[LuganoPirate]

Poshgirl, as told by my father, when I was born, and in those days the husbands were not allowed to be in the room, the nurse came to announce my birth and when my father asked if it was a boy or girl replied, “I’ll give you three guesses”!

[icenspice]

Does

‘Happy Hour
18:00-20:00’

count?

I had no idea what a pleonasm was ?

[IanFromHKG]

ATM machines (the M stands for machine)

My pet peeve – people who can’t tell when to use “fewer” and when to use “less”. Hong Kong is littered (pun intended) with signs encouraging people to “Use less plastic bags” (cringe). While we’re at it, don’t get me started on “I/me” or “he/she/him/her”!

[Ahmad]

There is also the issue of literal translation which doesn’t come out quite as intended. A signboard in Cairo (name changed):

Dr Ezzat Ebrahim
MD, JD, Diplo. OB/GYN
Specializing in Women and other Diseases

[K1ngston]

+1 Ahmad 🙂

[capetonianm]

If we’re on to that :
“Gentlemen are advised not to engage the services of lady solicitors in the street.”
and
“In the case of a fire, guests should evacuate themselves in the corridor.”

Both are grammatically perfectly correct!

[stevescoots]

[quote quote=803162]ATM machines (the M stands for machine)

My pet peeve – people who can’t tell when to use “fewer” and when to use “less”. Hong Kong is littered (pun intended) with signs encouraging people to “Use less plastic bags” (cringe). While we’re at it, don’t get me started on “I/me” or “he/she/him/her”!

[/quote]

The the level of English in Hk will soon be down to the same as the mainland, next they will be using times new roman font everywhere too!

[Ahmad]

Anything wrong with times new roman font? I happen to like it!

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=802778]SAA always used to announce :
“This is the last call for the three passengers delaying flight SA314 to board immediately through gate 6”
Five minutes later you’d hear :
“This is the last and final call for the three passengers delaying flight SA314 to board immediately through gate 6”
Which would be followed by :
“This is absolutely the last and final call for the three passengers delaying flight SA314 to board immediately through gate 6”

[/quote]

I’ve heard this elsewhere, followed by the ludicrously illogical sentence….

“Passengers X, Y andZ, please go immediately to gate XX, where you flight is fully boarded and waiting an ontime departure”.

If it is fully boarded, how are they gonna fit the extra pax on?

[GivingupBA]

One of my favourites is the reported sign in Moscow, “If this is your first visit to Moscow, you are welcome to it”.

[CathayLoyalist2]

It intrigues me when you get the occasional, thankfully, report of two aircraft involved in a “near miss”. A logical extension of that is they actually hit each other!. Maybe it should be renamed a “near hit”

[esselle]

There used to be a roadside sign which proclaimed “Welcome to the Isle of Dogs”.

Somebody had spray painted the word “You’re” in front of the sentence.

[CathayLoyalist2]

An instruction on a jam jar lid “Press Down and Push Off”

[CathayLoyalist2]

…not to mention the sign in the locker room of a Golf Club – “Members are kindly reminded to wash their balls in the sinks provided and not on the floor”. The mind boggles!!

[LuganoPirate]

[quote quote=803291]…not to mention the sign in the locker room of a Golf Club – “Members are kindly reminded to wash their balls in the sinks provided and not on the floor”. The mind boggles!!

[/quote]

CathyLoyalist +1 😉

[Author]

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