Friday, May 02, 2008

Spell Check, You Crazy Bastard!

You've seen this New Yorker cartoon, right?
Well, doesn't matter anyway.
The point is, if you don't know what you're doing, you probably shouldn't be doing it.
Some dear heart typed up the promotional copy on this discount postcard we received in the mail. When he or she ran the prose through the non-Italian-speaking spell checker, things got a little bit confussily. But our dear heart didn't know, and pressed "OK" on the re-spell button.
Ah.
I'm just being fussy.

24 comments:

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Fuss away, someone has to and I've had my correcto-chalk taken away from me!

cookiecrumb said...

Morgan: Oh no! Your new job is editing-free? That can be terribly frustrating, but just do like I do, and scream at the newspaper.

Zoomie said...

No, you're not being fussilly, you're being correct. One of the good things about your and Cranky's writing is the grammar - such a joy to read words from people who know the difference!

Anonymous said...

The spelling is fine; it's just mis-punctuated:

"...wine sauce over, fussily, pasta"

Civic Center said...

Spell-check is way overrated. It leaves all the great typos, which are real words used incorrectly, completely unmolested. For instance, I was creating a presentation for a corporation last week where they were talking about something being a bad "president," which really threw me for an uncomprehending loop. It took forever for me to realize they meant "precedent." And don't get me started on all the times I've seen "in the pubic interest" printed in newspapers. I like "fussily" for "fusilli." It's a great setup for a bad pun.

Anna Haight said...

You should submit that one to Jay Leno... we have to laugh over something when madmen are in power...

Robert said...

Sounds like an accurate descriptions of most meals prepared in my house!

Mary Coleman said...

I have that cartoon framed. Crack up every time I see it!

Mama Mia said...

hahah thats pretty funny. How could they cook it if they cant even spell it?!

Greg said...

What Sfmike said "Bad President!" I happen to like fussy pasta ;)

Heather said...

Truthiness! You speak it.

I shake with ire when I see missteps on a menu. I shake! It woulda been a lot funnier if it were wine sauce served fussily over pasta.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

hilarious
the comic strip, that is

so now i have spent waaaaay too much time on the ny'ers site thinking of which to buy...

michael, claudia and sierra said...

not that yours wasn't funny too

but man o man...

http://www.thenewyorkerstore.com/product_details.asp?did=4&sid=41411&sitetype=1&mscssid=QEHJP433TQS38HSX0L37R02K6NPTCBXA

and

http://www.thenewyorkerstore.com/product_details.asp?did=4&sid=68272&sitetype=1&mscssid=QEHJP433TQS38HSX0L37R02K6NPTCBXA

kudzu said...

A pr rep for an Italian restaurant wrote me a note the other day that began, "Graci!" and ended with "Caio".

I despair.

Ilva said...

Hh ha, only to be beaten by some Italians writing in English! Or Swedes..

Stacie said...

as an editor, welp, that just won't due... as a lover of goofy food typos, that rocks!

Dagny said...

Ooo. That one is bad. But Kudzu's comment? I'm still wiping the tears away.

cookiecrumb said...

Zoomie: Spelling, now, that's a whole 'nother thing.

Anonymous: I love your remark!!

SFMike: I seldom, rarely, never use spell check. I am partial to dictionaries.
Set a bad president!! Seems like we did that already.

Anna: How much does he pay? ;)

Robert: OK, then, dinner at Robert's tonight!! We'll be there.

Mary Coleman: Cool! You are a cutie.

Lina: Oh, well, fortunately instinctive cooking can be done by the illiterate. I am refraining from telling you some of the other menu items, though.

Greg: Fussy's OK. I even like that Blue Box crap!

Heather: You talked it out of me. This restaurant also serves a baked crostini with avocado, green apple and brie. And excuse me, but isn't that just another word for "we have no idea what we're doing"?

ceF: You are buying cartoons? I have also spent hours there.

Kudzu: Caio!!! Brown journo!

Ilva: You've had lots of practice, dearie. ;-)

Stacie: I should be collecting them. They're everywhere.

Dagny: Gracie Allen!

kudzu said...

For Ilva (if you're still reading this): the pr rep was an American woman working for an Italian restaurant here in California, just so we get out tongues straight -- so to speak.

Anonymous said...

ha!

there's a deli near my house with a big, professionally-printed sign advertising, among other things, a sandwich with "drosciutto" and "sundry tomatoes."

cookiecrumb said...

Michelle: I love those, especially "sundry tomatoes." I hope they come in many varieties.

sillysausage said...

or
"...wine sauce, over-fussily pasta"?

maybe they're talking about those fancy frilly noodles?

limoncello said...

Would you eat in a restaurant that called a dish "antipasta"? Ooo, that one grates!

Anyhow, my favorite was a friend who spied a banner in a coffee shop window: "Ho made pie".

cookiecrumb said...

Silly Sausage: It hadn't occurred to me to think of those silly, curly pasta shapes (fusilli) as fussy, so the word play is very good.

Limoncello: Oh, dat's good. We should be collecting these for a monthly roundup or something. Thanks.