The Grocer's Apostrophe - "Reserve's"

By Perry Middlemiss on October 19, 2009 9:53 AM | 7 Comments | No TrackBacks

And it's not just the apostrophe. Why use full stops in some places but not in others?

No TrackBacks

TrackBack URL: http://www.middlemiss.org/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/263

7 Comments

genevieve | October 19, 2009 11:12 AM

HEH. There's a blog of photos like this somewhere - I subscribed for a couple of weeks but in the end I had to scratch it because it annoyed me too much.

Kerryn Goldsworthy | October 19, 2009 12:13 PM

I infer from long study of these signs that there must be a widespread perception that if a word ends in S and there is a vowel before it, then you bung in an apostrophe no matter what kind of word it is. Hence lettuce's, sausage's, tomato's etc etc. Still, I can't remember the last time I saw it used with a verb like this, vowel or no vowel.

But it's not confined to tradespersons, who at least don't use language for a living. I'm sorry to report that the most recent (and really appalling, if I remember rightly) apostrophe outrage I've seen was on a media release from a literary publisher.

Perry Middlemiss | October 19, 2009 1:18 PM

As Genevieve says it's annoying and depressing. Trouble is I'm now finding I have to walk away from an offending article, work out where the error is and go back and re-check. I almost don't trust myself to make the correct call, as these sort of things are so commonplace.

I can see apostrophes dying out in the next 20 years or so. In fact I'd prefer it if signwriters dropped it altogether. For some reason, I find the absence of the aprostophe preferable to its misuse.

Steph Campisi | October 19, 2009 4:07 PM

Ah, misapostrophication. I'm always sorely tempted to lick a finger and erase these errant apostrophes from cafe and restaurant blackboards!

Soph | October 21, 2009 1:14 PM

What's so strange about this one is that it's printed. Surely, given the size of the company it's been written for, it would have had to go through various stages of approval and editing.

Hackpacker | October 21, 2009 3:20 PM

That is a cracker. My other favourite is "scare quotes": http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/

Perry Middlemiss | October 21, 2009 4:02 PM

I actually think this sign was done in-house, or in-store if you like. But, of course, we should not disregard the possibility that the "management death-stare" was used here: "Listen, sonny, at least 20 people at head office okayed this sign, so I don't care how many English degrees you think you've got. It stay's." [Yes, a little joke there.]

At least the people here can change it easily enough. John Berry found an example in Seattle where the store has it painted on their windows [http://johndberry.com/blog/?p=305]. By the way, if you're fixated by fonts then John's your man.

Kerryn, I'm starting to think your idea that the problem is caused by words ending in a vowel is the correct one. Except for the classic "it's" [see John above], which seems to spring up everywhere.

In It to Win It: The Australian Cricket Supremacy by Peter Roebuck
Roebuck's examination of the rise of Australian cricket post-1987. Some flashes of wonderful insight interspersed with long documentary reportage.

Things We Didn't See Coming by Steven Amsterdam
2009 Age Book of the Year. A post-apocalyptic vision of a country (Australia?) in decline, as seen through the eyes of one man. Told in a series of semi-connected short stories.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
Lewis's intriguing look into what makes a good baseball team. It's essentially about sport but should also be read from a people/project management perspective. Fascinating stuff.

Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob by Lee Siegel
Reads like a polemic against the dangers of the internet, but with little in the way of guidance towards the second part of the title.

Blood Moon by Garry Disher
The fifth of Garry Disher's Challis and Destry series set on the Mornington peninsular. A brutal bashing turns political. But is it related to the murder of a local environment protection officer?

Replay by Ken Grimwood
World Fantasy Award winner from 1988. Grimwood's intriguing novel about a man who relives his life over and over. A modern fantasy classic which most readers would not recognise as such.

The Tango Briefing by Adam Hall
The fifth of Adam Hall's Quiller series from 1973 and probably about his best. More physical than McCarry.

The Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry
McCarry's masterful spy thriller from 1974. Paul Christopher investigates the asssassination of John F Kennedy.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling
The seventh and last book in the series. You get this far and you have to finish it off.

Why She Loves Him by Wendy James
Short stories from the author of Out of the Silence and The Steele Diaries.

Blind Eye by Stuart MacBride
Macbride's fifth DS McRae novel - hard to see it getting more gruesome than this.

State of Emergency by Sam Fisher
Cinematic, high-tech, futuristic rescue fiction. This might have started its own genre.

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
A coming-of-age novel set in a small WA mining town in the 1960s. Ticks all the relevant boxes.

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
Chabon's homage to the adventure novel. Reminiscent of Moorcock and Leiber.

Headlong by Susan Varga
When is life still worth living, or is it better to die with dignity?

The Pages by Murray Bail
Bail's first novel since Eucalyptus, about an Outback genius philosopher - or is he? [Shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Award.]

The Grocer's Apostrophe - "Reserve's"

Categories:

No TrackBacks

7 Comments

Search

Currently Reading

Recently Read

About this Entry

Australian/New Zealand Litblogs

Categories

Monthly Archives