Dispose your unwanted items
This sign in the Kent Vale lift says: SPRING CLEANING Residents can dispose their unwanted items at 3 locations from 9AM – 5PM It should say “dispose of” for reasons I’ve explained elsewhere. Also,...
Get Better At Writing Blog
Lift Display Panel Notice
From the Office of Housing Services, the folks that brought you the critically acclaimed “Bicycle Clearance Exercise Notice“, comes another exciting announcement! Apparently, residents of Kent Vale Block I can look forward to at...
Plural noun adjuncts
I have seen this sign hundreds of times. It says: 24 Hours Hot Line That’s a perfect example of a plural noun being used to modify another noun, like “cutleries station”, except that “hours”...
The missing epicene pronouns of English
This advertisement depicting a couple on a cruise ship says: Where Everyone Gets What They Need As a writer of English curriculum materials for kids, I’ve become incredibly sensitive to singular/plural agreement. I think...
The Complete Plain Words (2nd edition) by Ernest Gowers
Reading this British book published in 1978 (a revised version of the 1948 original) was like going on an archaeological expedition in a foreign country. The English recommended by the author differs from my...
A la carte buffet
If you thought “a la carte” was the opposite of “buffet”, think again! I think the idea is that you pay a fixed price (in this case $25), and then you get to request...
Accumulative Man Hours
This is a sign at the entrance to a construction site on West Coast Road at Clementi Woods Park. I’m happy that there have not been any accidents. I know that because the number...
What a difference an ‘s’ makes!
Citibank just sent me a new debit card. The tagline on the enclosed letter says: For all the things life has in store. My thought was that it should say: For all the things...
Cutleries Station
I took this (lousy) photo of a sign that says “Cutleries Station” at Soup Spoon in Novena. In modern standard British and American English, “cutleries” is not a word. (Neither is “equipments”.) What makes...