How hard can it be?
Friday, August 7, 2015 at 12:46PM
I didn’t intend the first part of the next adventure to be on a hobby horse, but forgive me for having a small rant this morning. I’m a member of a mailing list which is particularly active right now, discussing the topic of stationery. That’s right, pens, paper and so on.
This week, I placed an order with my favourite BureauDirect and as always, had exemplary customer service with a query I had. There is was again, that word stationery.
Earlier this week, though, I read a report about a woman posing with a “stationery animal” she’d just shot. That can’t have been difficult, can it? Less of a hunt, more of a paper chase don’t you think? Then, there were those discussing a “stationary club” which they were thinking of joining, except I don’t really think they knew the difference between pens and paper and things which stand still.
I can’t be the only one who is more than slightly irritated by bad spelling, can I? For some reason, this particular mix up is a special bête noire of mine and during the last few days I seem to have noticed it more than usual. The icing on the cake was this:
“Stationery, Boxed Stationary & Stationery Sets Online Store ...www.papyrusonline.com/stationery.html”
Two different spellings of the same thing used in a single phrase! Wow.
Try doing a google image search for “stationary” and see what I mean.
life
Reader Comments (4)
We all have our own personal issues about which we rant (and with good reason). My favorite rant is over the confusion and misuse of "less" vs. "fewer." Go grammar!
I was taught that stationery comes from a stationER. I don't like "would of" for "would have" either.
Spelling has always been hard for me so I've lots of little sayings to remind me. Stationary c A rs, Stationery l E tters. Regretfully though, in the heat of typeing or writeing I still get things wrong. Finding things in two dictionaries - English and French - can be hard. Although having been to a grammar school, some of the rules get bent a little and I find I split infinitives with the best of them.
No spell checker has been used in this comment. (I looked up four words!)
Rant on...I love it. I get things wrong too, but not in the same sentence! Best thing about this is the link to another Stationery site. Many thanks to Lesley for the tip on which is the right way to spell. I learnt to read and write English in a school abroad, and never had these handy tips passed to me.