Stampers Anonymous and incorrect grammar

[lynnewithane]

The original poster mentioned being surprised that the proofreader didn’t catch it. Do you think that’s the problem? Do the stamp companies not have proofreaders?

On a similar note, many years ago, we had a wonderful lady in charge of our Geometry team. (Yes, I’m a math teacher who is also pretty good at writing grammatically correct sentences.) What drove me crazy was that everything she sent out for the Honors Geometry team said Honor’s Geometry in big letters at the top of the page. It was all I could do not to correct her.

[UnderstandBlue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lynnewithane

The original poster mentioned being surprised that the proofreader didn’t catch it. Do you think that’s the problem? Do the stamp companies not have proofreaders?

On a similar note, many years ago, we had a wonderful lady in charge of our Geometry team. (Yes, I’m a math teacher who is also pretty good at writing grammatically correct sentences.) What drove me crazy was that everything she sent out for the Honors Geometry team said Honor’s Geometry in big letters at the top of the page. It was all I could do not to correct her.

I've done proofreading for stamp companies, and I've missed things. Your brain looks for "correct" patterns, no matter how educated or skilled you are.

These are human beings like everyone else. When you've already paid for a huge order of stamps, it's soul crushing to find these things that have passed through many people's hands. Trust me, they all had a very bad day over every mistake

[kazeka]

I saw one of Tim's videos when they released a new Distress ink, and he commented that he has no control over which items are discontinued, and which are created. He is a designer and can make suggestions but, in the end, it's the manufacturer who makes the final decision. I'm wondering if SA's reply that Tim has decided to "embrace imperfection" is actually his response, or a canned company response to the issue of a grammatical error in that set? Either way, it would really bother me as well and would make me skip that set. We all understand that correcting it would cost the company money, but it's a business, and they owe the consumer a decent product. Stamper's Anonymous is a well known company, and one would think they'd care about their reputation.
Karen

[LemurLover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lesliespringer

HA! I went looking for this stamp set and found Tim's 2 hour plus video on new releases. On the stamp set Bold Sayings, some of the words are not a solid print. On the words YOU, The stamp is not a solid stamped image and what does Tim say ?????...... Embrace Imperfections. Yep he sure did. So I guess he is "Implying" Embrace Imperfections on a grammar error too, Seriously

I wonder if SA would accept Monopoly money or counterfeits? There's some imperfection for you!

[stamperab]

fl_beachbum: I agree with you. Hearing "that" instead of "who" also drives me crazy. Much worse, in my opinion, is using "what" and "whatever" instead of "which" and "whichever". Even news programs and professional ads make this mistake.

[AnnieCelino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcnewell

Speaking of grammar, another pet peeve of mine is the wrong quote, "shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars"
NO WAY, our moon is MUCH closer than our nearest star, OUR SUN. Should be the other way around.

I think the point of this quote is that if you miss the moon, your shot will keep going beyond the moon and land somewhere further out there in the stars.

[berlycece]

Not a stamp issue, but a proofreading issue:

I am involved with a group of women from across the country who are preparing for a convention in August. We were assigned to compose a prayer, and design a bookmark with the prayer. After the prayer, we included a quote from the Book of Revelations.

Problem is, it's the Book of Revelation. No "s" at the end. Our group of 30 didn't catch it. The printer did one batch before someone noticed. No one wants to mess up titles from the Bible, so we had to make the correction and do a new printing.

It is so easy to miss simple errors. If you are focused on one thing you may miss something else. While I would respect SA more if they corrected the error, I am hesitant to assume laziness or greed. Businesses are still dealing with pandemic-related economics.

