The pickup artist

February 17, 2012 by The Sonia Show 1 Comment

Yeah, so, in my office I’m the grammar geek.

As the content editor, it’s my job to make sure that everything on the website is correct. No spelling errors, proper punctuation, etc. In other words, I’m an annoying pain in the ass. I’m not really a know-it-all. I know some awesome, super-smart copy editors. I’m not one of them. I’m just really good at looking things up.

A designer shared with me a graphic he is working on for a sign for our pickup location. The sign says, “Pickup Your Order Here. Pick-up hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.”

I had to explain the difference between “pickup” and “pick up.”

Me: The first pick up should “pick up” two words, because it’s a verb. The second one (“pick-up hours”) should be one word (“pickup hours”), because it’s an adjective.

Another coworker: “No one knows more about pickups than Sonia.”

Me: Jealous? … And that use of “pickup” is a noun so it’s one word.