So if you have or know a kid who is about to quit school or college or an Etsy artist or seller who is going to carve or burn something withought a dictionary handy well here is the sign for him or her or them or shim.
There are so many things wrong with this I have to assume it’s on purpose…no way could someone get the comma placement wrong, and both pronouns without meaning to.
This is a good sign for the seller to give to his or her own progeny as proof that edimification is a good thing because it’s easy to tell when you ain’t got none but still insist on making signs for sale anyway!
(And I tried, I really did, to put incorrect punctuation and spelling in there, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, even snarkily. Apparently my hatred of written ignorance is bone-deep.)1
I did some Googling because I wasn’t sure that John Wayne ever DID say this particular quote. A few places mention he said it as Sgt Stryker in “Sands of Iwo Jima”, but if that was the case, then his character said it, not HIM (I’m a nitpicky bitch that way).
I found where it was discussed on snopes Urban Legend message board- (being an active snopester, I believe them).
College education doesn’t guarantee graduates can tell their from there and you’re from your… I hired a “communications” major whose emails were always wrong. I eventually told him to avoid using those words. He wouldn’t learn and said it didn’t really matter anyway. Fortunately he’s moved on.
(I ask for written responses to some interview questions now so we can view handwriting, punctuation, and grammar.)
Two independent clauses do not a meaningful sign make:
LIFE IS TOUGH BUT
ITS TOUGHER IF YOUR STUPID
Did he misspell “butt”? “LIFE IS TOUGH BUTT” is not unlike “Life is a bitch”.
“ITS TOUGHER IF YOUR STUPID” has two possessive pronouns and a predicative “IF”. So the mysterious “IT” has a thing which is “TOUGHER” than something (but what?) and will only come into play “IF YOUR STUPID”… My stupid what? How tough is this going to get if my thing is stupid?
This John Wayne quote on a sign by this seller would be the perfect blend of bigotry and bad grammar.
“I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”
Maybe the artist spelled it exactly as John Wayne said it? Sometimes, when you listen very carefully, you can hear my brother misspelling things when he speaks.
“The capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge.”
“Your wrong.”
“I think you meant to say “You’re”.”
And then he hits me.
This sign came along at just the right time. As it would happen, I WAS just about to drop out of grad school. This sign has convinced me otherwise. High five seller, you’re lacke of lyfe skillz has made me feel good enough about myself to continue.
Several years ago my sister gave me a mouse pad printed with the text, “Everyone is entitled to be stupid but your abusing the privilege.” I wonder if this seller also made that mouse pad?
May 13, 2010 at 9:33 am
My stupid? What did my stupid do now?
May 13, 2010 at 9:35 am
Know sine is to dum. A *sighn* of the times.
May 13, 2010 at 9:35 am
Oh bless “they’re” heart…”there” really that stupid.
I bet John Wayne would’ve gotten that right.
May 13, 2010 at 9:35 am
*snerk
May 13, 2010 at 9:35 am
If I were the seller, I’d rebrand it as intentionally ironic and market to hipsters.
(anyone else think the wood makes the comma look like a semi-colon?)
May 13, 2010 at 9:36 am
Apparently, proper punctuation is really tough, too.
May 13, 2010 at 9:37 am
So if you have or know a kid who is about to quit school or college or an Etsy artist or seller who is going to carve or burn something withought a dictionary handy well here is the sign for him or her or them or shim.
May 13, 2010 at 9:37 am
One of my submissions made it!
There is so much to love about this piece. The message is so powerful, yet so simple.
May 13, 2010 at 9:37 am
Hopefully, the kid who is about to quit college will read the sign, take it out of the seller’s hands and whack him across the face with it.
May 13, 2010 at 9:38 am
Your right…my left?
May 13, 2010 at 9:38 am
John Wayne has rolled in his grave.
May 13, 2010 at 9:38 am
I thought it was a semi-colon…. hmmm
May 13, 2010 at 9:38 am
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
May 13, 2010 at 9:38 am
It’s actually very fitting. If you are stupid “your stupid” will always reveal itself. Do you think there is any chance it’s supposed to be ironic?
May 13, 2010 at 9:39 am
I am so glad that using the wrong form of words (one of my personal favorite pet peeves) inspires rage and snarkiness in others as well!
As far as the sign goes, I really want two go too etsy.com and order to of them.
May 13, 2010 at 9:40 am
If ‘your stupid’ what? Is there a follow-up sign? I need to know what to teach my Stupid not to do to keep it from making life tougher!
May 13, 2010 at 9:40 am
At least it’s not a tattoo. This can be used multipurpose as firewood.
May 13, 2010 at 9:41 am
I prefer the motto “No Brains, No Headaches”.
May 13, 2010 at 9:41 am
Turn the plaque around so I can read the ending…
May 13, 2010 at 9:41 am
This makes the grammar nazi in me cringe.
