Just posted the below to a blindness-related buy/sell/trade list. People were asking to see it, so here it is…

Hi,

Sorry, this is bugging me a little, and I’d really like for people to put their best foot forward. Like it or not, people judge you by the words you use, so it’s probably a good idea to use the right ones, so people don’t misjudge you.

If you’re selling something, that item is “for sale”. That’s s-a-l-e. You may have something to sell, that’s s-e-l-l, and the item you’d like to sell is for sale, that’s s-a-l-e. Of course, you can have a boat for s-a-i-l (well,OK, s-a-i-l-i-n-g, but only if it doesn’t have a motor).

So, I’d like to sail my boat, which I’d like to sell, and I’ll have it for sale at the end of its sailing voyage, but the sail is not included in the sale, sorry. This should make its selling price lower than if I included the sail in the sale. Confused yet? Isn’t English wonderful?