“Don’t let this guy anywhere near your home, or for that matter, your remote control!”
Does that sentence bother anyone but me?
The phrasing just seems awkward.
I guess if it’s a direct quote, it would have to be left that way, but if it were scripted (and because I’m an anal English major:)), I’d put a period where that first comma is and leave off the rest.
How would you guys phrase it?
Thanks
Q
That commercial never seemed off to me.
But I got a real issue with the one about the painters where one steps in the red paint.
Three painters start. First day, one steps in red paint. Other two laugh at him & he storms out, leaving red footprints…
“They may have finished on time & budget, but they’re far from true professionals.”
Listen, jerkwad- if they finished on time & budget after losing one-third of their crew & the time it took to clean the red prints, that sounds like damn fine professionals to me!
I agree FriarTed. That’s exactly what I thought. Sounds like the person they’re quoting has a bug up the butt.
I don’t think the commercial ever actually says they do clean up the foot prints, or for that matter if the prints were left on anything but drop cloths.
As for the OP’s example, the sentence stands out because it is in the wrong order. It should be specific first, then the general: “Don’t let this guy anywhere near your remote control, or for that matter, your home!” Because if you don’t let him near your home, then the remote is not an issue. But if you first warn to keep the remote away from him, the follow-up to just generally keep him away from the house it is mildly humorous.
I doubt it’s a real quote, and it bothers me because it’s not funny. It’s also redundant because if you’re not letting the guy in your house, he is obviously not going to get anywhere near your TV remote. The “or for that matter” construction should be used to broaden the statement, not narrow it: ‘Don’t let this guy anywhere near your remote control, or for that matter, your home!’ The problem is that in a punchline, you put the funny part at the end.
As long as we’re on the subject, how are you supposed to stop the repair guy from getting anywhere near your home? You can keep him from getting into your home by not hiring him, but if your neighbor hires him, he’s not your problem.
On first glance it does sound like the two thoughts could be split up, but is “Or for that matter, your remote control!” a sentence fragment?
The commercial clearly shows him tracking the paint across a hardware floor, no dropcloths. That’s not a big deal, since it’s an easy cleanup if you get to it right away, but if a painter tracked paint across a carpet in my house, I’d never hire him again, even if he did clean it.
To me, its the tracking that’s an issue - as soon as you realize you’ve got paint on your shoes, you stop & remove them, you don’t just keep walking.
marley23,
Because it begins with a conjunction, I believe this is a sentence fragment. It cannot stand alone which makes it clause dependent. It would need an independent clause attached.
However, beginning complete sentences with a conjunction isn’t as frowned upon as it once was, IMO.
Thanks
Q
How about the one with the dentist who does work in his kitchen? Aren’t there safety standards? Can you really do that?
(Or am I off base here?)
-D/a?
The Red Paint commercial bugs me because it starts out by saying something like “If you hire xxx’s painting you may want to consider something other than red paint.”
What the hell does paint color choice have to do with, well, anything? The whole commercial is just off.
Even without the conjunction, it would be a sentence fragment. I’m one of those people who will start a sentence with a conjunction, as doing such has been a part of the English language for quite a while, and it more clearly reflects how I speak.
In fact, I would actually say, “Don’t let this guy anywhere near your home. Or, for that matter, your remote control!” The period better indicates the comedic beat which is required for that statement to have any humor. (Humor is also probably the reason they didn’t use the more proper “let alone” construction.)