Sara writes:
My husband took me to a quaint bed and breakfast in Michigan, but it was hard to relax because I was so distracted by all the apostrophe abuse!!
The next visitor should bring some wood filler and fix those mistakes!
Rick writes:
This is the Activity Office at a local high school in the Minneapolis area. I’m surprised no English teachers have complained yet.
Ouch — abuse hurts so much more when it’s at an educational facility!
Joel submits:
I saw this sign at Tesco in Loudwater, Buckinghamshire today and thought it would amuse/horrify you, as it did me. If this represents the business community’s grasp of grammar and punctuation, we’re all doomed!
Seabrooke writes:
I came down with a cold this week, and in doing some research on just what the rate of sinus mucus production really is (’cause it seems to my poor nose like a quart a day), I stumbled across this seasonally-appropriate cartoon. Unless “Nose-Is-Running” is a new Native American-style name for the latest flu virus (probably the one I’ve caught!)…
Rob writes:
I snapped this one outside my local shopping centre in southeast London last night. The full message reads “Late-night shopping on Thursday’s until 8” and scrolls continuously over the main entrance. You can see it from a good way away…
Lara writes:
The attached photo is of the readout at a Chevron station near the University of Texas campus. I noticed it a while back but only remembered to bring my camera with me this week.
“Sorry No Bill is Over $20.00?” That’s not true at all, I’ve seen $50 bills once or twice.
Both of these are from Jeffrey in San Antonio:
First up… Breakfast Taco’s!
Fairly new restaurant trying to attract new customers. Haven’t tried the food, but I may visit to see if there are other apostrophes floating around.
Next, the oft-debated “apostrophe after a plural number”…
Found this at a San Antonio Taco Bell. It is some contest where customers call a phone number to answer some survey questions, rating the “restaurant” from 1 to 7. If I called, it would get a 5.
Another example from Jorah…
…The Crip may have something to say about that.
This example of abuse comes from Jorah, who
found this one in south Charlotte, NC, around Thanksgiving:
Ross writes:
Spotted this the other day at a cultural institution in New York City. I can’t be more specific without getting in trouble. Thought you’d appreciate the thought that went into putting the apostrophe in the wrong place. Surely it couldn’t be “Ladies'”?
I like the random capitalization and punctuation. (And, how on earth would Ross “get in trouble” for describing where he took this picture?)