Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Mushroom's... Quesadilla...



Are there mushrooms in the quesadilla? Are they two separate items on the plate? Perhaps Mushroom is the the nickname of one of the chefs?

Seen at El Sabor de Oaxaca on James. The former restaurant at this location also earned an entry on Apostrophe Abuse.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Abuse at Starbucks



Spotted at Starbucks in the Smith Tower.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Abuse from David Mamet



Abuse from David Mamet, spotted over at the Huffington Post.

(Thanks, Karen!)

Thursday, March 23, 2006

For newborns with multiple personality disorder



The editors of Baby Names for Dummies probably should have checked out this book in the series before going to press.

(Thanks, Eli!)

Friday, March 17, 2006

Abuse in the hospital

Another contribution via Amber's mom:

My dad is in the hospital, and yet in the midst of it, my mom still manages to stay on the lookout for apostrophe abuse. What a trooper.



That's dedication, folks!

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Abuse via Elephant & Castle

I was offered this frequent diner card at the Elephant & Castle on Fifth:


...upon closer inspection:

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Apostrophe Abuse: Usability Problem?

David Burrowes on apostrophe abuse and parallels in software development:

Usually, when people criticise the abuse of the apostrophe, they seem to have the attitude that the abusers are somehow ignorant, uneducated, or just incompetent.

Perhaps they are.

Yet, as I read through this blog, I realized that this attitude sounds very similar to the attitude of some software creators: "That user isn't smart enough to use my software!" In the usability field, we see this kind of thing as a problem of the design of the technology, not of the users.

From this viewpoint, the misuse only indicates that there is a usability problem in the written language.


(Link)

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Ice Cream Topping's



Spotted at Larry's Market on Aurora.


Someone (the contributor, perhaps?) scratched out the apostrophe and added, "It's not possessive!" to the sign.

(Thanks, Abbie!)

Monday, March 06, 2006

Apostrophe Abuse at BoingBoing



"LA Time's"? Ouch.

Could I get an extra olive instead of that apostrophe?



Seen at Lombardi's in Ballard. Strange that they didn't deem it necessary to add an apostrophe on the line just above it.

Also, I appreciate these restaurants that make their menus available online -- camera phones don't always take the best pictures in low-light situations. ;)

Friday, March 03, 2006

Exam body declares war on greengrocer's apostrophe

From EducationGuardian.co.uk:

"Exams chiefs have unveiled plans to stop pupils getting good GCSE grades if they use apostrophes incorrectly or put commas in the wrong place."

(Link)