It’s our 100th segment!!!

Readers: “Something Went Horribly Wrong” debuted in January 2021. We said from the beginning that our goal was not to be snooty or humiliate people, but to educate you about the importance of good writing. Clear writing. Tight writing. Grammatically correct writing. Accurate writing.
You’ve noted our format: Every other week, we post a segment covering a rule, and a listing of violations thereof. In the off week, we display the dogged work of our Grammar Police.
There’s a term in journalism: You “buried the lead.” Yes. We’ve committed that very crime.
Here’s the news:
We are, at least for now, “closing the canon” on the rules segments at an even 100. We’ll do weekly “encore” postings of segments (that’s a euphemism for “repeats”). And, in alternating weeks, we’ll continue weekly reports by the Grammar Police. So keep ‘em coming!
We’ve acknowledged that language is an evolving thing. And that there’s no fine or jail time for lousy writing. (We’d have to build a lot more prisons!) But we did make this argument: People say they never would wear orange socks to a black-tie affair because it would make them look stupid. But every day, all day, they write stupid things.
We’ve said that very few of you will write for a living. But all of you need to know how to write. You don’t necessarily have to be a great writer. But you really should be a correct writer.
This is a great moment to say thank you, thank you, thank you for your loyalty over the past nearly three years. And your continued loyalty as we battle on. As the Spanish say, “¡Adelante!” Onward.
Eliot Kleinberg, chief writer
Lou Ann Frala, “Rules Committee.”

Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong" features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police.” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, menus, TV news graphics, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we can credit you properly. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com

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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!