# In which column does Cecil humilate a grammar nazi by pointing out all her mistakes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 3, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-column-does-cecil-humilate-a-grammar-nazi-by-pointing-out-all-her-mistakes/739351 "2015-12-03T20:23:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-column-does-cecil-humilate-a-grammar-nazi-by-pointing-out-all-her-mistakes/739351/1 "2015-12-03T20:23:09Z")
I can’t seem to find it. Please help! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-column-does-cecil-humilate-a-grammar-nazi-by-pointing-out-all-her-mistakes/739351/2 "2015-12-04T01:02:38Z")
This could be the one you’re thinking of, maybe. [Are poor spellers stupid?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3019/are-poor-spellers-stupid) October 21, 2011. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-column-does-cecil-humilate-a-grammar-nazi-by-pointing-out-all-her-mistakes/739351/3 "2015-12-04T01:14:31Z")
Here’s another honorable mention – although the OQ (original question) isn’t directly about grammar or spelling, it does seem to point at the quality of some educational circles in alabama. [How do evolutionists explain the Big Bang, the fact that we haven’t seen animals evolve, etc.?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1779/how-do-evolutionists-explain-the-big-bang-the-fact-that-we-havent-seen-animals-evolve-etc) May 17, 2000. The OQ here resembles one of those thought experiments with the ten million monkeys randomly banging away at typewriters, one of whom just came _close_ to writing something intelligible. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-column-does-cecil-humilate-a-grammar-nazi-by-pointing-out-all-her-mistakes/739351/4 "2015-12-04T11:03:03Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Here’s another honorable mention – although the OQ (original question) isn’t directly about grammar or spelling, it does seem to point at the quality of some educational circles in alabama. > > [How do evolutionists explain the Big Bang, the fact that we haven’t seen animals evolve, etc.?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1779/how-do-evolutionists-explain-the-big-bang-the-fact-that-we-havent-seen-animals-evolve-etc) May 17, 2000. That wasn’t Cecil, it was a staff report. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-column-does-cecil-humilate-a-grammar-nazi-by-pointing-out-all-her-mistakes/739351/5 "2015-12-04T18:14:21Z")
[Found it!](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1123/is-acting-strangely-grammatically-incorrect) This was bugging me - I first found the same one as Senegoid, but it didn’t seem quite right. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-column-does-cecil-humilate-a-grammar-nazi-by-pointing-out-all-her-mistakes/739351/6 "2015-12-07T20:38:31Z")
That’s it Troutman. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-column-does-cecil-humilate-a-grammar-nazi-by-pointing-out-all-her-mistakes/739351/7 "2015-12-11T21:19:47Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > [Found it!](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1123/is-acting-strangely-grammatically-incorrect) This was bugging me - I first found the same one as Senegoid, but it didn’t seem quite right. Heh, it seems to me poor old Cecil was being massively “wooshed” by the letter writer … ! 😃 (Or perhaps we were). The tip off? “I am sending you a copy of this letter I wrote to [San Francisco Chronicle columnist] Herb Caen at the urging of my husband. He says only a man of your intellect and discrimination can truly appreciate all its nuances.” [Emphasis] Reads to me like the letter-writer deliberately dropped a bunch of bombs for Cecil to find. The writer isn’t actually asking any sort of question.