I feel bad about how badly I have edited in the past.

I feel bad about how badly I have edited in the past.

This week in the topical guide I was drawn to the correct usage of words.  I had always felt I was a bit of a freak when it came to correct word usage but I had no idea how many errors I miss. The proper usage of bad and badly is a great example. While bad is an adjective that can describe a state of being, it doesn’t describe a quality. “Responding badly to a test score” would correctly describe the quality of my response when viewing grades after a hard test.

After eagerly awaiting my performance critique, I became anxious as multiple dancers emerged from the judging room in tears.

If bad and badly didn’t make you question your word usage, maybe eager and anxious will. Last week at my studio I overheard a dance mom bragging to another that her daughter was “so anxious to attend a workshop at BDC, she almost threw a party.” While the mother was trying to relay her daughter’s excitement, she used a word that describes fear or worry. My guess is that instead of eagerly awaiting her dance workshop, she should have been anxious about the school she was missing.

She went to the office site to make photocopies on the Xerox machine.

            The term “Xeroxing” is used incorrectly in my office on a daily basis. This error addresses the correct use of brand names and trademarks. While Xerox is a popular brand, it isn’t what you do with a cannon photocopier and it definitely is not a verb to describe what you do on a Xerox photocopier. Every year around Christmas my grandma calls to say, “I will fedex your gifts, so watch your mailbox.” Every year without fail, UPS delivers our gifts. Ever since Castaway, “fedex” became her descriptor for anything being delivered. These are short examples of times brand names are used incorrectly.

I created a collage of editing mistakes I have made in the past surrounding the correct usage of brand names.  Have a look, you might be surprised by a brand you’ve used incorrectly.

1. Did you really just apply Chapstick or was it lip balm?

2. If your box doesn’t say Q-tip, you’re using a cotton swab.

3. Just because you bought a bandage doesn’t mean you bought a Band-Aid.

4. Blowing your nose with it does not mean the tissue you’re using is a Kleenex.

5. According to Microsoft, if it isn’t PowerPoint brand, it is a “presentation and graphics program.”

6. I saved the best for last: GOOGLE! No, you didn’t google something; you performed a search on Google.