funny signs

These Signs Will Make You Shake Your Head

November 27, 2015 by Noemi 3 Comments

Whether it’s due to amusement or exasperation, you be the judge.

While we live in the digital era, banner printing is not dead, as we can see billboards everywhere. After all, the real world does exist, and life is not all about 1s and 0s.

Whether we’re talking about print or digital, however, there are some things that don’t change – much to our annoyance or amusement: grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.

Today, let’s have a bit of fun and look at some signs with funny (or not) mistakes. To make things simple I’m using “grammar mistakes” as the umbrella term. [Read more…]

Funny English Signs

January 24, 2012 by Noemi 3 Comments

We all make mistakes. There really is nothing wrong with that as long as we can take constructive feedback. A little sense of humor and the ability to laugh at ourselves make everything better. Understandably, we might find it easier to chuckle when the mistake is not ours! Still, that does not mean that we should not make it a point to be open to admitting our mistakes and making sure they are corrected.

All this talk about mistakes stems from the topic of today’s grammar post. I think it’s about time we have a little fun, and take a look at some funny English signs again. While I am a stickler for grammar, especially when it comes to specific situations, I also like looking at humorous signs that may not live up to my standards. This is a good way to spend a 5- or 10-minute break from work. Try it!

Our first sign highlights the difficulty that prepositions pose for a lot of people.

No Parking Above Sign

Native English speakers may not think about it much, but the issue of prepositions is something that many learners of the language face. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if even native English speakers make preposition slips now and then. I hope that it is not this kind of mistake, though. It is kind of hard to park above a sign – unless you are a bird who “parks” on a wire!

You’re no stranger to Engrish.com, are you? They have some of the funniest signs I have seen, and since I have a sweet tooth, this just cracked me up.

We Free Dessert

I suppose that if desserts could speak, they would tell us that they are in bondage, hoping to be freed from people like me who gobble them up!

Now this is the kind of mistake that I find more irritating than funny. Some people are just too caught up in themselves thinking that they are superior to others. I believe those people are bound to mess up at one point, and sure enough, whoever made this sign made a fool of himself. ((Via Real Life Moron))

English Is Our Language

We all have our unforgettable experiences, but this sign confuses me.

An Forgettable Experience

What I do know is that the only time I rode a jet ski is an experience I will never forget. My throat and arms did not forget for a while, as well!

I saved the most hilarious one in my book for last.

Eat Here and Get Gas

So who wants to give this restaurant a go? Thanks to Vappingo for this photo. ((Vappingo))

Do you have other funny English signs to share?

And I Quote…

November 1, 2010 by Noemi 3 Comments

We all have our pet peeves when it comes to writing, and I think that some of you will agree that the prevalent habit of misusing – or overusing – quotations marks is of those things. To be honest, this does not bother me as much as interchanging your and you’re. However, the discovery of a blog focusing on the unnecessary use of quotation marks has led me to write about the issue. ((the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks))

Before I bombard you with some rules on the use of quotation marks, let me add a little bit of fun to your Monday by sharing how the real world makes use of these punctuation marks.

First up is a Halloween sign somewhere in Hollywood. ((Source: the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks))

I am not sure if the guys who made the sign are being sarcastic, or they just don’t know what they’re doing. In any case, it’s probably not a good idea to buy fireworks from them! ((Source: The Huffington Post))

When did this propensity for overusing quotation marks start? I have no idea, but it definitely is not a recent trend. Take a look at this photo published 50 years ago by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ((Source: Motivated Grammar))

Maz stands for Bill Mazeroski, a popular baseball player during that time. His home run during the final game of the ’60s Series turned him into a legend, leading some overly enthusiastic fans to push for him as president.

Now that we’ve seen a few examples of how quotation marks can be used incorrectly, let’s take a look at two major rules for the use of quotation marks.

Rule #1: Direct quotations

When you are incorporating another person’s words into your writing, you have to use quotations marks.

He said, “You have to follow the rules.”

The judge said that he was not willing to “bend the rules” for that particular case.

In the first example, the first letter of the quoted statement is capitalized because it is a complete sentence. In the second example, the quoted material is a fragment, so no capitalization is required.

Rule #2: To indicate irony, double meaning, or a particular use of the word/phrase

I think this is the most common source of incorrect usage of quotation marks. Some correct examples of this particular usage are seen below.

His excuse was that he was too “busy” to attend the meeting.

I “love” waking up at 6 in the morning to go jogging.

In both examples, the quotation marks are used to indicate that the words inside mean something else. In the first sentence, it is implied that the person’s excuse – being busy – is a load of cr*p. In the second sentence, it is implied that the prospect of waking up early in the morning is not really pleasant for the person uttering the statement.

Obviously, there are more rules governing the use of quotation marks. However, I think that if you know these two by heart, you’ll be quite safe from making egregious mistakes.

Given those two rules, though, can you now pinpoint the reasons I posted those signs in the first part of this post? Why do you think people continue to misuse quotation marks this way?

More Funny Signs that Could Use Better Grammar/Spelling

October 11, 2010 by Noemi 9 Comments

It’s been more than a month since I posted the first group of funny (or not-so-funny for some) signs on FWJ. When I woke up this morning, I thought that it would be a good idea to post some more signs for the grammar section. After all, it is a Monday, and we can all use some cheering up on this day of the week.

First up comes lots of lot’s.

Photo courtesy of Steve Dinn

We can’t point fingers at Sony here, but the sign sure does take something away from the message, doesn’t it? Just so we’re all clear on what’s wrong, check out the rules for using apostrophes in a previous post.

Here’s the next sign.

Photo courtesy of Avocado8

The message would have been so much more meaningful if they had just gotten the difference between “then” and “than.” If you remember, this is one mistake that just might make you look stupid, even if you aren’t.

Photo courtesy of NY Law Blog

They did get “you’re” right, but even the most ataraxic writer might feel chest pains from that subject-verb agreement mistake. I know I am NOT recommending this law school to anyone – not even to someone I do not like.

For our last image, can someone point out to me what’s wrong?

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Perry

I have to admit that this is one of the most common mistakes that I encounter, whether in spoken or written English. It pains me to say this, but we just might be facing the possibility that one day, few and less might be used interchangeably. What do you have to say about that?

Funny Signs that Could Use Better Grammar/Spelling

August 20, 2010 by Noemi 18 Comments

You’ve heard of these kinds of signs before. They’ve caught the attention of everyone from Asia to Europe to the Americas. Sometimes, the mistakes are so blatant that even the worst English speaker/writer can spot them easily. Sometimes, though, the mistakes can be subtle, forcing even seasoned writers to think a little bit. Here are some signs that make me chuckle.

Photo courtesy of Funny Typos.

The happiness and pride of whoever wrote the sign is quite apparent, but I am pretty sure that the “gradute” isn’t that proud about it. (Unless he/she wrote the sign – I certainly hope not!)

Here’s another sign, which actually highlights one of the mistakes I wrote about in the last post.

I certainly feel like eating chicken nuggets right now, but I don’t think that the incorrect word helps much in advertising. Spot the error and correct the mistake?

How about waste disposal issues?

Photo from Danny Arao

For this sign, I will leave it to you guys to figure out the problem. There may be varying opinions.

Here’s a sign from a street food vendor’s stall.Who can give me the “translation” for these items on the menu? Hint: They sell sandwiches.