In some areas of the country, one must wipe one’s feet before putting laundry into a washing machine. And what does one wipe one’s feet on? A laundry mat, of course!
It’s either that or the writer for Yahoo! Shine doesn’t know how to spell laundromat.
Let me guess: The writer of this headline Yahoo! Shine was not a graduate of one of the 10 best public high schools in the United States:
When I first reported the misspelling of transgendered, I thought it was a typo. Now with this headline on Yahoo! Shine, I’m not so sure:
My confidence in the writer’s ability is not supported by another misspelling. This time it’s Jenna Talackova, the actual subject of the article:
Some people just shouldn’t try to be clever when they’re writing. You don’t need to read beyond the first paragraph of this article from Yahoo! Shine to see that the writer is one of those people. It will twist your ventricles into a vice:
I’m going to attempt a simultaneous translation of that little expression: By “ventricles” the writer means “heart.” By “vice” the writer means “smoking, gambling, or other unsavory activity.” So, the dude in question will twist your heart until you start smoking or playing the ponies. Makes sense. (The misspelling in what should be “50 Shades of Grey” is hardly worth mentioning after that.)
Those of you still reading, undeterred by that gem, will uncover a missing word here:
and (surprise!) a missing word there:
If you’re foolish enough to continue reading, you may want to chew on this for a while:
Trudging on, you’ll find a missing comma, another missing word, a missing space, and one too many periods. (Only the one before the closing parenthesis is correct):
Finally, if you’re dotty enough to read the photo caption, you’ll see that the writer can’t tell a plural from a singular noun:
I think I’ll go take an aspirin after that. My ventricles feel like they’ve been clamped in a vise and I feel a little cardiac event coming on.
Anyone willing to translate this caption from Yahoo! Shine?
For bonus points, answer this question: Why do misspellings appear every day on Yahoo! Shine?
Just a few days ago, I was kvetching about the incompetency of the writers for Yahoo! Shine. They seem to be unable to correctly spell both the first and the last name of TV talker Elisabeth Hasselbeck. But there’s good news for all you nitpicky types; somebody made a correction to the misspelled name. Not a complete correction, but progress proceeds at a glacial rate at Yahoo!:
Some professional writers get paid even when they put little or no effort in the accuracy and quality of their writing. Those writers usually work for Yahoo!. And often, they write for Yahoo! Shine and produce articles like this.
What object would make a 6-foot trail behind a woman? Oh, maybe a 6-foot train:
Is Frieda Pinto related to Freida Pinto? That misspelling can’t distract me from the writer’s inability to use the correct word. The wrong word (finding instead of find) certainly detracts from the article:
I would be belittling the writer’s ability if I said she is one of the sloppiest scribes on the Web.
She definitely has a problem including indefinite articles (which would be a and an):
If you thought the writer just made a typo when she wrote about that 6-foot trail, think again. I wonder if it was a man arranging Eva Longoria’s backside. Lucky guy:
Hey, writer, try using a comma once in a while:
Hey, writer, try using a dictionary, too. You might find out how to spell cat’s-eye, flattop, and Martian. Consult a real editor and you might find out there’s no apostrophe in 1960s.
Here’s the final proof that this writer isn’t even trying. She probably misheard this actress’s name on some cheesy celeb-gossip TV show. So, she thinks this is Marion Cotillard’s real name:
If only the writer for Yahoo! Shine had called Bristol Palin’s baby daddy Levi, and hadn’t made up his last name (it’s really Johnston), I would have totally overlooked the rest of the errors in the paragraph.
I’d probably miss the writer’s allegation that President Obama observed his daughters’ parents, which would be… President and Mrs. Obama! (I love that kind of nonsensical thinking!) And I’d miss out on telling you about the missing word in what should be “on the president’s daughters.” And then I wouldn’t have the opportunity to remind you that when you’re proofreading, look for missing words like a, an, and the.
It’s a little-known fact, but typos destroy the credibility of a website. Grammatical errors don’t help, either.
Right about now, Yahoo! Shine doesn’t have much credibility with me.
Can a misspelling get worse than this from Yahoo! Shine? Is there anything worse than misspelling both the first and the last name of Elisabeth Hasselbeck?
Is there anything worse? Yes. It’s making the same mistake again on a different Shine page:
