It is quite common to see minor mis-spells on public hand-written signage in shops, sometimes referred to as greengrocers apostrophe’s. (I picked up on a very odd one last year). Yesterday, Wilsons the pie shop had a chalk board outside with a major bit of apostrophe avoidance:-
THERE BACK!
MINI SAUSAGE ROLLS
5 FOR £1
(David got the last five, by the way).
Another shop (a hairdresser) used to have STYLE IS EVERYTHING signwritten on the window. However, it spelt the proprietor’s Surname differently on the glass compared to on the frontage above. I noticed the glass is writing free now, perhaps it got broken and was never replaced, or the spelling police called round.
Now it doesn’t take a Degree in English (or even a GCSE) to run a shop, although it jars to my eyes as a reader. I’d be a bit wary of a place that made banners and posters with this example in the window though…
(Now before someone points out that my posts are frequently riddled with errors, they are typos from my poor typing skills and cognitive dissonance prevents me seeing them when if I proof read straight afterwards. They stand out like a beacon the next day though and I keep thinking I must review, correct and update all my old blogposts. Then I see how many there are and I procrastinate!)
Yeah I hate it when I press publish and then notice a typo.
Comment by tbrrob — September 28, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
Well, I don’t consider a blogpost probably published until I’ve stopped tinkering with it, so I don’t get too upset about the typing mistakes that I don’t see anyway.
…until the next time I actually notice the error, when I inwardly scream!
Comment by Shades — September 28, 2008 @ 7:19 pm
I think it is a sad testimony to where education has gone.
Comment by jameshigham — September 29, 2008 @ 8:48 am
I have a copy of the school Centenary brochure. It has a few typos in it, as well as one unintentially amusing one by the Chair of Governors- remembering walking home because of heavy snow or a “pea supper” fog.
With a pie, of course, the Yorkshire way!
Comment by Shades — September 29, 2008 @ 7:20 pm
Why do the poor greengrocers get all the blame? No I did not google it yet.
Comment by jmb — September 30, 2008 @ 1:00 am
JMB, I imagine it is because traditionally they were the ones who wrote the most hand-written signs due to seasonal produce, like this.
Comment by Shades — September 30, 2008 @ 7:30 am
Ian, in case you’re searching for the English genitive: It has crossed the Channel and displaced the German genitive.
Example:
Ralfs Reifenshop (sic) appears as Ralf’s Reifenshop.
P.S. Particularly enjoyed this post.
Comment by Sean Jeating — October 1, 2008 @ 8:33 pm
Sean, my CSE Grade 2 in Deutsch was a very long time ago. I didn’t think they used the word “Shop” but that is my Scandinavian distorting it with Forretning.
As it happens, I was in the ATS Reifenshop earlier.
Glad to amuse.
Comment by Shades — October 1, 2008 @ 9:05 pm