My all-time favourite worst-line-ever in a proposal (ignoring those involving proofreading errors) was in an Executive Summary that I reviewed in my purchasing days, which stated:

This is described in more detail in our quality assurance procedures, which may or may not be included later in this proposal.

As an example of breaching the rule that a good proposal should ‘read with one voice’ - in terms of both the style and substance of the content – this must take some beating.  

I was reminded of this a few days ago when I came across two of the most incongruous lines I’ve encountered in a long time, within the space of a couple of hours. First, an announcement over the tannoy by the staff on Durham railway station, as my early-morning train to London pulled in:

“There are no reservations on this train. This is because of earlier flooding.”

What?!

Later, I read the “Ethical Living” section in my morning Guardian, which commented:

Keeping a few geese seems to have gone a little out of fashion, which is perhaps surprising…

A little? Surprising?