From the Grammar Police

Sit back. Relax! It’s just a cliché.

We covered this in 2023 but we see this constantly. Just say the man shot himself.

Which is it? Pick one. (The first is correct.)

It caused the man to fall. Bad typo.

You lay off workers.

Plead is present tense. The man pled guilty. (Pleaded also is acceptable.)

Again: You are not quantifying the offers. You are quantifying the collection of offers. Or, in this case, buffet (which of course is a brutal cliché.) So: “A buffet of new offers is here.”

This headline writer committed the sin of leaving out a step. Noah built an ark, and the rainbow came out. Lincoln was elected and Lee surrendered. Right? In this case, President Trump called for Jim Comey’s prosecution, and then he was indicted. THEN he pled not guilty.

And we go to the video archives for Segment 94: Still more Strunks.

Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong" features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police.” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, menus, TV news graphics, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we can credit you properly. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com

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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!