# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/61 "2008-05-19T02:34:02Z")
In the Ronnie Barker comedy _Open All Hours_, Barker plays a shopkeeper of a small local shop, and is often seen writing things like “SAOP ON SPECIAL” on the window. When his hapless assistant Granville tells him about the spelling error, he says, “Yes, I know. But the old dears in the village won’t be able to resist coming in to tell me about it, and they’ll invariably BUY something while they’re here.” I’ve often wondered if this technique has ever actually been used in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/62 "2008-05-19T02:53:59Z")
A bar nearby has their slogan emblazoned on several signs, their menu, the window, and a ton of advertising: “Alway’s a Good Time”. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/63 "2008-05-19T03:10:35Z")
Our local Pricilla’s has a vertical sign which scares the heck out of the appropriately placed apostrophe… P R I C I L L A ’ S It looks so sad and lonely there. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/64 "2008-05-19T03:43:36Z")
[QUOTE=Elret] A bar nearby has their slogan emblazoned on several signs, their menu, the window, and a ton of advertising: “Alway’s a Good Time”. [/QUOTE] Perhaps Miss Alway is one of the staff? ---
**Author:** ![Internut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Internut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Internut)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/65 "2008-05-19T06:41:32Z")
I once worked at a warehouse that had many many metal cabinets. One was labeled (in stenciling) “Stencil’s”. I now work at a hospital. I know these people (mostly nurses) are not experts in punctuation or the English language, but seriously… Some recent sightings: **Doctor’s** please sign in here. Do not put **cart’s** in front of this wall, **their** getting in the way of the cleaning people. **You’re** attention to detail saves lives! (I love that one) **Do** to construction the linen chute is out of order until Wednesday. State **Inspector’s** will be using this room for all of Friday afternoon. and one from the cafeteria: Please form two line’s, the cashier’s will alternate side’s. ---
**Author:** ![Internut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Internut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Internut)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/66 "2008-05-19T06:46:37Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] “Fresh” Or Frozen Turkey [/QUOTE] Oh.. I see that all the time.. someone prints out signs at work that say stuff such as: “Attention” blah blah blabbidy blah blah blah etc… or “Nurses” blah blah blah etc.. or “Friday” The manager will be blah blah etc… wtf".. And other “words” in the “announcement” are like “this”… “seemingly” at “random”. (Usually at least “two” or three in a “several” sentence blurb) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/67 "2008-05-19T07:01:36Z")
[QUOTE=Rhubarb] 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)**. [/QUOTE] I don’t have a problem with that. It’s exactly how I imagine cows would spell. The title of the restaurant, on the other hand, was presumably dreamed up by humans. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/68 "2008-05-19T09:44:44Z")
Seen in a shop in our town “Farm-Fresh Egg’s” ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/69 "2008-05-19T10:22:58Z")
Unneccessary apostrophes in signs bugs me as well. An extra problem around here is that it is not just signs in English that have them. Even signs in Swedish have them. This is even worse since Swedish does not use apostrophes at all. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/70 "2008-05-19T13:08:53Z")
Our Co-op is run by a brilliant set of folks and the signs are usually on the ball and correct and a refreshing change from the norm. Imagine my consternation when I saw the following in the area where the stretch carts are kept: \ are intended for use by families with more than “1” child. Quotes run amok, and they didn’t spell out “one”. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/71 "2008-05-19T14:02:18Z")
In my workplace, there is a drawer by the coffee machine labeled “Spoons, Knifes, & Fork’s”. When I want a spoon, knife or fork, I can never seem to remember where they’re kept, and I think it’s because I’m mentally blocking out the existence of that sign. Just thinking about it makes me wish I had a knife right now… ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/72 "2008-05-19T16:19:57Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Our Co-op is run by a brilliant set of folks and the signs are usually on the ball and correct and a refreshing change from the norm. Imagine my consternation when I saw the following in the area where the stretch carts are kept: \ are intended for use by families with more than “1” child. Quotes run amok, and they didn’t spell out “one”. ☹ [/QUOTE] Why should they spell out one? ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/73 "2008-05-19T16:28:26Z")
Our neighborhood 24 hour breakfast dive is the Wafle Shop. Has been for years. It makes them memorable, as we will regularly decide to go for “wafles” at 3 in the morning, and everyone knows immediately where we are going. Then again, nowhere else is open around there at 3 am, so it might not be an advantage to their business. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/74 "2008-05-19T16:46:48Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] KINGS CROSS was one of them. [/QUOTE] In New South Wales (but not some other Australian states IIRC), the Geographical Names Board or whatever they’re called now has a general rule that placenames with a possessive in them should omit the apostrophe. We have a Kings Cross here, and that’s one of them. Maybe there is a similar rule in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/75 "2008-05-19T17:11:23Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] In New South Wales (but not some other Australian states IIRC), the Geographical Names Board or whatever they’re called now has a general rule that placenames with a possessive in them should omit the apostrophe. We have a Kings Cross here, and that’s one of them. Maybe there is a similar rule in the UK? [/QUOTE] In the middle of the 20th century, the US Postal Service insisted on removing all apostrophes from place names, so that the little buggers wouldn’t confuse the magnetic ink readers. Since the USPS apparently gets the final authority on what places are called, this change has been universally accepted. I still insist on referring to the county I grew up in as Gray’s Harbor (it was named for American explorer Robert Gray), no matter what the bureaucrats want. Now that address-reading technology can deal with punctuation, I wish they’d allow places to change back where appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/76 "2008-05-19T17:13:56Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Why should they spell out one? [/QUOTE] It depends which style guide you use, but generally at least the numbers less than ten get spelled out. ["If you are using AP style,](http://copyediting-grammar-style.suite101.com/article.cfm/numerals_or_words) you will need only spell out single digit numbers (one through nine) and use figures for 10 and above. However, The Chicago Manual of Style recommends spelling out whole numbers one through one hundred." ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/77 "2008-05-19T17:20:09Z")
Obligatory link: > **[The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks](http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/)** > > misinterpreting bad punctuation since 2005 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/78 "2008-05-19T17:27:15Z")
[QUOTE=Sigmagirl] Obligatory link: > **[The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks](http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/)** > > misinterpreting bad punctuation since 2005 [/QUOTE] Hee: Thai Massage Was Closed Due To “Fire” Perfect! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/79 "2008-05-19T17:35:56Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] It depends which style guide you use, but generally at least the numbers less than ten get spelled out. ["If you are using AP style,](http://copyediting-grammar-style.suite101.com/article.cfm/numerals_or_words) you will need only spell out single digit numbers (one through nine) and use figures for 10 and above. However, The Chicago Manual of Style recommends spelling out whole numbers one through one hundred." [/QUOTE] I remember reading somewhere - might’ve been _Elements of Style_ but it might’ve been somewhere else - that you only spell out numbers if they begin a sentence. There are obviously opinions that go either way, like with many other style choices, which drops this one in the pile of things I can’t get worked up over. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686/80 "2008-05-19T18:21:41Z")
[QUOTE=Lobsang] [sub](In case anyone is wondering about the apostrophes in the thread title, which would worry me, they are included for comic effect - I know they are not meant to be there)[/sub] [/QUOTE] Actually, it _is_ acceptable to use an apostrophe before the ‘s’ in the plural noun “apostrophes.” Little known fact, but absolutely true; look it up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shop-signs-with-apostrophes/449686.md?page=5)