Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
40 Times Word Crimes Had To Be Called Out By The English Language Police, As Shared By This Facebook Group
How many “c’s” and “m’s” in “accommodate?” Is there a “c” in “acquire?” While it might seem obvious when written out in front of you, English spelling can make fools of the best of us, but most people will probably overlook a misspelled word in a text. But that mistake becomes ever so magnified when you are driving around and see it displayed in, say, a shop window.
The “English Language Police” Facebook page gathers word crimes and grammatical mistakes people have spotted in the wild. So scroll down and enjoy the funniest examples here, upvote your favorites, and be sure to let us know what common language mistakes are your number one pet peeve.
More info: Facebook
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Listening To "Water Music" Will Never Be The Same Again
RELATED:
#3
That Was After The Honeymoon
Native speakers (and writers) of English all have their own struggle words. Some people can’t stand the doubling of a specific letter, like aggression versus agression. In other cases, people think there is a second letter where there actually is none, for example, imitate versus immitate. More often than not, this is a result of English not being a phonetic language.
Many writing systems attempt to just jot down the sounds that a particular word consists of. As logical as this sounds, many languages skip this part, English being one of them. Partially, the French can be blamed, as a lot of constructions in modern English have old French (and Norman) origins, due to William the Conqueror, well, conquering England in 1066.
#4
So Many People To Send Them To
#5
I Don't Know If I Can Stay Awake For 5 Days... Anymore
#6
The Whole Planet? Seems Kinda Harsh
To counter this, English orthographer Christopher Upward designed something called cut spelling. The basic idea was to “cut” redundant and silent letters, which would “help” save 8–15% of space when printing written texts and, potentially, reduce the number of spelling mistakes that we all run into regularly. It never really took off because who wants to go through the hassle of remaking the entire spelling system of a language?
#7
Well That Is One Way To Prevent Theft
#8
Please, Turn Water Into Wine
#9
Good Advice
As English is spoken around the globe by over 1.5 billion people as a first or second language, it makes sense that large, sweeping changes might not be that realistic to implement. It’s also a language without a “central” authority, with different spelling, pronunciation, and slang depending on where one is. Researchers call this a pluricentric language, meaning that different strains develop and intermix without one being regarded as the “official” variant.
#10
Very Witty Indeed
#11
You Expect The Guy To Open The Store While Being Circumcised?
#12
I Hadn't Realized It Was Banned
The result is that most variants of English are mutually intelligible, though there are always many anecdotes about thick accents from one English-speaking country or another. It also has a global reach, both due to colonial history and mass media. These days, English can be referred to as a true “lingua franca,” as it is often used when both parties don’t share a common language.
#13
Okay Then
#14
Aldi Australia Is Selling This Stool
#15
Oh My
Attempts to make a “neutral” global means of communication have led to the creation of “Globish,” a somewhat uninspiring name for a language. The idea, created by Jean-Paul Nerrière, was to have something that was not tied down by the cultural weight of English and also incorporate elements from other languages around the world. Nevertheless, its largest “lender” of words was still English (around 1500 words) and it has not really taken off at the moment.
#16
Where Is Elon When You Need Him?
#17
A Sticky Situation To Be In
#18
The Four Apostrophe’s’ Of The Apocalypseses’s’
English is so predominant that some scholars believe it might lead to premature language death. As it is tied up with employment, research, and a lot of popular media, English remains one of the top choices for people to learn, at the cost of acquiring a different language. The unfortunate result is that it introduces alien words and idioms into languages where they don’t belong, supplanting the more unique original structures.
#19
No, Thanks
#20
Me In Real Life
#21
Pretty Intimidating If You Ask Me
#22
Can You Eat Non-Customers At The Tables? Asking For A Friend
#23
Uh, Oh
#24
This Sign
#27
Clever Crafter's Fail
#28
Let's Hope The Burger Is Ok
#29
Yummy
#30
Two Lies And A Grammar Gaffe. What An Ad
#31
I've Read This Five Different Ways. Each Giving A New And More Disturbing Meaning To It
#32
How Can You Fill Both Sides Of An Aisle With One Niche Product Category?
#33
Saying “You Are A Cancer” Isn’t Much Better
#34
Seems Awfully Cheap
Harris Good 2 years ago
reminds me of bob's burgers... "we make our burgers with dead bodies from the crematorium next door!"
