If we were talking about baseball, a .500 batting average would be record-shattering. But this is yahoo.com, one of the most visited pages in the universe, and 50% isn’t good enough. Using two only once, instead of using it correctly twice, is akin to striking out:
With grammar skills rapidly fading, so too are the abilities of the writers and editors at Yahoo! Sports:
It seems like no one knows the difference between homophones, so two words that sound alike are often confused.
This is too, too funny. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a writer use too when to is called for. But, someone at Yahoo! Health did just that:
The news editor for Yahoo! Style isn’t trying too hard to avoid making homophonic errors:
In all my years writing this blog, this is the first time I’ve seen an “editor” (or anyone else employed by Yahoo!) mistake vile for vial. Of course, vial‘s not a word that used a lot so that could explain the paucity of appearances.
When I read this on Yahoo! TV I actually said, “Huh?” loudly enough that others heard me (and if they read this, they were probably thinking it, too). Someone needs to tell the writer (who is actually the New York bureau chief for Yahoo Entertainment) that there’s a time to learn a little more about the English language, and the time is nigh:
By pairing extra words (like pair of when referring to a single skirt) and an incorrect word (like to instead of too), you too can look like a Yahoo! Style writer:
It’s hard to believe that a professional writer (even one who works for Yahoo! Makers) can make this mistake:
Using the contraction it’s (which means it is or it has), instead of the correct possessive pronoun its is one of the most common mistakes anywhere, but especially at Yahoo!.
In the same article the writer makes another homophonic error. This is too funny:
The writer for Yahoo! Style didn’t think too hard about the correct word to use here:
When is one error two? When it’s on Yahoo! Style and it’s to, not two:
Terribly Write 