Judge Bailey presiding. What’s today’s case?
The offense: Homonym error.
The evidence: This notice from Comcast is trying to entice customers receiving standard cable service to switch over to a basic digital package (in advance of the February 2009 digital TV transition) by “waving” for one year the monthly fee for a digital converter box. Unless they mean, “Wave bye-bye to that nasty ol’ fee!” their choice of word is wrong…oh hell, even if that is what they meant, it’s still wrong!
The correction: “Waive,” not “wave.”
The sentence: Donate $1 per flyer issued to customers to a literacy program. Or give me a free year of cable. Either way, I’m cool.
The purpose of this feature is to educate readers by spotlighting boneheaded mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation in a public setting.
