For those of you who have less than perfect eyesight, what it actually says is "Let Christmas Joy befall you."
Befall? Befall? I have only ever heard the word used in a negative context as in "Let no harm befall you", so off I went to my trusty friend Webster.
And true enough, he says: to happen especially as if by fate
So now we are fated to have the joy of Christmas? It's not by choice? Oh dear, this absolutely throws a spanner in the works.
Grr.. I wonder who the advertising agency is who
a) came up with the idea or
b)didn't have the sense to advise their client on language usage.
Maybe it's time to buy them both a good Webster's dictionary. Or the way I feel right now, to throw it at their heads.
4 comments:
shouldnt surprise you nal...singaporeans and their english!
'singapore idol'.
why cannot make it 'singaporean idol' waaaan. we so special mehhhhh?
u should check out this site - www.engrish.com
hilarious how many goof ups are around us!
William Blake begs to differ.
i am dying without internet access 8 to 5.
HELP!!!!!!!!!
Nath, welcome and thanks for the comment.
I have never read that poem by Blake, although you must agree that language has morphed quite a bit since then. If they were indeed misquoting Blake in this ad, it might have served them well to make a reference to the original work, me thinks.
Reminds me of Jane Austen's use of the phrase "make violent love" in Emma, where contrary to our modern understanding, she was actually referring to a woman being verbally wooed against her will.
Now I wonder if the mall with get away with saying "Make violent love to your lady this Valentine's Day"
Thanks for making me think about this a bit more, Nath.
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