May 13, 2010 at 9:42 am
Your stupid what….. child, dog, wife, truck? You need to be more pacific.
May 13, 2010 at 9:42 am
There are so many things wrong with this I have to assume it’s on purpose…no way could someone get the comma placement wrong, and both pronouns without meaning to.
Right? Right?!
May 13, 2010 at 9:42 am
follow-up sign: “your stupid… causes you to make a retardsy sign like this one”
May 13, 2010 at 9:43 am
“A man out to dow hat he thniks is rite”
May 13, 2010 at 9:44 am
derp derp derp
May 13, 2010 at 9:45 am
This one is just too easy.
May 13, 2010 at 9:47 am
@DTKMK it’s not even in the right place for a comma, but for a semi-colon it’s even more WTF?!
May 13, 2010 at 9:50 am
Quick notation: As they recommend to give this sign to someone thinking about dropping out of school…you could always be a seller on Etsy!
Credentials are counting here I think.
May 13, 2010 at 9:50 am
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
–Forrest Gump
May 13, 2010 at 9:53 am
This is a good sign for the seller to give to his or her own progeny as proof that edimification is a good thing because it’s easy to tell when you ain’t got none but still insist on making signs for sale anyway!
(And I tried, I really did, to put incorrect punctuation and spelling in there, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, even snarkily. Apparently my hatred of written ignorance is bone-deep.)1
May 13, 2010 at 9:53 am
2 stupid.
May 13, 2010 at 9:58 am
Hey, at least they didn’t spell it as “ur stupid’!
May 13, 2010 at 9:58 am
Can I use this sign to slap the stupid out of the person who made it?
May 13, 2010 at 10:01 am
Oh when will they make chisels with spellcheck?! Why is technology so slow???
May 13, 2010 at 10:02 am
The seller says he signed & stamped on the back.
I’d like to stamp on it, too!
May 13, 2010 at 10:06 am
http://www.etsy.com/listing/39138164/genius-at-work-engraved-wood-sign?ref=v1_other_2
May 13, 2010 at 10:09 am
#36 Sharon Dixon-Parks: Ah haha! And they managed to spell it right in the title, too. WTF!
May 13, 2010 at 10:09 am
Big deal, he forgot a couple of apostrophes and an E, as John Wayne would say, “Quityerbellachin!”
May 13, 2010 at 10:11 am
I wonder if he has any “LEARN TO READ” signs?
May 13, 2010 at 10:16 am
It needs more spelling errors. Then it would make a nice companion t-shirt for Know question…”
May 13, 2010 at 10:18 am
holee krap…it suld.
May 13, 2010 at 10:18 am
this sign coulda been a great ideal
May 13, 2010 at 10:34 am
He obviously has an allergic reaction to apostrophes.
May 13, 2010 at 10:36 am
It sherr is. Someone take the hot tool away from that that person.
May 13, 2010 at 10:38 am
First of all… he’s the Duke, not “the duke”.
John Wayne wouldn’t have stood for this kind of slipshod “artistry”!
(I’m not even going to comment on “genious at work”. It made my head hurt)
May 13, 2010 at 10:46 am
Well, this explains it:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/29302418/my-boss-is-the-problem-engraved-painted
May 13, 2010 at 10:49 am
Know plack is two dum…
May 13, 2010 at 10:49 am
Rest assured that the sign will have its intended effect – tho not in the intended way. Saruhndippiteh?
May 13, 2010 at 11:00 am
uhh…
http://www.etsy.com/listing/30494726/nice-plaque-states-no-soliciting-except
May 13, 2010 at 11:13 am
I did some Googling because I wasn’t sure that John Wayne ever DID say this particular quote. A few places mention he said it as Sgt Stryker in “Sands of Iwo Jima”, but if that was the case, then his character said it, not HIM (I’m a nitpicky bitch that way).
I found where it was discussed on snopes Urban Legend message board- (being an active snopester, I believe them).
http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=26553
May 13, 2010 at 11:18 am
…because youve earned it…
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx220/coolpauper/Trophy.jpg
May 13, 2010 at 11:32 am
“In the end, the stupid you take is equal to the stupid you give.” –The Beatles
May 13, 2010 at 11:46 am
Eye saw this sine ant tit opined up mai I’s.
Life is tough
But; it’s tougher if your stupid
wood burner’s grammar check’s off
and you’re dukey’s poopéd.
word.
Don’t quit the college well. Quit it bad.
May 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Know, your stoopid.
May 13, 2010 at 12:02 pm
uhh… whoops! (at least I’m going to assume the giant swastika was unintentional)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/45401097/large-aggravation-board-game-with
May 13, 2010 at 12:04 pm
College education doesn’t guarantee graduates can tell their from there and you’re from your… I hired a “communications” major whose emails were always wrong. I eventually told him to avoid using those words. He wouldn’t learn and said it didn’t really matter anyway. Fortunately he’s moved on.