Having said that, I won't order the set in question. It would drive me crazy! 😜

[floridaperson]

I really wonder what is being taught in school these days. I also wonder what parents are teaching their children. All of you have pointed out so many things people say that are soooooo grammatically incorrect. Also, where are the proof readers when a book is published with glaring errors on the first few pages and stamp sets that are just not right. I had a fit when SU put forth the stamp "to a person that makes me smile". However, as someone pointed out, it appears to be acceptable so I have used that stamp on cards BUT it still rubs me the wrong way. I hate all the spelling errors I have seen of late as well! As far as Tim goes, if he has that attitude, I have the attitude I will no longer buy his product.

[Renata Joyner]

I love this thread!! My faves are: there, their, they're! The big problem for me is that I see grammar written so badly so many times now that I have to think about what is correct sometimes, lol. And shouldn't it really be the #itoo movement?!

[barney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paula O.

Sometimes the apostrophe denotes possession, like James’s bicycle. Most times it is used as a contraction. Anyway you look at it, S.A. is wrong and I think their reply was snotty, and worse, greedy and stupid.

Sorry, but if we're talking about correct grammar and spelling, your sentence should read: "Any way. . ." and not "anyway".

[LizBeth1976]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arlenevita

That is a sad, sad and insulting reply. Zoe Hillman on TH Addicts has a similar reply saying it was correct. It makes me sad that the English language is deteriorating! I don’t buy stamps that are grammatically incorrect. A person could cut away the ‘ if they HAD to have that stamp set.

Thank you. Up until last week, I was a member of the Facebook Group 'Tim Holtz Addicts'. I made a comment in their forum about that particular sentiment from the stamp set...only to have Ms. Hillman (she is the Admin) call my comment "ridiculous", and delete it. Needless to say, I am no longer a member of that group.

[BriddieH]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fl_beachbum

This seems to be the right place to ask… I keep seeing “that” used in place of “who”. It bugs me… like it is making the person less … human?

If I remember correctly from ages ago, you can use ‘that’ if referring to a group (using a collective term) but shouldn’t if you are referring to an individual. A recent example was a set with a phrase that began, “to a person that…” But I hear it spoken a lot, as well.

Am I wrong?

You're not the only one bothered by it! I've noticed I've developed the habit of correcting TV characters who say "that" instead of "who." At least I haven't started correcting real people out loud.

Bridget H

[Cook22]

Lydia is right about how easy it is to miss things when proofreading. Maybe if the proofreader (presumed) had stamped it, it might have been more noticeable. I used to do annual catalogues for a fine art supplies import and distribution company. The MD, my husband, the warehouse manager and the receptionist/secretary would all proofread it. The only thing you could guarantee was that the boss would have been sure that the prices were all correct, there were inevitably typos that slipped by all of us.
My physio had a large batch of business cards printed with physiotherapy spelled wrong; he was so used to it as a word that he said he just didn't spot it when the layout was sent to him for approval.

I would also say that while I count myself in the grammar nerd camp and like accuracy, speech/language and grammar are mutable and evolve over time. Otherwise we would still be using thee, thou, thy, shouldst, dost, wouldst and so on. The third thread I subscribed to here, back in 2008, was a grammar/spelling one.

[pamela16]

Loved reading all these posts, knowing there are others out there who are as cross as I am about our poor English grammar and spelling going to the dogs. I used to love wielding a red pen in the office! But people were appreciative. As for a stamp being incorrect, absolutely no way….it’s not 'embracing imperfection' but accepting an actual error. No thanks.

Using 'me' incorrectly is bad, so I mustn’t get started on the incorrect use of 'myself', or even 'I', think I’m in the wrong forum!

I had to explain its and it's to a friend the other day. 😐

[Angelnorth]

It’s absolutely true that it’s easy to miss things when proofreading but when you do it as a job, you tend to have some words and punctuation in the “danger” camp. For me, that includes homophones (e.g. their/they’re/there), anything with an apostrophe (not only the contraction issue but also whether it has been placed correctly if it’s being used to denote possession - singular and plural need different placement so “the dog’s paws” is not the same as “the dogs’ paws” (one dog vs many dogs) and the increasing tendency to add an apostrophe when it’s simply a plural word - eek! Another danger zone is words where inverting a letter pair (e.g. diary/dairy) or adding/subtracting a single letter (e.g. contact/contract) makes a valid word so a spellcheck is unlikely to pick it up unless it has a VERY sophisticated context algorithm.

