Monday, February 28, 2011

The writer will be wear a dunce cap

Two possible fixes:
  1. jettison be
  2. add ing to the end of wear
From "Meet the dorky, controversial mascots for the 2014 Olympics" on Yahoo! Canada Sports on February 27, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Model writing

On February 25, 2011, my friend Jason spotted another error on the NHL.com homepage. He shared it on the Detected Errors Facebook page with this commentary:
It doesn't take a headshot expert to see the NHL's web editors have brain injuries. Jesus, people, there are spell checks and dictionaries on every computer! This is your job, for crying out loud!
Thanks, Jason!

Shape up or ship out

It's the most hilarious headline I've seen in weeks, except it wasn't supposed to be funny. MSN just doesn't know how to spell roommates. From the MSN Canada homepage on February 25, 2011.

I can't guess

When I detect an error, I can usually guess what a writer was attempting to write. Not here. While the text's message gets across, I haven't a clue what the actual text - from the MSN Canada homepage on February 26, 2011 - was supposed to read. Click the image to enlarge it.

A is one and cyclists is plural

The word cyclists should be shortened to cyclist in "Motorists mostly respectful of bikes" on The Vancouver Courier online on February 25, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

It doesn't add up

Unlike this post from July 2009, the question is yes/no, which makes the yes/no answer correct. However, like that earlier post, there is 10 per cent missing. From "Web poll nation" in The Vancouver Courier on February 11, 2011.

Overlooked errors

On one side of a Dockside Restaurant coupon that was given to us recently, there is a misspelling of downtown. On the other side of the coupon,

there is a misspelling of mountain. Both errors resulted in nonwords. Click an image to enlarge it.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Yahoooooooo!

Hurray! It's time for more Yahoo! silliness! All of the errors in this post are from the Yahoo! Canada homepage. First up, from February 17, 2011, is a misspelling of the word assault. Then,

from February 19, 2011, it's a misspelling of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's last name. Next,

there's a little bit of a disagreement from February 20, 2011. One couple needs, but two or more couples need. Get it? Got it? Good. Next up,

inconsistencies regarding capitalizations from February 21, 2011. Then,

on February 22, 2011, Yahoo! can't decide whether it's grandad or granddad. Both spellings are acceptable, but please just stick to one. Finally,

there are several issues with today's screen capture. In the highlighted text at the bottom, 95-year-old is missing a hyphen. It's present in the top headline, but in the text beneath it a hyphen is again missing from 20-year-olds. Also, to the right of the highlighted text at the bottom, there's a misspelling of Moammar Gadhafi's last name. Click an image to enlarge it.

News that concerns me

John Furlong was the head of the Vancouver Olympics and his last name got shortened on the CBC British Columbia homepage on February 23, 2011. After clicking the link,

I saw that the headline for the actual article ("Fulong's Russian vote 'deal' concerns IOC" on CBC News online on February 23, 2011) was exactly the same and therefore contained the same error. In addition, the article states that the book is to be released on Saturday. I find that to be interesting news, because I've seen the book in stores for several weeks now.

She said what?

There are two closing quotation marks in this paragraph, but only one opening quotation mark. I believe the missing opening quotation mark should immediately precede For. From "Flights not insured for stranded couple" on CBC News online on February 22, 2011.

Looks like comeone didn't proofread

It's obvious to anyone who reads the above sentence just once that come should be some. Which leaves me wondering why no one at CBC News bothered to read this at all. From "B.C. Liberal hopefuls raise big campaign bucks" on CBC News online on February 22, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Top headline: Who's is wrong

Jason, a good friend of mine, captured this from the NHL.com homepage yesterday and shared it on the Detected Errors Facebook page with this commentary:
The NHL, despite its billions, can't hire a web editor who knows the difference between who's and whose. Way to go, NHL. Way. To. Go.
Thanks, Jason!

Insult to injury

The victim's name is Buddy Tavares. From the photo caption of "Man kicked in face gets RCMP apology" on CBC News online on February 21, 2011.

At least the word wasn't whit

I witnessed the photo caption above (from "No sex, but teacher close to students, court told" on CBC News online on February 18, 2011) and I won't stand for it. Do media outlets no longer have access to spell checks? Because sitness is not a word.

Proper punctuation

Do you see that question mark above? It should go inside the closing quotation mark. Do you see the period after lots of ways? It should be a comma. From "Gordon Campbell proud of accomplishments" on CBC News online on February 18, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

alone and unhappy

Click the image to enlarge it.
Dictionary.com tells me that there is no such word as angery. The writer (of "Angry Justin Bieber fans vandalize Esperanza Spalding’s Wikipedia page" on Yahoo! Canada News on February 14, 2011) was probably trying for angry. After telling me there are no results for angery, Dictionary.com asked, Did you mean onegry? I clicked on onegry and found out it's a noun with the following definition: a state of being alone and unhappy. It does seem to fit, so perhaps the writer meant to write onegry and not angry.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Yahooooo!