#35
Unique Eligibility Criteria
#36
Misogynists (Somewhere In Canada)
°CORLEONE° 2 years ago
It is a real park hahaha https://www.google.com/maps/@49.2636471,-123.0969396,3a,75y,31.29h,89.12t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sZ-R9NWejKReyPNsxHbbuzQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DZ-R9NWejKReyPNsxHbbuzQ%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D280.0476%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192
#37
But How Many Fake Ones?
#38
With The Price Of Gas These Days, He’s Not Wrong
#39
Shucks, Wouldn’t You Know It, We’re On Vacation And Only Have Our Holiday Maid With Us
#40
Hope Agian Shows Up
#41
Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't
#42
Doors Can Suffer From Significant Separation Anxiety
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
In any event, I hate signs that say "keep this door closed at all times". If it's closed at all times, it isn't a door, it's a wall.
#43
Is It Airfryable?
#44
Issue That Domestic Cats Are Usually Much Smaller Than The Weight Limit Noted Here
#45
Didn’t Know Tattoos Were Mobile Otherwise They Can Be Welded On?
#46
I Hope Someone Was Fired Over This, Or Smacked Across The Knuckles With A Ruler. Honk Jesus, Honk If You Save, If You Love Jesus
Jesus, Jesus says to sliders drugs say to no yes. Say sliders say no to drugs to yes.
#47
Watch Your Back, Jesus
#48
Probably A Rerun
Natty Tempest 2 years ago
But if the impatient is parked there, why charge the patience to tow it? Who am I kidding, that's how the world works... Hopefully, spelling is apparently not what the impatient patient paid by patience is here for.
#49
Build A $1.2 Billion Cruise Ship And Save A Few Dollars By Failing To Proofread Signage For 75+ Plaques. Priceless
#50
I Wonder How That School Does In National Spelling
QuirkyKittyGirl 2 years ago
Once again, American schooling strikes again! (This is just embarrassing.)
#51
Penmanship Is So Important
#52
"Trespiss-Sewers" Like Connoisseurs? Or Is That Three Spas Yours?
#53
Tasty
#54
I Wonder If They Choose Or If You Have To Self-Identify
#55
Damn Autocorrect
BewilderedBanana 2 years ago
the machine is having an existential crisis, much like the person who wrote that i suspect
#56
It's Truly Amazing, The Progress They've Made In Transplants
#57
Those Poor Guests
#58
I Think I Need Some Help With This One
#59
That Only Complicates The Problem
#60
Ouch
#61
Sounds Great. I Get To Park Here And Eat For Free. What A Country
David Beaulieu 2 years ago
I think the worst part of this sign is the Jersey Girl logo. The text should go top to bottom, not middle up, then down.
#62
100% Of The Whole Mouth, Is This Redundant? Granted It's Early And I Haven't Had My Coffee Yet And Have A Slight Headache But Still
#63
Does Anyone Else Feel Peevish About This Post?
#65
A Very Effective Mnemonic
#66
What Language Is This?
#67
Found This Gem In Rural Tennessee
#68
Let's Face It: Ice Cream Is Importanter. Also Deliciouser
#69
When You Want To Vent, You Know Who To Call
#70
Seen In Chennai (Erstwhile Madras)
The notice says in Tamil that there are job opportunities for ladies with expertise in operating photocopying machines. It's the English translation that's intriguing.
#71
Yo, Adrian (Proper Use Of Comma)
#72
A Good Bit Of Yorkshire
#73
The Grammar Is Bad Enough, But The Roaming Chess Gangs Scare Me
#74
In Other Words, Anyone Who Is Between 1-20 Or 22+ Cannot Purchase Or Consume Here
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago (edited)
No problem, I know many people who have been "21" since they were 14 for this exact reason
#75
I Encountered This Fascinating Euphemism For The First Time On Our Recent Road Trip To The US. Has Anyone Else Ever Heard This Expression?
It has the quaint, bygone sound of something carried over from the Victorian period
#76
Judges Do Have The Power Over You
#77
Stay Get Yay
#78
A Comma And An Apostrophe Would Have Really Helped Here
Serenity Now! 2 years ago
Damn. I thought he was gonna ask me for a date. He was merely profiling.
#79
Sadly, They Paid Dollar's For That Sign
#80
Spotted In A Store Window. Apparently Their Merchandise Includes Children? Is That Even Legal?
#81
Not The Festive Spirit I Was Expecting From Woolworths
#82
I Am Wondering Whether The Attendant Has Had Too Many Alcoholic Beverages
#83
Presumably, These Grow In Bushes?
