Monday, September 12, 2011

I'm Powerless against Books

Rodney Dangerfield used to say, "I don't get no respect." English majors and heavy readers have adopted his complaint as their own--after swapping the "no" for any.

Have you corrected song lyrics before belting them out? Picked up a Sharpie to add or cross out apostrophes on restaurant menus? Lectured anyone within earshot on the correct uses of they're, there, and their?

Congratulations. You're a candidate for the following quiz, A Self Test for Literature Abusers. Here's the link. http://www.betatesters.com/penn/litabuse.htm

Whew! Sobering. Not to worry, though, because interpreting Shakespeare's a growth industry. Don't believe me? Click http://static.happyplace.com/assets/images/2011/08/4e4d344166ce2.png

1 comment:

Lark Howard said...

Love this, Pat! I once had a marketing assistant (an English major incidentally) who swore I'd edit the Lord's Prayer. Luckily, I'm recovering from that compulsion, much to my CP's relief. Still, it's hard to resist "fixing" things that grate, isn't it?