Scary English

I'm starting a new project on this blog. I'm going to start cutting and pasting some of the more grammatically notable listings I find on Craigs List and eBay.

Here's an actual listing I found yesterday on Craig's List:

96 chevy tahoe

Reply to: xxxxxxxxxxxx@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-03-13, 5:28PM

96 chevy tahoe dark blue, 153k miles wrecked on the front right side, wiring needs to be rewired to the tps system, stern collar needs to be replaced single mom cant afford to fix AS IS VORTEC ENGINE, NEW AIR COMPRESSOR, FUEL PUMP, TPS SENSOR, POWER STERN PUMP ALL THESE ITEMS ARE NEW ENGINE USED BUT REPLACED.

• Location: huntsville alabama
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Original URL:http://huntsville.craigslist.org/cto/1073813040.html

Any idea what's wrong with this truck?

Based on the assumption that "power stern pump" means "power steering pump," I'm just guessing that a "stern collar" might be a "steering column," although I cannot imagine why a steering column would ever need to be replaced - unless this truck is totaled. Maybe the seller is just referring to the plastic trim? Not everything is spelled the way it sounds, especially when you hear it pronounced with a heavy accent. . .

Again I'm just guessing, but my guess is that this truck has a new A/C compressor on it. I've never seen a passenger vehicle with an "air compressor" on it, but the listing clearly says that this Tahoe has one. This is why lawyers get paid to write contracts.

Next up: How do YOU spell "solenoid?" A collection of bad guesses and worse typing.