#84
"To Bad" Must Be On The "Highway To Hell"
#85
Why Are Racists So Bad At English?
#86
Ronnie Must Work Here
#87
Segregation Is Still A Thing In The Midlands
#88
I Came Across This Sign Today And Still Can’t Quite Understand What They Are Saying. Any Ideas? Do They Want Tourists? Are The Bears Eating Tourists?
#89
So Nice Of Them To Send Kids To Do Our Sewing And First Aid At The Airbnb Unit
#90
I Always Thought That All Clocks Were Time Clocks. By The Look Of The Merchandise, I Guess I Was Wrong
#91
Inconvenience Indeed
#92
Just Noticing This After Using This For Two Years. A Simple Typo, But Still
BewilderedBanana 2 years ago
Not sure if it's a typo or just a very weird 'i'... i've seen script fonts with funny shaped letters that only make sense at the beginning of a word, if the rest of the word is in lower case
#94
Ah, I Can Take My Time Here. I Love To Indulge In Long Baths
#95
Possible Uses Of A Monocular
#96
Proofreading Fail. Cutains?
#97
Well The Words Appear To Be English But The Manner In Which They Are Assembled Is Incomprehensible
#98
This Sign Caught My Eye Today And My Immediate Thought Was "Wow, Are They Making Smart (I.e. Automated) Shoes Now?"
#99
What Fresh Hell Is This?
#100
Lay Eggs?
#101
On A Walk In Spring Hill, I Encountered This Gem. I Felt Slightly Dumber For Having Read It
Tucker Cahooter 2 years ago
Ok, spelling isn't that person's forte, but at least they haven't paid a swag of dollars to a professional signwriter to have an illiterate sign made like so many of the other ones on this list
#102
That Arrangement Works
#103
So Close
#104
He Parked So Close That He Knocked Off An O
Anne Jones 2 years ago
Too close to the fence…. Easy way to remember is “the two men were too close to the edge of the cliff”.
#105
Buried Fiber Optic Cable GF
#106
You Probably Think This Sign Is About You
#107
I Wonder If Gerogia Is Near Georgia?
#108
I Want To See A Floopervisor. There Is No Reason I Can't Have My Poofs
Shifty McFlea 2 years ago
You can see the tips of the “R”s if you zoom in. This is a normal sign where someone poorly photoshopped over the “R”s.
#109
Oh Really, Then Why Do Mine Seem To Not Care And Just Getting Out Bed I Need To Warm Up And Stretch For Fear I'm Going To Pull A Big One
#110
Found This Sign At A Local Shopping Center. I Guess If You Park And Go Shopping, They Will Tow Your Car. We Decided To Shop Elsewhere
Christof Irran 2 years ago
Not only that, the maker of the sign assume that there may be a single owner (as opposed to owners') with multiple vehicles left unattended.
#111
Paper Toilets Sound Like A Really Bad Idea
#112
This Company In Australia Couldn’t Decide Which Spelling Of Barbecue To Use So It’s Covering All Bases
#113
Where Am I Supposed To Park My Chipotle?
USMCFelicia 2 years ago
I have no idea what this sign is trying to say? Ideas/thoughts welcome
#114
Do What Now?
#115
My Favorite Christmas Coffee Cup
#117
Where You At?
S. E. in Indiana 2 years ago
I will bet it's the food their eating that males them shits a chord.
#118
I Spotted This Sign This Morning In Walgreens As I Was Struggling To Pick Up My Daughter’s Pain Medication
S. E. in Indiana 2 years ago
So, the pharmacist is handing out covid 19? Wonder how much my insurance will pay for that?
#119
What Do They Quote?
#120
This Happens To Me A Lot
#121
When Sad Metropolitan Copywriters Try To Write Geordie
#122
That Doesn't Sound Very Tasty
#123
This Doesn't Look Right To Me
S. E. in Indiana 2 years ago
Do you see the other sign under the awning? They get their meat from a driving school. Those must be some tough instructors.
#124
Driving Through Hope, AZ
#126
Sitting At A Stoplight I Spotted This. It Took Me A Minute To Understand What They Were Advertising, But I Decided Against Eating The Chicken
#127
I Stumbled Upon This Claim Yesterday, For Some Reason I Cannot Quite Define. Can Something Actually Be Designed To Be Authentic? Isn't That Contradictory?
