Monday, May 10, 2010

Salad Dressing Faux Pas

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So I'm staring at a bottle of salad dressing, and my blood pressure is rising by the second. I can't get past the little line that says: "Less Calories than our regular dressing."

Aaaaaah! Did no one proofread your nationally marketed product?! Seriously?

Fewer calories, people! Fewer!

So, yes. This is my secret OCD pet-peeve. I have to bite my tongue to keep from correcting friends, and any random strangers who may unwittingly confound "less" and "fewer" in my presence.

Less --> an uncountable mass (fat, sugar, water, chocolate, stupidity . . . you get the idea)

Fewer --> anything countable (calories, ice cubes, people, mistakes)

Easy as pie.

My husband tells me I missed my calling as a member of the grammar nazi. But I can be laid back . . . I present my cavalier use of "snuck" instead of "sneaked" as evidence.

Anything drive you up the wall? What are your pet peeves?

11 comments:

Vicki Rocho said...

I don't have any grammar pet peeves, but hypocrisy really bugs me. Friends who tell me they can't stand someone and then they're hanging out with them.

Had to add you to my list. LOVE the picture with Oscar...I grew up on Sesame Street (not literally, I was talking about the show!)

Janna Leadbetter said...

Yes, this one! This is a huge pet peeve of mine. I admit, though, the less vs. fewer isn't one I've been too up on. Thanks for the clarification!

Lydia Kang said...

Umm, I didn't know about
this one, so thanks for educating me!
My pet peeve is when people end a sentence with "at".
Like, "where's the bathroom at?"
Drives me crazy.

Laurel Garver said...

Apostrophes used to form plurals drive me to the brink of insanity! I've seriously seen billboards with lines like: "We are the sale's leader in the Delaware Valley" and "Our price's are the best!". Come on, people, didn't you learn this in second grade?

Unknown said...

LOL! I'm so glad I'm not the only grammar spaz :)

Unknown said...

Please post your letter to the manufacturer to point out their blunder.

- I am a little nervous about posting comments to your blog. I may make a grammatical error or sentence structure blunder.

Emily Ann Benedict said...

Ha! Well, grammer just isn't mine. You'd probalby die trying to get through my first drafts. LOL
Personally, I think most of my pet peeves have to do with cellphones. :P
If you send me a text message I'm going to just call you back...because I hate texting!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. :)

Celeste said...

Dear Grammar Nazi,

I always have trouble deciding when to use lay vs. lie, or better vs. well. I've almost given up on the issue. Please help me!

Yours truly,
Celeste

P.S. You would LOVE Larry the Cableguy. Git R Done!

Anonymous said...

I sound grammar geeky, but I hate misplaced and dangling modifiers. This may be because I still have trouble catching them all in my own writing! lol
Washroom signs that read womens and mens are humorous, too.

Jessie Oliveros said...

I am a grammar nazi, too, but I haven't started editing my condiments. :)

thepainterfamily said...

haha...I love it.

I am going to remember this.

Also, I think I need to take 8th grade english all over again.

The only pet peeve-ish thing I can think of (since I stink at grammar and spelling, I can't be too critical) is made up words.

I remember a heated conversation with someone trying to convince them that squoze was NOT a word! haha. (squoze, as in the past tense of squeeze) oh boy!