A Little Too Much Two-Buck Chuck

For me, the best apostrophe catastrophes are those committed by entities I don't like. I love to point out the flaws of Coors Light, the Lakers, or Valentine's Day, but I feel a little bit guilty posting punctuation errors from places I admire. Case in point: Trader Joe's. Oh how I love your cheap wine and prepared ethnic meals, but what is the deal with these two apostrophe catastrophes that you have in your Coolidge Corner (Brookline) store?


That's wicked bad.


Trader Joe's, I love you, but you need to employ some proofreaders in your stores.

Going to the Washrooms to Vom

I usually stick to exclusive content, but I couldn't resist reposting this catastrophe that Megan sent me from her blog.


Jackie, the reader who submitted this apostrophe catastrophe (and a backwards apostrophe at that!) to Megan, has her own blog, too! Oh this crazy blogosphere. Jackie writes, "I was going to use the WASHROOM'S, but the sign made me lose my lunch instead!"

Thanks to Megan and Jackie for this one.

Orlean Is What?

My workfriends were just laughing at me because I walked into a room I had never been in before and the first thing I noticed was that it contained a manila folder that said MENU'S on it. Similarly, when I get this receipt from a bar that I went to recently, I frantically ran over to show my buddies that the bar's name has a catastrophe in it.


It should be Orleans as in New Orleans, or a town on Cape Cod.

Yay for my friends putting up with my eccentricities.

What a Pear of Catastrophes

Kate, who sent in this latest example of terrible punctuation from West London, thinks the first word on this sign is supposed to be Chinese.


She found the same mistake on the sign for plums.


There's a reason why they call this mistake the greengrocer's apostrophe.

Thanks, Kate!

Green Catastrophe

My friend Andrew's office in London is trying to encourage its employees to be more green, but the punctuation errors in this sign don't lend much credibility to the message.


See's as a verb is certainly wrong, and most style guides would leave out the apostrophe in the plural of PCs. That sentence also lacks a period at the end.

I'm a day late in posting this apostrophe catastrophe as yesterday was Andrew's birthday. Happy birthday, Andy, and cheers!

What Kind of Cheese Is Not Yours?

Would you like some nacho's with the deep-fried Oreo's you ate yesterday?


I think those would just make you sic again. Ugh, sorry, I couldn't resist.

Thanks again to Stephanie for these food-related catastrophes!

That Fried Oreo Is Deep and It Owns Something

Stephanie, who I can only assume is from the midwest somewhere, sent in this photo of a rather appalling sign:


Besides the apostrophe catastrophe and missing hyphen, thinking about deep-fried Oreos kind of hurts my stomach, and my arteries. The sign makers managed to spell Twinkies right, but deep-fried Twinkies sound even more obesity-inducing.

Thanks, Stephanie!

Traditional English Apostrophe Catastrophes

This cafe in Liverpool, home of the Beatles, has croissant's and coffee's, so why doesn't it have pastry's?



Thanks to Emma for submitting this double apostrophe catastrophe.

Hot Diggity Dog

Regardless of the terrible punctuation on this cart, does it really look like something that should be serving food?



I'll take two dog's [sic] and a side of food poisoning, please.

Thanks to Meredith for sending in this photo from Cancun, Mexico.

Lawn Guyland

An anonymous reader pix messaged me this apostrophe catastrophe from a hotel in Long Island:


The sender wonders how this hotel stays in business with only one guest. Obviously, only one person is crazy enough to want to visit Long Island!

I'm allowed to make that joke because I'm Long Islandian on my mother's side.

Thanks, anonymous reader!

Let's Find the Catastrophe

It's not the inconsistent hyphenation in makeup (or make-up) in this ad that bothers me; it's the apostrophe in the word let's.


Check out the gray print in the middle to find the catastrophe.

Thanks to Jace for sending this one in!

So Drink Your Gin and Tonic-a and Smoke Your Marijuan-ica

The best part of the holidays for me is the after-Christmas sales. Or after-Hanukkah sales in the case of Tags hardware store in Porter Square.


It's a little odd that they screwed up menorah's but not the other Hanukkah products. I love you anyway, Tags.