In defense of the Oxford comma
Style rules dictate that an Oxford comma be omitted in a serial list. Off the job, my personal preferences dictate otherwise. This is a hilarious example of why:
Category Archives: Strikeout
Some maintenance required
One can only hope that our friends to the south intend to include a significant copy editing session in their maintenance. To begin, Presidents Day comprises only a single day of this weekend — perhaps the curious duplication above represents every student’s wish for another day of relaxation, but more Read More…
An error of record
It looks like even the usually excellent daily hailed as the Newspaper of Record could benefit from greater care in copy editing on occasion: And again: Note: I have to commend the New York Times’ copy staff — prior to my finishing this post, both errors were already corrected.
An everyday error
For future reference: Everyday is an adjective used to describe something that is common or ordinary. For example, a casual outfit is an everyday outfit. Every day is an adjective and a noun, meaning “each day.” For example, Berkeley students should use proper grammar every day.
Ten items or fewer!
Here is a sign from Target showing the common mistake of “10 items or less” signs. Why? The number of items is countable, which we are given as 10; thus, the sign should read “10 items or fewer.”
Bad advertising?
While some chicken sounds really tasty, there’s definitely something wrong with this ad…
If ‘your’ going to be grammatically incorrect…
My biggest pet peeve is, without a doubt, when people fail to use “your” and “you’re” correctly. So this weekend, as I was aimlessly scrolling through my Tumblr dashboard, I came across this supposedly-contemplative picture, but I could not take it seriously because I was too astounded at how such Read More…
An exasperating problem
During my political science discussion section today, we spent some time analyzing the effects of Col. Gaddafi’s recent death, with an emphasis on the future of Libya. One of my colleagues argued that a flare in tribal tensions is inevitable, as managing factional relationships was undeniably one of the former Read More…
A counterproductive warning
Sometimes, one letter makes all the difference.
CNN interview misspells BCR president’s name
The president of Berkeley College Republicans Shawn Lewis has been the center of debate regarding the club’s upcoming “Increase Diversity Bake Sale.” Looks like CNN interviewed the wrong ShaUn Lewis…