# Shop sign's with apostrophe's. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 17, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686 "2008-05-17T21:16:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![asrivkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9d8465/32.png) [@asrivkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asrivkin)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/41 "2008-05-18T14:09:57Z")
Driving from Chicago to Milwaukee, a friend and I saw a huge sign for the “Mars Cheese Castle” in Kenosha. Since I’m an astronomer and he’s a geologist, we had to get off the freeway and go in. We were _very_ disappointed to see that the T-shirts inside said “Mar’s Cheese Castle”. Other logowear said “Mars’ Cheese Castle”, though. Plus some things in there did say “Mars” with no apostrophe. In the end, we still bought T-shirts and fully-dressed brats… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![A\_Priori\_Tea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@A\_Priori\_Tea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Priori_Tea)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/42 "2008-05-18T15:06:48Z")
[QUOTE=Ensign Edison] Friend of mine says, “I wonder who said that – was it Churchill?” [/QUOTE] Whoever it was, they obviously weren’t very enthused - having said everything _but_ the exclamation point. (I mean, seriously, WTF.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/43 "2008-05-18T15:22:38Z")
[QUOTE=friedo] The apostrophe, it burn’s. [/QUOTE] Tho’se damned apostrophe’s keep cropping up wherever they damned well plea’se. I think the government ought to do something about it. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/44 "2008-05-18T15:33:45Z")
[QUOTE=Nutty Bunny] My fellow grammar and spelling Nazis will love [this story](http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=688136). [/QUOTE] That’s a pretty cool hat…_for a stale weenie._😉 No, really, mess with signs in Niagara Falls and _random passersby_ will threaten to stomp you? That’s actually kinda neat. More people should take such pride in being semiliterate. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/45 "2008-05-18T16:07:43Z")
There’s a grocery store in Santo Domingo called “One’al”. I think they were trying for “O’Neal” (as in Shaquille). Lots of gratuitous apostrophes all over the place, from faux possessives like “D’Garcia” to greengrocer-style plurals - in a language where apostrophes are not used to denote contractions, possessives or anything else for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/46 "2008-05-18T16:38:44Z")
[QUOTE=picker] Not an apostrophe issue, but a spelling one: a neon sign, in the heart of downtown Madison, advertises ‘seating available’ for the Essen Haus, a German restaurant & drinking hall. It’s been there for years. [/QUOTE] also, the name of the restaurant should be one word: Essenhaus. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/47 "2008-05-18T17:13:28Z")
[QUOTE=picker] Not an apostrophe issue, but a spelling one: a neon sign, in the heart of downtown Madison, advertises ‘seating available’ for the Essen Haus, a German restaurant & drinking hall. It’s been there for years. And it’s spelled ‘Seatnig Available’ [/QUOTE] :smack: I saw **Švejk** ’s reply to your post.. and was wondering “What the hell is mispelled about ‘Seating Available’?” So I had to scroll up to find your post… Turns out **Švejk** omitted "And it’s spelled ‘Seatnig Available’ " ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/48 "2008-05-18T17:48:06Z")
I still believe [this is the most egregious aprostrophe abuse I’ve ever seen](http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=119131&l=695b0&id=551442651). ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/49 "2008-05-18T18:18:21Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Heck, in Quebec from 1974 to ~1998, the Quebec government punished the use of apostrophes on store signs, as that particular possessive form does not exist in French. [/QUOTE] I also noticed that in the UK, most business names that are in the possessive form don’t include the apostrophe; Harrods, Walkers, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/50 "2008-05-18T18:23:26Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] No, really, mess with signs in Niagara Falls and _random passersby_ will threaten to stomp you? That’s actually kinda neat. More people should take such pride in being semiliterate. [/QUOTE] NIAGRA FALLS?!! ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/51 "2008-05-18T18:27:21Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] I also noticed that in the UK, most business names that are in the possessive form don’t include the apostrophe; Harrods, Walkers, and so on. [/QUOTE] I remember when this last came up - Something about Tube stations too. Like one of them has the apostrophe, and another one omits it. KINGS CROSS was one of them. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/52 "2008-05-18T18:35:43Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] NIAGRA FALLS?!! [/QUOTE] Slowly I turned… ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/53 "2008-05-18T18:39:32Z")
Somewhere near the Jersey Shore I recall seeing a sign for Jerry Beyer’s The Restaurant. At least they’re abusing the possessive in a novel way. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/54 "2008-05-18T18:54:02Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] No but seriously: I used to pass by a photographer in Des Moines whose sign read: **The JOHN ROBERT’S Studio** and I’d think: Does the guy even know how to _spell his own friggn name???_ [/QUOTE] Wait, what? If John Robert runs a studio, that’s absolutely correct, isn’t it? Or was the guy’s name written as “John Roberts” elsewhere? My maiden name ended in an “s”, and you wouldn’t believe how many people couldn’t figure out how to possessify it. I got Jone’s, Joneses, Jones’es, Jones’s (which I hear is now correct, although my software alerts it and I was raised when it was wrong, so I refuse to accept it), very rarely would anyone write it Jones’. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/55 "2008-05-18T18:59:30Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Wait, what? If John Robert runs a studio, that’s absolutely correct, isn’t it? Or was the guy’s name written as “John Roberts” elsewhere? [/QUOTE] It’s the ‘The’ that makes it weird. ---
**Author:** ![Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rascal\_s\_Mom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rascal_s_Mom)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/56 "2008-05-18T19:29:36Z")
[QUOTE=picker] Not an apostrophe issue, but a spelling one: a neon sign, in the heart of downtown Madison, advertises ‘seating available’ for the Essen Haus, a German restaurant & drinking hall. It’s been there for years. And it’s spelled ‘Seatnig Available’ [/QUOTE] I’ve never seen that! I’ll check next time I go by. My ex refers to our sons as “the Boy’s.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/57 "2008-05-18T22:38:36Z")
[QUOTE=Eric Halfabee] Another non-apostrophe story: At a nearby Chik-Fil-A, there’s a sign at the drive-through exit that says, It’s been “our pleasure” to serve you. Sound a bit sarcastic to me. [/QUOTE] The turkey farm near me has a sign up: “Fresh” Or Frozen Turkey which leaves me a little weirded out. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/58 "2008-05-18T22:41:33Z")
Today, on a shop door - “Don’t sell screws or nails” The sarcastic bastard in me walked away saying to myself “I don’t plan to” ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/59 "2008-05-18T23:59:01Z")
[QUOTE=Eric Halfabee] Another non-apostrophe story: At a nearby Chik-Fil-A, there’s a sign at the drive-through exit that says, It’s been “our pleasure” to serve you. Sound a bit sarcastic to me. [/QUOTE] If you read the quotes as marking an actual quote, (as might be said by a perky service person), rather than serving as scare-quotes, then it could as easily be genuine. 🙂 Though seriously, any business called **Chik-Fil-A** has pretty much given up on grammar and spelling anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/60 "2008-05-19T01:44:56Z")
[QUOTE=Apollyon] Though seriously, any business called **Chik-Fil-A** has pretty much given up on grammar and spelling anyway. [/QUOTE] It’s worse than you may know. This is the company whose corporate advertising has cows entreating us to **[Eat Mor Chikin](http://www.chick-fil-a.com/#thecows)**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686.md?page=4)