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Serial Killers Don’t Murder Cereals
Posted by Editormum on Friday, 8 August 2003 in Usage and Diction | ∞
A cereal killer would be someone who takes the life out of your bowl of porridge. A serial killer, on the other hand, is someone who makes a habit of taking the lives of others according to a pattern.
Cereal, you see, is a noun meaning a type of grain product. In Europe, it can mean any of a number of grain dishes, whole grain or processed, ready-to-eat or processed for cooking. In America, most people will think of ready-to-eat, cold breakfast-type grain products if you ask for “cereal.”
Serial, on the other hand, is an adjective meaning “in a series or sequence.”
So, you may eat your cereals serially, but you cannot be a cereal killer — unless it’s murder to eat your Wheaties.
3 Comments
Crabby loved this!!!! Everyday she sees blogs that she wants to send over your way!!!!
Your, You’re, and liable, likely and more annoyances
I am a grammar freak! I may not be perfect, but even when I am posting a quick comment or an article, I have found myself grabbing my dictionary to make sure my spelling and grammar are correct. I feel it truly does make a big difference. I drive all of my staff crazy at my animal hospital because if you are in a certain profession, such as mine (vet med) if you can’t spell diarrhea or vomiting, or any medication correctly, how will anyone take you seriously as a professional?? Maybe I just have an OCB!!
I agree with SpitFire. I’ve seen medical mistakes on my chart very similar to the serial/cereal killer problem.
In fact, I wouldn’t trust those doctors to know where my vital organs are; I’m thinking of changing doctors for just that reason. (You’d think a medical professional would know the only functional kidney I have left is the transplant, just as you’d think the people who take my medical history would at least document what I told them accurately. But I’ve seen both mistakes made in my time.)