Surprised to see a picture of himself taken six months ago in the Insider, the Grammarnator took that as a hint that he should be extra scrupulous when perusing this week's issue. And he found a good half-dozen nits to pick. To mention just the highlights:
The most obvious was a spelling error in a headline, always a bad location for a mistake. I'm sure that others have pointed out that the breed of dog associated with fire stations is not a dalmation. Their supposed origin is Dalmatia, and just as with other place names ending in a (California / Californian, Samoa / Samoan), the dog becomes a dalmatian.
“We took a look at the menu, which consisted of a variety of soups, salads, and sandwiches, all with car-themed name.” I'm afraid I have to go with “all with car-themed names” or “each with car-themed name.” Neat piece on the restaurant, though. I have a friend who used to dine regularly at the Concord Hospital cafeteria; maybe he'll head to the auto dealership soon.
Another agreement problem: “The programs have targeted every age level, from toddler exercise classes to adult fitness, nutrition and health courses and senior wellness, all of which is open to the public.” I'm seeing “programs” – five, of them, it seems – so I like “all of which are open to the public.”
And yet another in the reference to “the plants' dramatic scattering of its seeds” in the fascinating article about the many names for jewel-weed. Plant's goes with its. Plants' goes with their.
Punctuation: “The marker, as always is pets-on-leashes friendly.” Parenthetical expressions take commas at both ends: “The market, as always, is pets-on-leashes friendly.”
