# Shor't Ran't abou't peopl'e wh'o pu't apostrophie's everywher'e! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 29, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946 "2003-11-29T19:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/21 "2003-11-30T08:49:32Z")
Oh, and **Gaudere’s Law** has claimed another victim. Me. In my previous post I spelled “justify” as “jusify”. Mea culpa. It was a typo rather than an actual construct error, but there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Dizzy\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dizzy\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dizzy_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/22 "2003-11-30T14:03:10Z")
O hamsters of the SDMB, I humbly submit my rant to thee. . . Sorry, wrong type of apostrophe. ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/23 "2003-11-30T14:18:13Z")
Someone once said: An apostrophe doesn’t mean, “Here comes an s!” I just wish more people knew this. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/24 "2003-11-30T14:24:42Z")
hehe they accused me of skipping apostrophes… now they Pit people who overdo it… 🙂 Will they ever be satisfied ? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/25 "2003-11-30T14:40:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by moriah \* > \*\*Where’s our _Dragonriders of Pern_ fanatics to justify their honorific T and K apostrophed names? > > Peace, - K’moriah. \*\* It’s because that’s what the human’s names end up “sounding” like when spoken telepathically by the dragons. ---
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/26 "2003-11-30T18:20:36Z")
This is slightly off topic, but one day my friends and I drove passed a strip club that had a sign on the door reading: “Sexy” Servers. Underline it, italicize it, put a great big god damn star next to it if you really want, but for Christ’s sake don’t use quotation marks to emphasize something. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/27 "2003-11-30T19:40:25Z")
If people use apostrophes incorrectly more often than they use words that should have an apostrophe then they would be more correct (and more readable) if they _never_ used apostrophes. I wish I was allowed to write an apostrophe-disabling trojan to send to these people. BTW (and I realise I’m tempting fate) has anyone ever seen _gras’s_ or _Jesu’s_ or _ha’s_ yet, or has the trend been so far confined to “here comes an added ‘s’”? ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/28 "2003-11-30T19:59:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shade \* > \*\*If people use apostrophes incorrectly more often than they use words that should have an apostrophe then they would be more correct (and more readable) if they _never_ used apostrophes. I wish I was allowed to write an apostrophe-disabling trojan to send to these people. > > BTW (and I realise I’m tempting fate) has anyone ever seen _gras’s_ or _Jesu’s_ or _ha’s_ yet, or has the trend been so far confined to “here comes an added ‘s’”? \*\* **hajario** says in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=185128) that he has seen someone write the male name Charles as > [@](#): > > Charle’s ---
**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:** [November 30, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/29 "2003-11-30T19:59:10Z")
I can see a “Go’s” right now (written by boss of course, on a whiteboard). Not sure if it counts, as it seems to be a shortening of “goes” which is pretty fucking pointless as it its. It’s not that I mind the act of adding an apostrophe where it isn’t needed (It is irritating, a bit) It’s that whenever I see it done I am reminded of my boss, which is much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/30 "2003-11-30T20:40:23Z")
Sometimes you’ll get a twofer: Inappropriate apostrophe _and_ incorrect homonym on the same sign, such as on the hand-lettered suggestion posted in a fish-and-chips joint on Cape Cod: **Try Are Fried Clam’s** ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/31 "2003-11-30T21:17:13Z")
I often get spam advertising the opportunity to get “University Diploma’s.” I’m definitely not going to want a degree in **English** from this alleged institution of higher learning. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/32 "2003-11-30T21:42:06Z")
**Spudo** , I don’t mean to scare you, but there’s a chance that sign could be accurate as is! CJ ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/33 "2003-11-30T23:21:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Siege \* > \*\ ***Spudo** , I don’t mean to scare you, but there’s a chance that sign could be accurate as is! > > CJ \*\* I sure wouldn’t want to work there! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/34 "2003-11-30T23:38:21Z")
Slightly off-topic, but I’m in a ranting kind of mood… One of the Support Managers at the Wal-Mart where I work is continuously floating memos concerning peoples scheduals. Occasionally, she needs to ask someone to work an extra day, and has to adjust the person’s schedual accordingly. I turned in a doctor’s note two weeks ago stating I cannot work more than six hours in a shift, but she continues to schedual me for eight hours. Not sure what the requirements are for being a manager at Wal-Mart, but apparently being able to keep track of your employees scheduals is not one of them. Neither is beng able to spell schedual, er, I mean schedule. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/35 "2003-11-30T23:40:01Z")
er, I mean, continually floating memos. My God, grammar ineptitude is contagious. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/36 "2003-12-01T02:08:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spudo \* > \*\*This is slightly off topic, but one day my friends and I drove passed a strip club that had a sign on the door reading: “Sexy” Servers. > > Underline it, italicize it, put a great big god damn star next to it if you really want, but for Christ’s sake don’t use quotation marks to emphasize something. \*\* Maybe they meant it sarcastically. You know, like saying _The Cat in the Hat_ is a “great” movie. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/37 "2003-12-01T03:08:41Z")
I think I’ve been guilty of this before, and I humbly apologize to all the perfect people out there. BTW, my favorite misuse of the apostrophe in one of my own posts was when I wrote “…who’s location is…” I wrote the post, read over it, hit submit, then saw that line. I was waiting for someone to jump on me about it, as I refuse to post a follow-up message each time I make a kistake. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/38 "2003-12-01T03:28:37Z")
In the day care where I work, there is a big display on the wall in which all of the kids have put up silhouettes of their faces. The title at the top reads: Whose who? Way to teach those kids proper grammar early. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/39 "2003-12-01T07:19:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arcite \* > \*\ ***hajario** says in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=185128) that he has seen someone write the male name Charles as > > > [@](#): > > > > Charle’s > > \*\* According to my copy of _The Baby Name Countdown_, people actually name their kids with “apostophe’d names.” A few examples: A’drianna A’isha A’ja Ash’leigh B’etta Candac’e Jav’on Destoniq’ Anig’ Lots more from the book, sadly… F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/40 "2003-12-02T20:38:43Z")
Hey, **Lobsang**! You might be interested in www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861976127]this book. Quote from my [ArcaMax](http://www.arcamax.com) Off the Wall newsletter of this morning: > [@](#): > > Apostrophe Book Top British Book > > A book about apostrophes and commas is a surprise bestseller in Britain. “Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach To Punctuation” is about the ever confusing use of the apostrophe. It’s the No.1 bestseller on Britain’s [Amazon.co.uk](http://Amazon.co.uk) chart – a place usually held by books about boy wizards, the _London Telegraph_ reports. The author, Lynne Truss, wrote a column for the _Telegraph_ about how she felt “an isolated nerd” because the sight of a misplaced apostrophe or absent comma made her feel irritated. Readers sent example after example of bad punctuation, and the rest is publishing history. So you’re not the only one, eh? 😃 F\_X [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946.md?page=3)