For the Want of a Comma

The sentence beginning, 'There are no rallies ...' is entirely ambiguous. I imagine that the writer is saying that the reason there are no rallies or complaints is that most men have escaped 'this cultural curse', but, without a comma before 'because', the sentence could just as easily mean that Dior Homme does make size 40 waist jeans, but not because most men have escaped:

When using 'because' a good rule of thumb is to think about these two sentences: 1. I knew she'd been crying because she looked ugly - in this one her ugliness has provoked her tears. 2. I knew she'd been crying, because she looked ugly - in this, her ugliness is caused by her tears.

What a Difference a Vowel Makes

Check those Facts

On one page of the Australian yesterday there was this chart, which indicated that all but two of the High Court bench have been appointed by Labor:

On the opposite page, we were told that 'it is worth remembering a majority of the court - four - were appointed by the Howard government':

Which is true?

So True

They're certainly ruling the Sydney Morning Herald. Apparently nobody there can actually be bothered to check whether all the necessary words appear on the printed page.

Alan and the Family Picnicking on a French River

Cezanne saw Alan Bond's potential very early on:

Nothing is a Singular Noun

I Thought her Gripe Was with News Limited

Sack that Sub

Hey Sydney Morning Herald, I don't mean to be rude, but the person who worked on your Murray-Darling article in today's edition made a total hash of the job:

A Clean Energy Future

Is gas a renewable, as this sentence from the federal government's Clean Energy Future advertisement seems to imply:

Commas Make Sense

In Nikki Savva's article in yesterday's Australian, a couple of commas, plus a semi-colon, would have made things clearer:

Today, in the Sydney Morning Herald, there were places where commas were missing:

and others where they really should not have appeared (why is there one after 'Glenn Stevens?):

Come Again?

Are there separate measures for Ms Gillard's performance and for herself as a person or am I missing something: 'satisfaction with her performance moved from 30 to 32 ... satisfaction with Ms Gillard remains unchanged at 59'?

I Feel So Provincial

In Canberra, we're barely up to providing decent restaurants, while those smarty-pant Londoners have moved on to something much more "high concept":

I want a reaturant, and I want it now.

Why Waste the Money?

The Independent saves Julia Gillard the expense of a wedding:

This Has Got to Stop

This error is becoming ubiquitous:

Workmen and their Tools

Happy Plonk

I've never been complimented by a plum but a strawberry once told me my hair looked nice:

Goo Goo Gah Gah

Peter Beattie may be going bald, but there's no need to use baby language with him - he's not quite in his dotage ("Ooh, Mr ex-Premier, duz oo still think you done a good thing?":

Will it Be Able to Write a Good Sentence Though?

They Were Away Learning Word Order

Beyond Editing

Sometimes it's the material that's to blame and not the sub-editor. On those occasions, there's nothing you can do, except put the words on the paper:

Breathless Excitement

Personally, the prospect of a meal with Amanda Rishworth would not make me so flustered I began to repeat my words:

Rather Stupid

There is a 'than' missing:

May Week Was in July

Worrying

Tomorrow, after weeks of waiting, Australia will finally discover what lies in store in the government's proposed legislation to impose 'a price on carbon.' Today, the current Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is going to give a speech at a conference of her party, and, in this morning's Sydney Morning Herald, Philip Coorey speculates on what her speech will contain. What worries me is that, judging by his reporting, she is still uncertain herself about the exact terms of the deal - or could it be that a sub has wrongly added the quotation marks and the last line in this paragraph:

"It is to be expected the fuel exemptions for motorists will be extended"? Doesn't she know for sure?

Correct Procedures

Sigh:

Wish

The Australian's free magazine Wish is obsessed with style, but not with spelling:

Drinkng - it's the new drinking.

They, It, Us, Whatever

The Australian Financial Review gets over-excited:

It is Pretty Freezing

The Australian Financial Review is feeling the cold:

Print Stutter

The Financial Times decides to emphasise the definite article:

Recipe for Perfection

Tyler Brulee gave us his thoughts on how to make perfect cities in the Financial Times. Perfect written English in all publications available in those cities would round off the picture for me:

For Heaven's Sake

The 'New Review' section of the Observer cannot even spell basic literary terms:

Tell us Everything

Was he being treated, and therefore his indiscretions have to be forgiven, or was he a heartless bastard, playing around while she was going through hell? The story is ruined by a missing pronoun: