# I swiftly herewith consign to the pit, the ignorant clowns who misconstrue "its" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 11, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871 "2012-07-11T05:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/21 "2012-07-11T12:45:47Z")
I have a button on which appear the words: An apostrophe does not mean WARNING! ONCOMING S! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/22 "2012-07-11T12:55:10Z")
I solved the problem in the OP years ago. In every circumstance use its’ and there is nothing left to whine about. I think I came up with that solution way back in the 90’s. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/23 "2012-07-11T13:27:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > And restaurants claiming to have homemade pies! What the hell do we do about them? Call the local health department and complain that the restaurant is preparing food in an un-inspected kitchen. A couple of friends of mine recently opened a diner. Being as pedantic as I, they refer to their pies and such as ‘heremade’. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/24 "2012-07-11T13:43:31Z")
> [@greenslime1951](#): > > The only reason I’m not in prison is that I kill the offenders very discreetly. \ I understand the annoyance with apostrophes in general, but I honestly couldn’t give a rat’s ass about its and it’s. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/25 "2012-07-11T13:44:33Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > A couple of friends of mine recently opened a diner. Being as pedantic as I, they refer to their pies and such as ‘heremade’. As opposed to ‘theremade’ :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/26 "2012-07-11T13:48:18Z")
I’ve seen tags on a buffet indicating: barely soup pork lion plane biscuits ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/27 "2012-07-11T13:50:47Z")
It’s not a fucking chaise lounge! > [@postcards](#): > > A couple of friends of mine recently opened a diner. Being as pedantic as I, they refer to their pies and such as ‘heremade’. Stuff like that will put them out of business, but by God I’d eat at their restaurant every single day just for that. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/28 "2012-07-11T14:04:05Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I’m typically simply appaled. The correct spelling is “impaled”. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/29 "2012-07-11T14:47:11Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > The one that winds me up is using ‘breaks’ for ‘brakes’. Shit like that makes me loose my mind. 😃 Just for fun: [Unnecessary Quotes](http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/30 "2012-07-11T14:53:07Z")
My iphone auto-correct insists “it’s” is the universal form. I don’t always catch it. Steve Jobs is already in Hell (or “He’ll,” as his device prefers to spell the place to which what passed for his soul is consigned). We the living carry on. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/31 "2012-07-11T15:06:03Z")
It’s! [cue _Monty Python’s Flying Circus_ opening theme] ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/32 "2012-07-11T15:51:57Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Just like “till.” I can’t get used to someone saying, “I’ll be here 'til Monday,” and having it spelled as “till.” That is now acceptable. Laziness abound. How hard is it to make an apostrophe with a computer? [Ahem:](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/till) > [@](#): > > Origin of TILL > Middle English, from Old English _til_; akin to Old Norse _til_ to, till, Old English _til_ good > First Known Use: before 12th century ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/33 "2012-07-11T15:59:29Z")
Their ewe go again, on you’re hi whores, portending something is teh end of world, when its plane what the righter meant, irregardless of teh spellings. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/34 "2012-07-11T16:02:42Z")
Lighten up Franci’s. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/35 "2012-07-11T16:13:11Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > However, I thought recently that it might be one of the reasons why I keep hanging out on English-speaking boards rather than on French speaking ones. I often leave a French board after reading the first page because I feel like I’m dealing with a collection of illiterate idiots (they probably aren’t really idiots, but having every other word grossly misspelt certainly gives this impression). On English boards, I don’t notice so I feel like like I’m talking with intelligent people. I always got the impression that French spelling is harder than English, as in English something like 80% of the words are phonetic-ish. But I don’t speak French, so I’m probably wrong. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Shit like that makes me loose my mind. 😃 _writes **Machine Elf** down on the list_ Loose for lose is physically painful for me (and I mean that almost literally - it makes my head hurt). ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/36 "2012-07-11T16:25:27Z")
Yeah, I agree. People who misuse its’re idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/37 "2012-07-11T16:35:40Z")
While I do cringe a bit at the misuse of “it’s” as a possessive, I sort of understand it, since apostrophe-s is the _correct_ possessive modifier in most cases. I went to _Bob’s_ house. We went up on the _house’s_ roof. I looked at one of the _roof’s_ shingles and noticed _it’s_ unusual color. It’s a logical mistake to make. What does send me into a homicidal frenzy is the interchangeable use of _there_, _their_, and _they’re_, as those are all entirely different words with entirely different meanings. As, for that matter, are \*to \*and _too_. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/38 "2012-07-11T16:40:39Z")
> [@Silver\_Tyger](#): > > I always got the impression that French spelling is harder than English, as in English something like 80% of the words are phonetic-ish. But I don’t speak French, so I’m probably wrong. I think you might be. Once you learn the spelling rules, which are considerably stricter in French than English, it’s pretty easy to come up with the proper spelling for any word you hear, even if they’re loan words from other languages. Helping my wife as she learned English made me realize just how unpredictable English spelling can be, and made me glad I learned it as a kid when I didn’t know any better. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/39 "2012-07-11T16:53:03Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Also, the “two”, “too”, and “to” is always a problem. Admittedly, I’ll make mistakes with that. I’ll also admit making mistakes with “our” and “are”. I see this on Facebook every day, usually in comments written by friends of my adult children. “Your to funny LOL!!!” makes me want to clock somebody with a cast iron skillet. ---
**Author:** ![greenslime1951](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9bcb4/32.png) [@greenslime1951](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenslime1951)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/40 "2012-07-11T16:56:57Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I solved the problem in the OP years ago. In every circumstance use its’ and there is nothing left to whine about. I think I came up with that solution way back in the 90’s. BUZZZZZZZ That would be _so_ wrong. An apostrophe used in that fashion would denote a plural possessive, and when is “it” ever plural? Pack your bags for Rabid Polar Bear Island, my friend. You should have remained under the radar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871.md?page=3)