“drawing on my fine command of the English language, i said nothing.”
-robert benchley
—
book source credit: Disaster Inc. by Caimh McDonnell
Jun23
Tag Archives: spelling
Jan5
ypsilanti?
the city of ypsilanti, only 7 miles from ann arbor
home of eastern michigan university
was named for greek patriot, general demetrus ypsilanti,
a heroic figure in the battle the Greeks were fighting against Turkish tyranny
– a struggle for freedom that many Americans likened to our own.
but there has been another long-fought struggle at work here-
as people have endlessly tried to spell the city’s name correctly
the post office has worked tirelessly to decipher and deliver mail in the city
i’ll bet even the general has had his name misspelled more than a few times over the years
“my spelling is wobbly. It’s good spelling but it wobbles,
and the letters get in the wrong places.”
s.s. milne
—
source: washtenaw literacy, the daily times archives, 1904
Jul9
alphabet soup.
i have always loved alphabets
when i was young
one of my favorite days ever
was when i could finally
decode the letters and read words
i love alphabets created out of every imaginable material, and alpha art and images of all kinds
today i tried to look up the word for someone who loves alphabets
and there was nothing to be found
the closest i could come was for someone who loves words:
What do you call a person who loves words?
A logophile is a person who loves words; a word nerd.
Because it’s not all that commonly known,
logophile is probably most commonly used by logophiles themselves.
(of which i am one)
but alas, ironically, no word for someone who loves the letters that make up every word.
—
“human society, the world, and the whole of mankind is to be found in the alphabet.”
-victor hugo
Mar26
wobbly.
when i stopped by my favorite coney island restaurant to pick up a giant greek salad
(in detroit, coney dogs and greek food under one roof are a restaurant tradition)
something on their monday special sign stuck out
while the words ‘coney island’ were displayed on 3 signs all around it
and coney island is a part of the restaurant’s name
the special somehow became ‘cony‘ dog monday.
i know how hard it is to be your own editor
and i am easily amused
but it just struck me as really funny
that no one noticed
it’s the most popular item they sell.
—
“my spelling is wobbly. it’s good spelling but it wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”
-A. A. Milne
Sep22
stand by your words.
standing by what could be the longest word in the universe.
—
‘this universe can very well be expressed in words and syllables
which are not those of one’s mother tongue.’
-tahar ben jelloun
May23
“Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.” ― Mark Twain
i before e, except after c?
silent e at the end of a word with a long vowel in the center?
at times, who in the abc really knows?
in the recent comedy, ‘bad words,’
jason bateman plays an adult who participates in a kids’ spelling bee
and is required to spell the word,
‘floccinaucinihilipilification.’
(the action or habit of estimating something as worthless)
ouch.
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“The story’s what matters; spelling’s overrated.” ― Adam Langer, The Salinger Contract
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image credits: focus features, growing jeweled rose.com
I didn't have my glasses on.... 