More Fun With Word Errors

Here's a guy who is having problems with a certain homonym. It's that, or he thinks this storm stinks with a strong aromatic odor. Even so, I'm wondering where this newspaper's editor was in all this. Perhaps he was away from the office sniffing out a new reporter

Storm Reeks Havoc

The powerful late-afternoon storm that raced across Kentucky uprooted large trees, knocked over trailers and generally reeked havoc throughout Whitley County Wednesday.

As of Friday morning the spelling had not been corrected. Maybe no one else thinks it smells good either. This whole thing "wreaks" of confusion.

Of course, my own co-workers are not faultless in this respect. I received an e-mail from our Safety Officer this past week exhorting all of us to "Error on the side of caution." In other words, "To error is human, to forgive is divine."

Finally, with another homonym mistake, I was very surprised to see this gaffe in an AP article. Standards are falling, folks, when an entity like Associated Press lets this kind of slip go out under their byline in a story about other states and agencies outside Kentucky offering help.

"Among the aide flowing in from outside..."

This "aide" (not sure if it was a male or female) must have been very limber to be able to make such an entrance. I hope they weren't in need of any First Aid afterward.

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