(I ask for written responses to some interview questions now so we can view handwriting, punctuation, and grammar.)
In any case, I love this sign. It says so much.
May 13, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Two independent clauses do not a meaningful sign make:
LIFE IS TOUGH BUT
ITS TOUGHER IF YOUR STUPID
Did he misspell “butt”? “LIFE IS TOUGH BUTT” is not unlike “Life is a bitch”.
“ITS TOUGHER IF YOUR STUPID” has two possessive pronouns and a predicative “IF”. So the mysterious “IT” has a thing which is “TOUGHER” than something (but what?) and will only come into play “IF YOUR STUPID”… My stupid what? How tough is this going to get if my thing is stupid?
May 13, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Life is tough but; its tougher if your stupid ass doesn’t go back to school!!!
May 13, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Here’s a sign idea:
SALES ARE TOUGH
BUT THEY’RE TOUGHER
IF YOU FUCKED AROUND IN ENGLISH CLASS
May 13, 2010 at 12:12 pm
I’m thinking this is less of a semi colon
and more of a BOWEL MOVEMENT… FAIL!!
May 13, 2010 at 12:39 pm
This John Wayne quote on a sign by this seller would be the perfect blend of bigotry and bad grammar.
“I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”
May 13, 2010 at 12:39 pm
May 13, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Suda – lovin Nipsey CLASSIC!!
May 13, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Just dumb people trying to act smart is all it is. Everyone knows that shit is spelled yore. He misspelled tuff too by they way.
May 13, 2010 at 1:03 pm
I always felt the opposite is true, but maybe I’m just a little cynical these days.
May 13, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Great sign to have in your class if you teach English.
May 13, 2010 at 1:10 pm
#65, lol, so true! Stupidity is bliss. Imma gonna quit werkin’ for the man and get me some gubmint entitlements.
This craft would be better if they hung beer cans from it to make it a multipurpose wind-chime.
May 13, 2010 at 1:13 pm
#65 I’m wit cha’ on that SpareGus.Sew troo.
Now how in the hell did we all miss the ‘No Coffee No Workee’ sign? I mean in light of recent grounds breaking history in Boston …..
May 13, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Skully bwahahah .
Since Mr. Wayne said’I'm the stuff men are made of’ I hope he is rolling over in his grave holding a
stuffed uterus .’Bout right.
May 13, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Maybe the artist spelled it exactly as John Wayne said it? Sometimes, when you listen very carefully, you can hear my brother misspelling things when he speaks.
“The capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge.”
“Your wrong.”
“I think you meant to say “You’re”.”
And then he hits me.
May 13, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Tbanks, Hamoza, I stole that from my favorite mailbag:
http://www.regretsy.com/2009/12/02/from-the-mailbag-6/
May 13, 2010 at 1:54 pm
@69 The stuff of which men are made. Mr. Wayne deserves a little grave-spin for ending a sentence with a preposition!
May 13, 2010 at 2:04 pm
The problem is, stupid people are the last to know that they are stupid.
May 13, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Wow, there is just stupid all over the place there. This might be my current favorite (and not just because “You’re my Best Friend” is playing while I type this.) http://www.etsy.com/listing/38733372/best-friend-wood-sign-engraved-hand-made?ref=v1_other_2
But the Don’t Tread On Me Bear sign should totally win the award for misunderstanding the point. (there is an award for that, right?)
May 13, 2010 at 2:16 pm
@Snarkoleptic, I agree…wait.
@Skully, perfect!
May 13, 2010 at 2:18 pm
This sign will only effective as a paddle.
May 13, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Why the hell is there a semicolon after “but” they don’t use any other punctuation why through in a semicolon?
May 13, 2010 at 2:47 pm
#77 Susan :
It wasn’t a full “butt” so he used a semi-colon.
May 13, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Better to be thought stupid than to make a sign and remove all doubt.
May 13, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Wait – Edward Kennedy Ellington and John Wayne are the same person?
May 13, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Life is tough, but it’s tougher if your stupid was engraved into wood the other day.
May 13, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Aaaaand here’s your sign.
May 13, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Skully, your awesome! (sic)
Here’s my sign:
http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af28/sunshynegrll/plaque.jpg
May 14, 2010 at 9:39 am
@36 – Pure genious.
May 14, 2010 at 9:59 am
I’m thinking the seller speaks from experience.
May 14, 2010 at 11:46 am
This sign came along at just the right time. As it would happen, I WAS just about to drop out of grad school. This sign has convinced me otherwise. High five seller, you’re lacke of lyfe skillz has made me feel good enough about myself to continue.
May 15, 2010 at 5:31 am
Seller wants to know why this item has so many views http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6521546
July 6, 2010 at 7:11 pm
bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
July 30, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Several years ago my sister gave me a mouse pad printed with the text, “Everyone is entitled to be stupid but your abusing the privilege.” I wonder if this seller also made that mouse pad?