Oblivious to His Error

Now drift over to the image at the top right. I’m going to put you on the spot: Can you spot the words that aren’t in the right spot? Go on — give it the old college try. (1)

When paragraphs, words or even letters are, like a vending machine at a fleabag motel, out of order, meaning is lost. It might as well have its picture posted on telephone poles around town. (2)

Don’t be that guy. Nobody likes him; he makes everyone uncomfortable. Put him in his place. While you’re at it, put college in its place. That’d make me happy. My disposition improves when positioning improves. (3)

Today’s post will be presented in such a way that the lead, like a Mob-hit corpse, will be buried. It’s part of my plan to show that all elements must be in their proper place. Otherwise, confusion reigns. (4)

Did you guess college and among? Spot on! In this example of “disorderly conduct,” college and among have been transposed. This simple swap has created an unpleasing arrangement of parts. Harmony is lost. The sentence no longer makes sense. It’s your drunken uncle at Christmas. (5)

There is a place for everything, and everything in its place. The calm comes before the storm. The Prisoner of Azkaban comes after The Chamber of Secrets. Appetizers come ahead of the main course. You try something, and then you knock it. Looking comes before leaping. Autumn follows summer. First comes love, then comes marriage. The wedding precedes the honeymoon. The chicken comes before the egg … or maybe not. I’m not so sure about that last one. But you catch my drift. (6)

Editor’s note: To make sense of today’s post, read the paragraphs in the following sequence: 4-2-6-1-5-3. That’s an order!