[Ads-l] Humorous Serial Comma Examples =?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=94_?=Are They Genuine or Apocryphal?

[James Landau]

on  Tue, 16 Jul 2024 18:54:41 Zone - 0400  ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>wrote:

<begin quote>
James Landau wrote:
> If memory serves, McCahill later printed a letter he received,
> asking somethine like whether McCahill really intended to
> describe his wife as "heavy luggage".

James, your memory is accurate and impressive. The letter was printed
in the August 1960 issue and McCahill responded with a two word
question. Are you recalling a passage you read sixty-four years ago or
did you see this more recently?

The QI article will be updated.

Date: 1960 August
Periodical: Mechanix Illustrated,
Article: Mail For McCahill
Start Page 49, Quote Page 52, Column 1
Publisher: Fawcett Publications, Greenwich, Connecticut.
Database: Internet Archive

[Begin excerpt]
Just read your report on the '60 Olds and was struck by the statement,
"My car was loaded to the gunwales with heavy luggage, two dogs and my
wife." A series of articles in a sentence should be separated by
commas to clarify the meaning--or were you describing the heavy
luggage as being the two dogs and your wife?

Onus M. Comer
Novato, Calif.

What else?
[End excerpt]

Garson
 <end quote>
What I remembered was the letter in the August issue, it being so off-the-wall that it was unforgettable.
To the best of my recollection, I never read the article McCahill wrote about the '60 Olds, which probably is why I did not realize McCahill was the one who wrote "heavy luggage..."

James Landau
jjjrlandau at netscape.com

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