Dear America,
It is with regret that I must inform you that you have been using an incorrect spelling for some time now. The word is “saving”, not “savings”, “a savings” or other variances thereof.
People who know me know that I will generally defend Americanisms and Americani[sz]ation of the English language. After all, all languages undergo changes over time, and substituting a “z” for an “s” in every other word won’t actually result in the death of many kittens. But baby kittens do die every time someone talks about “a savings of 29.95″. It’s “a saving of” and “Daylight Saving Time”, not “a savings of” and never ever “Daylight Savings Time”. It is appropriate to use “a savings account” (since one has multiple savings in such a container), however, but don’t worry yourselves about that until you start persistently getting the first usage right in everyday situations.
I don’t expect the US to learn how to spell overnight, but if I see one more commercial today getting this wrong, I’m going to go nuts. The (commercial) TV has, therefore, been turned off for the evening.
Jon.
A savings, a savings, a savings!!!!
a savings, A savings A SAVINGS !!!
Kittens also die when you use an inches symbol — ″ — instead of a right double quotation mark — ”.
By Grabthar’s hammer… what a savings.