If you use an electronic sign, always check the number of characters it can display at any one time. One local business called “Glass Pros” uses its sign to make promotional messages, some of which end with the company’s name. Unfortunately, it appears that the screen can only display eight letters and/or spaces at a time, so when a message stops scrolling, only the last eight letters and/or spaces remain visible. Take a look at their name, do a little counting, and you’ll see how their sign presents them.
The Northwest Indiana Times’s coverage of this winter’s blizzard included a story containing this gem: “Illinois State Police reported ‘treacherous’ conditions on interstates with drifts up to 3 feet tall and vehicles lampooned on the roads.” Satire can be so tough on vehicles. Think the writer may have been thinking “marooned?”
Fox 59 TV in Indianapolis recently posted a story about a police chase. While the chase ended with the crash of a stolen car, the story ended with an amusing image: “The source says the situation could have escalated and someone could have been hurt or killed during that period Bombard was on the lamb.” I suspect that the lamb may have found it particularly painful. The phrase the writer wanted to use was “on the lam.” Lam chops just aren’t quite as tender.