Things that bug me: spelling nightmares
So I’m at the supermarket yesterday to pick up some eggs, and as I’m walking in toward the entrance, I see they’ve got firewood on sale. Right next to that they have a huge stack of bundles of small bits of wood. Above which is a sign that says “KINLIN.”
When did it become appropriate to totally botch the spelling of words on signs at a place of business?
This, to me, is right up there with naming businesses things like “EZ-Mart”. For goodness’ sake, just spell it out as “Easy Mart.” Seeing “EZ” makes me think the person that runs the place has to be a clueless moron.
This is related to another massive pet peeve of mine. While I have no real problem with using shorthand when doing text messaging on a phone (especially when you’re using a keyboard the size of a saltine), I have a huge problem with people that send real email or even snail mail using abbreviations like “u” and “r” instead of spelling the words out. Are the words “you” and “are” really that hard to type or write?
January 15th, 2007 at 6:32 am
U R not alone ;-). Really, seeing such a way crippled language irritates me too.
January 24th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Well, in the case of “EZ Mart”, you’re not giving the namer enough credit… It’s self-referential wit at it’s best - what’s easier than easy? E-Z! And of course, phonetic encryption has been around forever, and in part helps a business distinguish itself as being* more human… No, we’re not the Granhyde-Pheiss Mortuary, were Deads-R-Us - you can be sure that we’ll bury your relatives in a somewhat professional manner without having as big a stick up our collective asses.
Okay, perhaps not the best example, but especially in the case of signage, there’s a lot more going on than simple stupidity… And there are only so many ways of being both readable and* clever/entertaining to someone whizzing by at 60 miles an hour.
So, feh, give me more E-Z Marts, and Gas-N-Sips (I really don’t need my ‘ands’ spelled out, thanks!), and leave the grammar book and attitude at home.
(Except for the “kinlin” thing, that’s just ridiculous)
January 24th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
“E-Z” is wit the first time you see it. From then on it’s derivative at best and clueless at worst. I just don’t happen to find it clever at all to do things like that.
It’s not attitude (and it’s not grammar either, technically). It’s just a minor frustration. That’s why I call it a thing that bugs me, rather than something that ticks me off.