Of course the predictive text on many devices doesn’t help these days - there are many times I have to correct my iPad and it’s/its is an extremely common one I have to intervene on! I tend to turn off the proofreading part of my brain when I’m reading forum posts etc but I would definitely expect a stamp to be correct.

ETA: Of course the grammar police would haul me up for ending a sentence with a preposition in what I just wrote

[MDO Susan]

I, too, am cross every time I see the SU sentiment "to a friend that makes me smile" to the point that, though I love what it means, I just cannot use it. I do own the suite it comes in, and I wish I could force myself to use it.

[CoffeeFanGirl]

I just don't understand why they didn't just apologize?
Mistakes happen, so what?
My english isn't that good that I understand every mistake, maybe that's a big point, too. Not every one who buy the stamps speaks english that good.

Telling customers to embrace imperfection is just sad. Not a good move.

[wavejumper]

It is The Cat's Pajamas. And I have to do another thread about them. They are going to only digital.

Floridaperson:
Maybe I am being dense but I don't understand
I had a fit when SU put forth the stamp "to a person that makes me smile".

Huh? What does this (that?) even mean? Even if I change it to the possibly unPC "to a man" it still makes no sense to me.

The pain of corrections is often the best motivator to get it right next time.....I wonder if you could say "No pain, no gain" here?

Should we be telling SA that we wont buy the stamp bc of the error? Otherwise they may just think it is not popular?

I could be much more forgiving if a) they just admitted how expensive it is to correct b) they sell it at a discount c) they were not such a big company. I do forgive little guys way more. I guess I am biased.

Good on the guys who are just cutting off the offending apostrophe.

[DCinkit]

To a friend who makes me smile

[szachta47]

I am relieved to see that I am not alone in my aversion to the SU stamp, "to a friend that makes me smile". It bothered me so much that I couldn't bring myself to purchase that set, and it still bothers me every time I see it advertised. I feel that the sentiments I put on cards are a reflection of what I think and say, and those who know me, know I am a stickler for good grammar. It's nice to see that I am in good company here!

[Scrapjanny]

Not on a stamp, but I saw this in a movie synopsis last night. The movie is about a man who "has a friend with whose wife he is having an affair." I've never heard anyone say that, and I certainly haven't seen it written anywhere else. They went so far out of their way to sound impressive, but it would have been so much easier and better to say that the movie is about a man who "is having an affair with his friend's wife."

[wavejumper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCinkit

To a friend who makes me smile

Oh! Duh. I should have gotten that even incorrectly. Thanks.

[fionna51]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pamela16

Loved reading all these posts, knowing there are others out there who are as cross as I am about our poor English grammar and spelling going to the dogs. I used to love wielding a red pen in the office! But people were appreciative. As for a stamp being incorrect, absolutely no way….it’s not 'embracing imperfection' but accepting an actual error. No thanks.

Using 'me' incorrectly is bad, so I mustn’t get started on the incorrect use of 'myself', or even 'I', think I’m in the wrong forum!

I had to explain its and it's to a friend the other day. 😐

Yes! Myself. And commas. And apostrophes. And homophones. "Boarders" on quilts...aaack!

[uncbballfan]

What gets me is when someone says "irregardless".

Even worse is "very unique".

[ChrisO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fionna51

Yes! Myself. And commas. And apostrophes. And homophones. "Boarders" on quilts...aaack!

And some spelling disparities. Scraping/scraper instead of scrapping/scrapper for scrapbookers.

