Seen in the Classifieds

By Maeve Maddox

Spelling counts, even in the classified section of a newspaper.

Since people who place the ads can’t depend upon someone at the paper to correct their spellings, it’s a good idea to be careful.

Here are some spellings I’ve noticed in classified ads:

Dalmation pups for sale
Bluehealer pups for sale
Female lab – spaded
Duncan Fife for sale
Vaccum cleaner for sale

The big white dog with black spots is a Dalmatian. The name comes from the dog’s presumed place of origin: the province of Dalmatia on the Adriatic Sea. Think “Dalmatia” and then add an n.

I suppose a holy man who paints himself blue could be a “blue healer,” but the dog is a blue heeler. The dog was bred to herd cattle by snapping at their heels.

The process of removing the ovaries of a female animal is called spaying. Such an animal has been spayed and can be called a spay.

Sheriff Andy’s sidekick was Barney Fife, but the man who designed the furniture with the funny legs was Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854).

The unusual pairing of u’s in vacuum should make the spelling easy to remember. The two u’s create a kind of vacuum in the word.

Of course, even if you turn in correctly-spelled ad copy, there’s always the possibility that the typesetter will make a mistake. Can’t help you there.

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1 Response to “Seen in the Classifieds”

  • Mary Ann

    Maeve,

    Great post!

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