It was the same kind of mistake I had seen in Cumberland on one of those signs where you place letters to create the message. The message read:
MASSAGE THE RAPIST
Most people don't much care when they see these travesties, and they certainly don't bring it to anyone's attention. I stopped at the clinic and suggested they change the spacing. They looked at me as if I were crazy, and it was weeks before the sign was changed.
I used to think that the work that would occupy me in my retirement would be policing the language. I would tidy up offending menus, billboards and other public notices. I practised occasionally on hastily written notices taped to door windows by taking my red pencil and inserting a discreetly small ‘sp' beside misspellings. The closer I got to retirement, however, the more I understood that the task was far too big for one woman, and I also realized that my help would not always be welcome.
I went into a store selling mattresses. On every bed was placed a beautifully scripted sign reading, "Please don't lay on the mattresses with your shoes on." There were twenty-eight hand lettered signs. How could I possibly tell them?
And, you know, half the people reading this post probably can't even see the error, because the language has been changed by misuse of the verb "to lie". Almost everyone substitutes lay for lie. Even teachers and radio announcers, once the guardians of the language, make the error now.
Confusion between lay and lie and even misuse of the apostrophe are errors I can live with, but I really do think those who use language to advertise themselves or their services should be careful what they write.
