Sunday, February 3, 2008

34. The Bottom Line on Messed-Up Signs and Ads

Hello again all you good grammar enthusiasts! How many times have you observed signs and ads all over the place with notoriously flagrant grammatical errors -- on highway signs, billboards, and tv? What about those in newspapers, magazines, and online? I think it's time to declare a revolution on sign errors, so here we go again with more information on this problem. A former classmate of mine who is quite an expert with our language actually saw these signs recently. (Groan)

Here's one he saw right here in North Carolina identifying a parking lot for a Country Club:

PARKING FOR MEMBERS AND GUEST ONLY

Aargh!! Does this mean that each member could have only one guest? Better be sure you choose the right one! ( An S needs to be placed on the word GUEST! It's plural.)

Here's another sign he saw on the side of the road:

BOILED PEANUT FOR SALE

Lordy, Lordy. I don't know anyone around these parts who could eat just one boiled peanut. While this most likely is the result of the sign writer being too busy to pay much attention to what he's doing, somebody needs to tell him to slow down and look at what he's advertising! (Please put an S on PEANUT! It's plural.)

Take a look at the next one, seen at Oak Island:


OAK ISLAND

T SHIRT'S

& TOWELS

3 FOR $10.00


Have mercy! Here we go again with the Amazing Apostrophe. It pops up all kinds of places it shouldn't be, and is not placed where it should be! Why would T SHIRT'S have an apostrophe and TOWELS not have one? (Both nouns are plural and both should end in a simple S. Apostrophes are used ONLY to show the omission of letters and possession.)

...And, finally, I recently saw this one in a regional newspaper for gardening supplies:


BEST POTTERY

BEST SELECTION OF PLANTS

BEST GIFTS

AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT OUR CUSTOMER'S TELL US



Puhleeze, save me. Right here we see the exact same mistake with the Amazing Apostrophe that was made in the prior ad: CUSTOMER'S does not need an apostrophe! (It is plural and does not show possession, nor have any letters been omitted.)

So much for the Annoying Apostrophe. Whew! We really need to get this one straight. Just stop for a minute and think through the rules and common sense will prevail :-) I'd love to hear about other sign and ad mistakes you might see around these parts. The revolution will continue... Have a great week! Peace and happpiness to all. GG