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Struck dumb by bedlinen
by loiswakeman @ 13 Oct. 2006 - 15:51:02

"...discover our blissful flannel linen. Soft and warm to the touch, gorgeous brushed cotton. Utterly cosy. Combined with a Polar Fleece Blanket, the effect is unspeakable." - promotional email from The White Company

Just one word that entirely changes the mood, and is the antithesis of what was meant. Perhaps they thought that "unspeakable" is commonly taken to mean "rendered speechless with joy" rather than "too utterly horrible to put into words". Knowing the dictionary definition is not always enough!

Another tip for successful writing: run your words past someone else if you can, in the hope that they will catch unfortunate mistakes like this.

Related link: http://www.thewhitecompany.com/

2 comments | Permalink | Recommend this post
Tags: email, english, inappropriate language, marketing, media, proofreading,

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Mike Bradley [Visitor]
http://www.blog.co.uk/htsrv/trackback3.php/1217579/1a2b7
10/01/07 @ 11:43

Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

The Bible, I Peter ch. 1, v. 7

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loiswakemanloiswakeman [Member]
http://lois.co.uk
10/01/07 @ 12:20

I am well aware of the literal meaning - but one has to take acount of common parlance, especially given the gnat's attention span of the average punter!

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