Author: Kirk

“STOCKS TO BAILOUT YOUR PORTFOLIO”

Nouns, Verbs

I saw this on television.

Problem:
A noun appears where a verb should appear.

Explanation:
I saw “STOCKS TO BAILOUT YOUR PORTFOLIO” yesterday in a banner over a broadcast of the television program “Cashin’ In” on Fox News Channel.

The word “bailout” — optionally spelled with a hyphen between “bail” and “out” — is a noun and in the context of the TV banner means an instance of coming to the financial rescue.

The writer of the TV banner should have used the verb phrase “bail out” instead of the noun “bailout”.

The verb phrase “bail out” in the context of the TV banner means to relieve in a financial crisis.

In other words, “bailout” and “bail out” are not synonyms!

Solution:
“STOCKS TO BAIL OUT YOUR PORTFOLIO”

“… promising lightening quick data rates …”

Hyphens, Mispronunciations, Misspellings

I saw this two days ago in a news article about a new mobile phone.

Problems:
1. A word is misspelled.
2. A hyphen is missing.

Explanation:
The news article was about the BlackBerry Storm.

One of the Web pages in the article discussed the data-related features of the Storm.

While discussing the data technology, the article author wrote “The smart phone operates on Verizon Wireless’ 3G EV-DO Rev A. network in the U.S., promising lightening quick data rates and Internet surfing.”

First, while trying to play on the “Storm” model name, the author misspelled “lightning” as “lightening”.

I believe that this first problem relates to sloppy pronunciation of the noun “lightning”.

Second, while trying to modify “data rates” to indicate a high speed, the author failed to put a hyphen between (sic) “lightening” and “quick”.

I suspect that this second problem relates to a general decline in skill with hyphenation.

Solution:
“… promising lightning-quick data rates …”

“… separate business at arm’s-length from …”

Hyphens, Nouns, Possessives

I saw this yesterday in a company’s announcement about buying another company.

Problem:
The hyphen does not belong in this phrase.

Explanation:
One company was announcing the pending purchase of another company.

The purchase required approvals by various U.S. federal agencies.

The buyer wanted investors and employees to know that it was legally bound to continue to operate distinctly from the other company until all of those approvals had been secured.

The complete sentence announcing this legal constraint was along the lines of “We will continue to operate as a separate business at arm’s-length from [the company that we are buying].”

The problem with this sentence is that the hyphen does not belong.

The possessive “arm’s” is modifying the noun “length”, but together they are not modifying anything else, so no hyphen should appear between “arm’s” and “length”.

In contrast, a hyphen does belong in a phrase such as “arm’s-length transaction”.

Solution:
“… separate business at arm’s length from …”