Part of being a copy editor is committing to a lifestyle of noticing words and their use. Seeing misspellings, malapropisms and other bits of language that jump out in the world around me is part of that, and I wanted to share a few items I noticed on my recent trip down the I-75 corridor.

The top item on that list involves a billboard. High-speed Internet has caught on along the highway, and dozens of hotels and restaurants tout it on their signs. Many of these long-standing signs were amended with another, smaller sign to include Internet service. One restaurant had its slogan high on a billboard, with a small sign advertising Internet access posted on the top corner. Unfortunately, it covered up two important letters:

When you’re hungry
we’re open

A good copy editor thinks with dirty parts of his mind so readers don’t end up giggling (like I did when I read this sign).

Another billboard extended warm greetings to truckers with the sign “18 Whellers Welcome”. You might think a business owner would run his message by an editor before making the letters two feet tall.

Lastly, and this is neither a misspelling or malapropism, I saw a vanity license plate that read “DUUUDE”. It just left me wondering what kind of message the driver wanted to pass on to fellow motorists. That he’s a half-wit?

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few of the coloquial highlights of my trip from the Detroit area back to St. Petersburg. Enjoy.