It's time, once again, to share more goofs from the Yahoo! Canada homepage! They have really been screwing up a lot lately. You don't need to use both of your eyes to see that there is one I too many in what should have been checklist on February 12, 2011. How did that get missed? Ay ay ay. Later that day,

it's Walmart on the homepage, but after clicking the link to go to the article,

the headline states that it's Wal-Mart. I don't know - and I don't care - which one's correct, and it seems Yahoo! doesn't either. The key in this case is consistency. Then, on February 13, 2011,

Pamela Anderson is given an extra O. She should sue the writer, and make them an ex-writer. Also on February 13, 2011,

the word once does indeed begin with a vowel, but it does not start with a vowel sound when said aloud. That is a very important distinction, because it means that the text above should read a 'once-in-a-lifetime' rally instead. Finally,

this misspelling of embarrassing was seen today. I wonder if Yahoo! will ever get embarrassed enough to try to halt the steady flow of errors that appear daily on the Yahoo! homepage. Orrrrr, maybe the trying has already started. Yikes!

I don't like the like the way you write

Only one it would is needed in this excerpt from "Overheard" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 11, 2011.

Two men from jumping the fence to touch the cauldron.

Here we have one example of when a sentence is not a sentence. From "'One big beer garden' to remember" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 11, 2011.

I'm unimpressed

I don't know for sure what impressed out critics means, but my best guess is that it means someone (or several people) should be punished for not realizing that out should be our. From the front page of 24 hours Vancouver on February 11, 2011.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Yahoooo! (and MSN)

More errors from the Yahoo! Canada homepage. First up, I saw this misspelling of fluoride on February 9, 2011. Later that same day,

it's an popular fairy tale. Really? Popular doesn't even come close to starting with a vowel sound. Change an to a, please. Next,

on February 10, 2011, I see another incorrect way of writing Dragons' Den. At the same time,

it's identically incorrect on the MSN Canada homepage. So, 24 hours, Yahoo!, and MSN all can't get the show's title correct. Finally,

the Yahoo! Canada homepage today lost an M in the spelling of filmmaker. Click an image to enlarge it.

Renovate your writing

If you add something, and it's nice, then it's a nice addition. Also, the comma after the second or should be moved to after feasible, and a comma should be added after bathroom. From "Renovate to romanticize" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 10, 2011.

Chrsitina, si that you?

It's not Christina Aguilera, but it should be. From "Why watch music's big night?" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 10, 2011.

Speaking of visual pollution

Click the image to enlarge it.
The company is TransLink (camel case!) and surely the penultimate sentence (of "More flashy ads" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 10, 2011) should read, in part, at transit stations or bus loops.

Light proofreading

To catch all the errors in your writing, it's important to go beyond spell check, which can only catch certain errors. For example, you is a perfectly valid word, but it's the wrong word to use between up and favourite. It should be your instead. That highlights the importance of proofreading. From "Light up your lights" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 10, 2011.

Still lacking class

An L is still missing from the classifieds section in 24 hours Vancouver; the image above is from February 9, 2011.

Up is down, hot is cold

The text is below the picture of Peter Jackson, which means Peter Jackson is above and not below. From "Hobbit film back on track" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 9, 2011. Click the image to enlarge it.

There's no defence for this

Defenceman should be defencemen in the excerpt above from "Ballard out three to four weeks" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 9, 2011.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Writing tips

Here's a tip for writing: make sure you proofread your work and jettison any words that are out of place. For example, the word of in the first sentence above. You should also jettison the comma that immediately follows visit. From "Be tourists in your own Valentine city" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 8, 2011.

Howling in disagreement

Will the writer of the photo caption above ever speak up to share why they wrote a Outdoor Adventures kennel and not an Outdoor Adventures kennel? From "Tour owner breaks silence" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 8, 2011.

I give you a word

Click the image to enlarge it.
The word I give you is to. Please use it wisely - which means please put it between gift and give. From "Want to get lucky? Splash out on jewels" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 8, 2011.

Do this: don't follow their lead

I didn't get past the headline of this article ("Dip do's and don'ts" in 24 hours Vancouver on February 8, 2011) before a question arose: why does do's have an added apostrophe while don'ts only has its original one?

Hafl is awful

In a just world, the writer responsible for the misspelling of halftime received just hafl of their expected paycheque. From the Yahoo! Canada homepage on February 7, 2011.

Still lacking class

An L is still missing from the classifieds section in 24 hours Vancouver; the image above is from February 7, 2011.