[JaneUK]

This thread is very refreshing. Every time I point out a grammar error on Facebook I get ridiculed for being a "grammar Nazi". I have lived in England for 19 years, but am from Texas and was a technical writer there. The worst grammar is here, believe me! I hear this all the time "Myself and John went to the store" or "Please sit yourself in that chair". Also "I were cold" or "She were beautiful" or "They was having a good time"! Even the news presenters say it occasionally. When I told my Texas friends I was moving to England, they said "Ooh, you'll be talking like the Queen!" Ha! No one talks like she does. Yet when the news people interview someone from France, Germany, or other European countries, the interviewee has much better grammar than the natives. My husband is English but his grammar is very good and he agrees with me that these mistakes are going to cause a change in the language. In fact, I already see IN PRINT, this "Mary could of done this" instead of "could have"!

[harvestmoon]

Jane, you should tell them you are the Grammar Police, rather than Grammar Nazi (I don't think you would kill due to poor English).

[fionna51]

I think Facebook would ban me pretty quickly if I were to always correct all the blatant grammar mistakes. Wow! Sometimes it is really bad there! I just cringe!

[pamela16]

Jane, it’s rife in Australia too.  'I could OF done that'. I just want to shout!!  And sadly, because so many people use it incorrectly, it starts to become normal.  Like 'Myself and John went to….'  Aaarrghhh!!! 😮

[pamela16]

Thank goodness we have card making and paper crafting to keep us sane!

[Paula O.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barney

Sorry, but if we're talking about correct grammar and spelling, your sentence should read: "Any way. . ." and not "anyway".

From the Oxford Languages Dictionary

 

an·y·way

/ˈenēˌwā/

<em>adverb</em>

1. 
   

   1. 

   
   
   

   used to confirm or support a point or idea just mentioned.

   
   
   

   "I told you, it's all right, and anyway, it was my fault"

   
   
   
   
   
   • 
     

     2. 

     
     
     

     used to end a conversation, to change the subject, or to resume a subject after interruption.

     
     
     

     "Anyway, Dot, I must go"

     
     
   
   
   
   

 

 

[barney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paula O.

 

From the Oxford Languages Dictionary

 

an·y·way

/ˈenēˌwā/

<em>adverb</em>

1. 
   

   1. 

   
   
   

   used to confirm or support a point or idea just mentioned.

   
   
   

   "I told you, it's all right, and anyway, it was my fault"

   
   
   
   
   
   • 
     

     2. 

     
     
     

     used to end a conversation, to change the subject, or to resume a subject after interruption.

     
     
     

     "Anyway, Dot, I must go"

     
     
   
   
   
   

 

 

Yes, anyway is a word.  But in the original sentence, it was used incorrectly.

 

[PikkuLilla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paula O.

From the Oxford Languages Dictionary

 

an·y·way

/ˈenēˌwā/

<em>adverb</em>

1. 
   

   1. 

   
   
   

   used to confirm or support a point or idea just mentioned.

   
   
   

   "I told you, it's all right, and anyway, it was my fault"

   
   
   
   
   
   • 
     

     2. 

     
     
     

     used to end a conversation, to change the subject, or to resume a subject after interruption.

     
     
     

     "Anyway, Dot, I must go"

     
     
   
   
   
   

 

 

Just FYI - this explains the difference:

What does any way mean? The two-word any way is not a valid substitute for the adverb anyway. That said, any way does appear as two words in various sentences.

Get some sunshine any way you can this week, because next week will be cloudy with rain showers.
Here, way means method, and any is an adjective that refers to a total lack of specificity. They make sense in context, but they are clearly not a substitute for the adverb anyway.

This difference is similar to other one-word, two-word differences like everyday/every day, anyplace/any place, anytime/any time, etc.

https://writingexplained.org/anyway-...way-difference

[mphb]

I LOVE this thread!  Feel like I've found a whole new group of friends who understand! LOL!

My question is:  do you ever correct your friends?  I have two friends who constantly start a sentence with "Her and I ....etc."  It is just sad...and both are college grads.  I truly don't understand.

