# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**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, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/41 "2003-12-02T20:43:50Z")
The link was **supposed** to be like this. :smack: F\_X ---
**Author:** ![Alto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Alto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alto)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/42 "2003-12-02T21:06:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by catsix \* > \*\*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? > > \*\* Whose Who? Horton’s, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/43 "2003-12-08T23:00:07Z")
> [@](#): > > In my previous post I spelled “justify” as “jusify”. Do it again and you’ll be the one who’s jusified. Word. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/44 "2003-12-15T21:31:02Z")
GAHHHHH sorry to resurrect the thread but I have just seen the worst apostrophe crime EVER committed. Ever. And I’ve been tracking apostrophe crimes a long time. There is a man whose name ends with “s” who was invited to a meeting I arranged. His scheduler sent me not one but _two_ e-mails: the first saying “Mr Down’s can attend” (which I wrote off to thoughtlessness) and the next saying “Mr Down’s won’t be attending after all.” IT’S HIS FUCKING NAME !! He’s your BOSS !! Shouldn’t you … oh, forget it. There’s no point. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/45 "2003-12-16T00:30:40Z")
Strongbad has a song about this: [http://homestarrunner.com/sbemail89.html](http://homestarrunner.com/sbemail89.html) ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/46 "2003-12-16T00:33:05Z")
I just realized I was an unwitting accomplice in apostrophe misuse. I’m a grown woman, but for some reason my dad & his wife thought it would be cool this year to send out Christmas cards with a “family” picture on it. I played along, what the hell. So I got a copy of the card last week. I happened to glance at it again yesterday: Happy Holidays! The Scout’s Dad, scout & Dadwife Dad! It’s a plural not an effing possessive! :: bangs head on desk :: ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/47 "2003-12-16T00:58:40Z")
Suddenly in the past years I developed a problem with “its” and “it’s”. It’s very strange, I’m pretty sure I never confused the two in school. Now I have to _really_ pay attention. And I still fuck it up occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/48 "2003-12-16T13:55:09Z")
I wonder if any of our Doper descriptivists might show up for this threads so as to defend the incorrect (“incorrect” as a prescriptivist defines it in this situation) usage of apostrophes? After all, if enough people use them incorrectly (the apostrophes, not the Dopers–I’m not sure I want to read how a Doper can be misused), it must be right. Right? 🙂 I know **Left Hand of Dorkness** leans toward descriptivism, and I believe **Dewey** popped up in a thread recently with a comment in favor of it, so I’m interested in their views. ---
**Author:** ![dav01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@dav01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dav01)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/49 "2003-12-16T14:45:39Z")
I always get a chuckle when I see, in just about every pizza place in the country, the menu listings for “Pizzas” and below it, “Pasta’s”. Damn, you had it right with the pizza, then it all went to hell in a handbasket when you got to the pasta. What happened? Be consistent! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/50 "2003-12-16T18:36:10Z")
**dav01** , I find that it’s usually “Pizza’s” but “Drinks”, “Chips” etc. It always seems to be words that end in a vowel that suck apostrophes out of the ether. Words that end in an “o” are especially bad… perhaps because people can’t decide whether to insert an “e”. So we get “Video’s”, “Tomato’s”, and occasionally even “Potato’es” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946/51 "2003-12-17T14:42:28Z")
At the Cloverleaf Bowling Alley in Independence Ohio, the restroom for male patrons is marked MENS Actually, I’ve seen that in many more establishments, but that bowling alley is the only place that I can say DEFINITELY still has it in place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-rant-about-people-who-put-apostrophies-everywhere/215946.md?page=2)