Useless fact I found on google: The chicken and the ostrich are the closest living relatives of the Tyrannosaurus rex.
I wonder why the unhappy threads have more replies to them than the happy threads, or perhaps I do not. Are we humans really that miserable most of the time? Or is it just us writers?
Irrelevant point: there’s no such thing as a poisonous snake. Poison is ingested- venom is injected. The dangerous nope-ropes are venomous.
Same reason the news only reports the bad stuff, I suspect. Happy things just don't generate traffic.
Reading a NY Times best seller, and this sentence came out (after the main character found out she’d be cheated on and was afraid she’d be alone her whole piece): “She knew it wasn’t Chase she mourned, but a life defined by rejection.” She mourned a life defined by rejection?? Did an editor even read this?
For starters, you don’t mourn someone, you mourn their death, their absence, etc. “She knew it wasn’t the loss of Chase she mourned…” Second, connotatively mourning is grief or sorrow for a loss. She didn’t lose the life of rejection, she is stuck with it. Third, the structure of the sentence doesn’t work between the two ideas. Because one she is (not) mourning the absence and the other she is mourning it’s presence. All in all I hate the sentence
Yeah, that's why I asked about the choice of verb, it doesn't fit the sentence. I don't know if I would have caught that when I read it without someone already pointing it out though. When my WIP is done I'm going to have to review every verb and make sure I didn't make a similar mistake. I doubt I would have ever written anything like that but I don't know if it would have raised any eyebrows if I read it in a book I was really immersed in. Maybe, I don't know.
Editors don’t catch everything. Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep contains a line where Danny and his pal are heading west for the showdown with the bad guys and stop in Ohio, at a ‘Wendy’s 100 miles outside Cincinnati,’ for a coffee flavored milkshake. First of all, Wendy’s doesn’t do milkshakes, they have the Frosty. It’s basically softserve ice-cream in a cup. It only resembles a milkshake once it’s half melted. Secondly, they don’t come in coffee flavor. Years and years and years ago they did the standard chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Now it’s just chocolate. They don’t even ask about flavor anymore. If you order a frosty, you’re getting chocolate. A quick look at their online menu would have cleared that one up.
Gasp! (Reels back in horror.) You criticize The King? Better you should demand that Wendy's start producing coffee-flavored milkshakes.
Books are going "holographic" Look for the Google Lens icon on the back of sf/f books, aim your google lens camera at it, and the cover comes to life on your screen. Flip it over, and the author pops up and talks to you. Its pretty cool
I’m not a big fan of Wendy’s at all, but the only Arby’s worth a damn near me is in an area I wouldn’t recommend going unarmed.
This is why you shouldn’t buy cheap electronics. Instructions for charging my new cordless shaver: ‘Must be fully charged before use. Once plugged in, red light will indicate charging is in progress. Light will not go out when charging is complete.’ Very helpful.
Like it comes from Alice's Wonderland. Or from the Eggcorns thread—that special section dedicated to instructions translated from Asian originals.
Someone gave us a clay roaster when we got married. Judging from the placement of the verbs, I assume the original language was German: "In to the pan the carrots, potatoes, and meat you put..."
Guy at work got a call from the Postcode Lottery people on Thursday. When he asked how much he’d won they said they wouldn’t tell him, as they’ll be sending a TV crew round to film the presentation of the cheque. I’ve seen dozens upon dozens of these adverts on the TV, and I’ve never seen them presenting cheques for anything less that £30k I’m delighted for him... The bastard!!
Sounds like the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes in the US. Ed McMahon would delivers the million dollar checks to your front door. Back in the 80s and 90s every person in the US would be spammed with contest entries in the mail, or a flyer attached to every shopping circular. Not sure how many they mailed, but it must have been in the trillions.
Someone put a story of mine in a collection folder called "Sorry" and I'm not sure how to feel about that. What does that mean?