#128
Just Found This On My Door. Not Interested In Whatever It Is. I Do Want To Know If One Can Prequalify For Something That Is Active
#129
Lost In Translation
#130
CBS Needs A Better Spellchecker
#133
Sigh
Christof Irran 2 years ago
Came across this little treasure: "[...] Melbourne is on roughly the same latitude as Athens" (https://www.we-love-melbourne.net/weather-melbourne.html) - No, it is not! There is a very big difference between 37° South and 37° North! Approximately the same (angular) distance from the equator as Athens? Sure, but come on.
#134
Ecuador Ice Cream Shop
#135
From CNN To Local News Shows, There Are Always Typos Like These. Spell Check Doesn't Fix Everything
#136
I Take Delight In Garbled English On Clothing, As I Assume People Who Can Read Chinese Do At Tattoos Sported By People Who Can Not
I have a load of photos to share if there's interest in them, let me know, but here's the one I love best, beyond absurdity: keep calm and love bulldog. What were they thinking?
#137
I Was Heading To Buy More Hayfever Tablets... Until An Ad Suggested That Not Taking Any Would Be Better
#138
Finally, A Radio Station The Whole Fanily Can Listen To Together
#139
So What Do You Do?
#140
A Beautiful Display At The Checkout Counter In A Portland Maine Restaurant
Anne Jones 2 years ago
You can buy lovely jewellery made from sea glass. This photo isn’t it… https://www.georgiamariejewellery.co.uk/sea-glass
#142
Just Saw In Miami
#143
This Is The Inner Label Of My Two Good Yogurt This Morning. I Can’t Decide Whether They Did It On Purpose To Make A Point About No Judgment Or If It Was An Editing Error
ElfVibratorGlitter 1 year ago
Also they market heavily on feeding other people but they only donate a fraction of profits.
#145
5 Star Auto Sales
#146
I Would Have Rotated The Letter R 90°
#148
Ice Creams? Am I Missing Something?
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
Ice cream is a mass of ice cream, but ice creams are multiple single servings of ice cream. Captain Tryhard at work there.
#149
I Was In An Office Building Today And Saw This. It Made Me Think: Doesn't "Uni" Mean One? Would The Sign Be More Accurate To Say "Multi" Or Something?
#150
Thick & Durable
"Durable" implies something that will sustain continuous and/or lengthy use. Aluminum foil is typically only used once. In this case, I used it to line a sheet pan for oven bacon, and after the bacon was done, I threw the foil away. I would think a better word than "durable" would be "strong".
Vix Spiderthrust 2 years ago
Durable can also mean resistant to damage. Another swing and a miss for Captain Tryhard.
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Verena 2 years ago
Okay, mocking people who do their best to help native English (US/UK) speakers out, visiting a foreign country, because they refuse to learn any other language "because everybody speaks English and it better be perfect, you stupid foreigners". If you complain about my English, better you learn to speak my language perfectly, first.
Crouching hippo hidden panda 2 years ago
Sadly I bet most of these were done by native speakers
Load More Replies...
Brendan (banned for downvotes) 2 years ago
Many of these were jokes; just a play on words. So they're actually clever.
Noname 2 years ago
Omg, when I speak French, I think I sound like most of these posts for the errors. My kid tells me that when I apologize for not speaking French properly in French, I don't say it correctly, and while I'm learning, my mistakes in apologizing prove my point- I don't speak French very well!
Verena 2 years ago
Okay, mocking people who do their best to help native English (US/UK) speakers out, visiting a foreign country, because they refuse to learn any other language "because everybody speaks English and it better be perfect, you stupid foreigners". If you complain about my English, better you learn to speak my language perfectly, first.
Crouching hippo hidden panda 2 years ago
Sadly I bet most of these were done by native speakers
Load More Replies... Brendan (banned for downvotes) 2 years ago
Many of these were jokes; just a play on words. So they're actually clever.
Noname 2 years ago
Omg, when I speak French, I think I sound like most of these posts for the errors. My kid tells me that when I apologize for not speaking French properly in French, I don't say it correctly, and while I'm learning, my mistakes in apologizing prove my point- I don't speak French very well!
You May Like “Die In A Minute”: 125 Times Autocorrect Made A Mess From A Normal Text 50 Funny Posts That Show Humanity Shares One Collective Brain Cell 50 Hilarious Posts From This Account Dedicated To Sharing “Men’s Humor” (New Pics)
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Greta Jaruševičiūtė
Greta Jaruševičiūtė
Related on Bored Panda
