Fun Translations

I learned a new word today: Bibulousness. Found it on the packaging for a cleaning cloth and it made me smile. There was much more enjoyment to be had with this, see the photos.

First to catch my eye was "No plasm" which I know is not a word, and which had me wondering if bibulousness was also real. (it is)

There was the spelling of fibre the English way on the front and the American way on the back (fiber).

It can "mop up polished furniture", which is always a good thing for those nasty spills when your polished furniture is oozing all over everywhere.

Other features include "No need desizing". Phew. I'm not sure I'd know how to desize it if I had to.

And my favourite passage: "it features solid and deformation with the best using effect." I googled this phrase and wasn't surprised that I wasn't the first to laugh at this.

Of course there is now the problem of whether to deform on not. The main copy says "It features....deformation" but also a feature separately listed is "Nodeformation".
I'm afraid to open it now. I'm too confused.

Suite Spelling Mistakes

Certafied? How profeshunal.
What I like most about this sign is that I watched the guy putting it up, from the balcony of the pub across the road. His fairly odd behaviour drew my attention. He seemed either drunk, or "not all there" somehow, poor guy. Note the stickytape usage. And there was the way he wove back and forth across the road a few times just to check on it.
As soon as I could I went down to take the photo.



Of course now I know what was really wrong with him. He was acting under the influence of hypnosis.

ecksesiez 26

Huzzah!
Thanks to Steven Pinker, I can stop being annoyed when people start a sentence with 'Hopefully'. The language purists had me believing this was grammatically illogical or downright incorrect and should be avoided.

But in fact, like others of its ilk - sentence adverbs including curiously, admittedly, basically and ideally - it's not.
Just another sign of our constantly evolving language.
Wikipedia says "it is unclear why hopefully has been singled out for deprecation" but there's an explanation and nice summary of arguments for and against it here.

Frankly, i'm all for it..... now.
Honestly, when one starts a sentence with 'Hopefully' we all know exactly what they mean - and isn't communication all that matters?

Summer Time

Not enuf rants on my blog - so it's time:

When did 'Daylight Saving Time' become 'Daylight Savings TIme'?
The present participle 'saving' is used as an adjective, not a noun.
You wouldn't say 'labor savings device', or 'Money Savings Ideas'!

[BTW - am loving the first long sunny evening of DST so far.]