anybody:
It reminds me of the large noticeboard as you drive into Harden in New South Wales. Underneath the heading, 'Upcoming Events in Harden', the display, each time I've gone past it, has contained absolutely nothing at all.
I mean, just, eurgh.
While on the subject of advertisements, I find this one endearingly unlikely to be believed by anybody:
It reminds me of the large noticeboard as you drive into Harden in New South Wales. Underneath the heading, 'Upcoming Events in Harden', the display, each time I've gone past it, has contained absolutely nothing at all.
Ordinals and Cardinals
I think some of the adults who did not complete Year 12 may have been involved in producing this newspaper item:
Something Missing
I suppose it's possible that a company is really called 'oOh!' and that its CEO is really called 'Brendon', but there is no chance at all that an 'of' isn't needed in there somewhere:
Such a Worry
The prospects for the ALP appear so grim to Graham Richardson that he has lost the ability to write good English:
Either
'Either' seems to be such a stumbling block for people. This sentence would be okay if it were written thus: '...is particularly appealing either to her or for the party.' That is, the 'either' should be placed before the first preposition, otherwise it cannot encompass the second, if that makes any sense:
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