I’ve tried a couple of different dictionary sites and search engines to no avail.
Does anyone know of an English language word (not a proper noun) which has more than three apostrophes?
This comes up because I was writing a presrel yesterday about the sailors who work in Deck Department here. Upon proofing, I realized I had typed:
“The fo’c’s’le’s crew puts in even more hours when we drop the anchor.”
Apostrophes? Two’ll’ve been my limit.
I think all’y’all’s’re nuts…
Yer pal,
Satan
http://homepages.go.com/~cmcinternationalrecords/devil.gif
TIME ELAPSED SINCE I QUIT SMOKING:
Two weeks, six days, 16 hours, 36 minutes and 20 seconds.
827 cigarettes not smoked, saving $103.46.
Life saved: 2 days, 20 hours, 55 minutes.
All those fo’c’s’le’s’ll drive your crazy.
(I’m currently in a “can you top this” apostrophe fight in news.sff.net)
Fo’c’s’le’s is the possesive, not the plural of fo’c’s’le. So the word you were looking for would have been fo’c’s’les’ll. But under different circumastances those fo’c’s’les’d’ve done so.
Not to mention that all’y’all’s’ren’t as nuts as Satan seems to think y’all’s’re.
I think you’d see more this style of fing if the Brits started writing words they way they actually speak them.
Worcestershire, for example, would come out Wo’’‘ste’shir’.
Damn! Even when I have preview I blow it. The way, not they way. Bring on the edit feature!
Why don’t you simply use the word forecastle instead?
Student: When I start a sentence with a word that has an initial apostrophe. Should I capitalize the initial letter? In my script, none of my 'twouldn’t’ves were capitalized.
Teacher: You should have capitalized all of the ‘twouldn’t’ves’ initial letter, if they began the sentence.
Student: Oh, wait, I did capitalize all of the ts but one. Only the last 'twouldn’t’ve’s initial t was left uncapitalized. I hope that wouldn’t’ve hurt my grade.
Teacher: 'Twouldn’t’ve made much of a difference.
Contract, this, buddy!
Not when you’re referring to multiple instances of the word “fo’c’s’le” and not multiple fo’c’s’les. Though I suppose it would have been more correct to write ““fo’c’s’le”'s’ll” instead.