GUEST POST: The many sides of Deven

Here's a special shout out to my friend Deven for not one, but two -- count 'em two -- submissions.  (Be sure to check out his delicious food blog at hungrytigernyc.com -- and if you live in New York City, sign up for one of his Grub Crawls.)  Plus he also has taken the challenge into a whole new direction by sending me screen shots of text messages from his iPhone (how new millennium of him!)

DEVON

Since HALF-BINGOS are only for SHERYL, both of these entries technically fall into my category of being a NO CIGAR, that is they're only one letter off from being a correct spelling.

DEVIN

And here's a little gentle reminder to join the Cheryl Revolution and send me misspellings of your name or, if you're game, be bold and proudly tell them your name is Cheryl.  [Any guys confident enough to do this will receive plus ten (+10) style points.)

+ = two no cigar awards

And in case you don't get the visual reference for this award, it's Dirk Benedict as Lieutenant Starbuck (how appropriate for this blog, huh?) from the original "Battlestar Galactica."

Two Halves Does Not Make a Whole --

-- at least when we're talking about the rules of this blog experiment.  As just a little reminder, although Sheryl is technically a correct spelling, it's only considered a HALF-BINGO, because it's not how I spell my name (Sorry, Sheryl Crow).

First, here's my own entry from my local Starbucks.  Though this isn't the best penmanship in Southern California, I do like the way the R and the Y are hooked together as one hybrid letter.  So I'm going to award this cashier plus one style point (+1) for creativity -- and I really needed my venti Americano this morning, so I'm feeling a little generous with the style points.

And here's the second part of this special two-parter, which is from my friend Tina who was visiting SoCal and her Aunt, who just happens to be named Cheryl.

They were in the weeds at McDonald's, so they took names and brought food out to the tables.  Although this is a HALF-BINGO, I'm going to have to deduct negative one (-1) style points on this one because of the decisive, heavy block letters -- they were just so sure of themselves.

In case I haven't schooled you enough today, here's some blog math for you:  two halves does not equal a whole; and (+1) style point + (-1) styles point = (0) {zero/nil/nada/zippo} style points overall.

+   = not a bingo

GUEST POST: It doesn't sound or look ANYTHING like that!

My friend Fiona jumped on my mistaken identity blog almost immediately.  However, she says the cashier's at her local Starbucks are on it, and although she has a moniker that could be a potential landmine,  (Feeohna, Feeona, Feaonah) they are well-trained in how to spell her name.  But lucky for me, it seems that courtesy doesn't extend to anyone else.  Fiona and her friend took a little java break together today.  You can see they got Fiona correct (abet with a very funky looking A), but when her friend picked up her skim venti latte, they were waaaaay off.  From the spellling LOREE, I would have guessed her bud was named LORI, but nooooo.....

LOREE???  Wha???

Her friend is named FLORICA!  I sympathize with the fact that Florica is a very unique name, but they're missing at least one syllable and the FL sound at the beginning!

This spelling prompts a new official award for this blog.  I'm going to call it the LEFT FIELD award, as in you're way out in left field.  In case you don't get the photographic reference below, it's Ted Williams, legendary left-fielder and Red Sox Baseball Hall of Famer.

LOREE -- first recipient of the LEFT FIELD award!

This also reminds me of an incident the other day at the 'bucks.  While I waited for my tasty beverage, the barista kept on shouting "Den!  Den!" -- but no one materialized to pick up their drink.   Every 30 seconds or so, they would again bellow "Den!  Den!"  Finally when they called my name, I saw what was CLEARLY written on the side of the cup:  DEAN, as in James Dean, Dean Cain, Howard Dean or Dean Martin.  Hope poor Dean's beverage wasn't too cold when he finally picked it up.

First Guest Submission - RYAN/RION

This is a case of  poor attention to customer service and detail.   My dear friend spells his name RION, which I believe is a more traditional Irish spelling.  According to Name Voyager, Rion has never been ranked in the top 1,000 popular names for any given year.  However, Ryan has quickly increased in popularity since the 1930's and 40's and was the 12th most popular name in 2003.  I'm a little divided on the issue.  My uncle's name is Ryan and I went to college with Ryan Murphy, the creator of the TV show "Glee" (hey Ryan, if you're out there, I have some scripts I'd love for you to read!).  But whatever the spelling, my Rion is #1 in my rankings.

I'm going to rate this one on the same scale that I rate my own name.  This is an acceptable spelling, but just not the proper spelling for the person who actually ordered the tasty beverage.   RYAN is the first official recipient of the HALF-BINGO award.

Good enough for government work, you basterd.

Join the Cheryl Revolution!

Do you have a relatively common or easy-to-spell name that gets mangled, or a more exotic name that is absolutely eviscerated every single time you order a coffee or take-out?  Snap a photo of your cup or receipt and email it to me at cheryl@igivegoodword.com and I'll post it here on this blog.

Or if you really want to get into the spirit, tell the barista or cashier your name is CHERYL and see what they come up with.

SHURL TEEGS