What about correct children?  I have corrected my granddaughter (10) who loves to begin sentences with "Me"....  Me and my mom, etc.  She knows better, but it seems to have become a major habit.  I've backed off for the time being, as I don't want to constantly nag her...and she's only 10!

[Scrapjanny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PikkuLilla

Just FYI - this explains the difference: What does any way mean? The two-word any way is not a valid substitute for the adverb anyway. That said, any way does appear as two words in various sentences. Get some sunshine any way you can this week, because next week will be cloudy with rain showers. Here, way means method, and any is an adjective that refers to a total lack of specificity. They make sense in context, but they are clearly not a substitute for the adverb anyway. This difference is similar to other one-word, two-word differences like everyday/every day, anyplace/any place, anytime/any time, etc. https://writingexplained.org/anyway-...way-difference

Yes.

[Scrapjanny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mphb

I LOVE this thread!  Feel like I've found a whole new group of friends who understand! LOL!

My question is:  do you ever correct your friends?  I have two friends who constantly start a sentence with "Her and I ....etc."  It is just sad...and both are college grads.  I truly don't understand.

What about correct children?  I have corrected my granddaughter (10) who loves to begin sentences with "Me"....  Me and my mom, etc.  She knows better, but it seems to have become a major habit.  I've backed off for the time being, as I don't want to constantly nag her...and she's only 10!

I don't correct adults.  If the children are related to me, I might correct them.  One of my best friends still says "birfday," and my mother-in-law insists on saying "Valentime's Day" and "Covic."   There are many other mispronunciations when it comes to my family and my husband's, but I've learned to just let them go.  It isn't my job to correct everyone, and not everyone appreciates being corrected.   Businesses are a different story.  I understand about the nagging.  You have to choose your battles. 

 

[CraftyMel2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mphb

 

My question is:  do you ever correct your friends? 

I am not big on correcting peoples grammar.  I make mistakes, probably more than I care to admit. I remember once I was looking for the TV controller and said "where's the flipper" and was corrected - you mean where's the remote??   I followed with "were you not able to figure out what I meant?  Did you honestly think I was looking for a dolphin in the sofa cushion?  All of that said, I do have a funny story about correcting people!  If you've seen What Women Want and remember the scene where Mel Gibson is watching Sean Connery and he says "adversary" with the accent on the "ver" - Mel Gibson says "Surely you mean adversary old boy" with the accent on the "ad".  Well, I was in a zoom meeting and MY BOSS said "when you are utilizing the post function" or something and I said softly and in my best Irish accent "surely you mean use old girl" and MY MIC WAS ON!  She was still talking so I'm thinking I got away with it but I did get a message from a friend reminding me to turn my mic off!  Won't do that again!

[Paula O.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barney

 

Yes, anyway is a word.  But in the original sentence, it was used incorrectly.

 

Your right, I used anyway wrongly.  You win.

[Bahb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PH in VA

About 10 years ago I was browsing a stamp company's website (it's been so long, I don't remember for sure which company it was). I noticed an error in one of their sentiment stamps and used their "contact us" form to mention it to them. They emailed me a few days later, thanking me for bringing it to their attention and saying something to the extent of "We could fix it, but it would cost a lot of money to do so." I never checked back to see if they ever did correct it. On a similar note, several years ago I won a stamp set as blog candy. I set it aside when I first received it. When I pulled it out to use it a few months later, I noticed a misspelling in one of the sentiments. I looked at the company's website and by then, their photo of the stamp set showed that it was corrected. But I didn't know what to do with my set with the misspelled word since I didn't have any sort of proof of purchase. It's a cute set and I would use it, but I still never have. What do y'all think?

I would send it back to the company and ask for the corrected set.

[TexasGrammy]

Hi Ladies.  It's important that we all take care to refrain making derogatory or disparaging remarks about any individual, company or group of people.  While we can have differing opinions, we should not erode into name-calling or other derogatory comments.  Thanks, y'all.