Ads, ads, ads.

Are there no English majors in advertising agencies?

“All of our wines are on sale. Save 30% off when you buy six or more.”

I hear this one all the time.

Do we need to say “off”? I mean, isn’t “save” covering that concept? It would be better to say, “Save 30% on purchases of six or more.” Or even, “You’ll get 30% off when you buy six or more.” But, you simply can’t save 30% off.

Emphasis clearly trumps correct usage and leads to stupidity — panders to stupidity.

Another one: “Apply for your loan by calling us today. Not all applicants may qualify.”

Just what is this company trying to say? How about, “Some applicants may not qualify.” I guess I’m assuming these folks want to be extra polite, and not discourage people from applying. Hence they feel the need to use the word “may” and avoid the word “will.”

Wouldn’t it just be simpler to say, “Not all applicants will qualify.”

For the first couple years of Twitter’s existence, when someone posted a message on Twitter, they were said to have “tweeted.” I’ve never been a huge fan. But, that verb worked for me.

It is amazing how fast things change in this new world. It is amazing how new terms get adopted. Finally, it is amazing that the adoption of new terms starts with media folks who are lazy, misinformed, uninformed, stupid, and in spite of their livelihoods, think little about language.

Here’s the beef: Seems few are saying “tweeted” these days. The new term for “tweeted” is “tweeted OUT.” It sounds stupid. It is unnecessary. But, it is the thing now. What does appending the word “out” to this term add?