It's Just a Sandwich with Stripes!

Desperate for coffee before an early flight out of Reagan National Airport on Sunday, I almost bought a cup at this place but decided against it on the basis of the poor punctuation and improper pluralizing.


Panini is already plural, so it certainly shouldn't have an apostrophe and then an "s" after it.

The subject of this entry is in honor of 95-year-old Abe, who lives with my grandfather at an assisted-living residence. He once complained to me that their dining hall uses fancy foreign words that he doesn't understand. "Do you know what a panini is?" he asked me. "It's just a sandwich with stripes!" I felt bad that he was so annoyed, but it was adorable.

Socialism Is...

Fain writes, "I found this masterpiece outside of a Glenn Beck rally at the University of Central Florida in Orlando."


Well, clearly, psychosis stop's [sic] proper punctuation.

Thanks, Fain!

Girl Is Lacrosse

Lannie writes, "I am not sure what girl this lacrosse belongs to, but she wants people to sign up for it."


Oddly enough, a coworker and I just had a long conversation about singular vs. plural possessives, and this submission was next in the queue.

Thanks, Lannie!

Reusable Bag Catastrophe

The QFC grocery store in Port Hadlock, Washington, is trying to encourage green living, but this sign is polluting the environment with an apostrophe catastrophe.


Besides the errant apostrophe in its, this sign should also have a period at the end of the sentence. And reusable bag is not a proper noun, so what's with the capitalization?

Thanks to Cathy for sending this one in.

Exploring My Bodega

My friends and I have been on a euphemism bender lately. One of our favorites originated as a result of Tite's Tropical, a little convenience store in Cambridge. I once told someone that I had never gone to Tite's and he said, "You really need to explore your bodega." Much giggling ensued.

So, you can imagine how excited I was when I discovered that Tite's features an apostrophe catastrophe on one of its signs.


The man who owns the bodega is named Tite, so the apostrophe in the above sign is misplaced. Tite is a cool guy, though, and I really should patronize independent businesses more, especially because last night, my neighbor told me that one of the bodegas on the next street over from Tite's is run by "the sexiest man in the world." Now that calls for some exploration for sure.

Making the Same Mistake Twice

Krys found this apostrophe catastrophe on the Massachusetts/Rhode Island border:


At least they were consistent!

Thanks, Krys!

Giving Up Punctuation for Lent

My friend Katy's father, Denis, sent in this sign from the Stop & Shop in Braintree:


The main problem with the sign is that Lenten, an adjective referring to Lent, is spelled wrong. The apostrophe and the "s" are superfluous because Lent doesn't really own the specials, but it might not be technically a catastrophe. An apostrophe sin, perhaps?

Thanks, Denis!

I Want to Buy Your Grandmothers

Kel's submission, which she spotted on a place mat at a diner, shows us how apostrophes (or lack thereof) can completely change the meaning of a sentence.



I don't think MaryAnn actually wants to buy grandmothers and aunts, but you never know...

Thanks, Kel!

Not Britain's Leading Experts on Punctuation

Graham sent in this photo from Kent, England:


He writes, "'Dreams' may claim to be Britains [sic] leading Bed Specialist (strange mix of title- and non-title caps there!), but they're clearly not Britain's leading experts on the use of apostrophes..."

At least they didn't write Dream's.

Thanks, Graham!

More Obnoxious than Elinor Burkett

How obnoxious was that woman who Kanyed Roger Ross Williams at the Oscars the other night? Not as bad as this woman's t-shirt:


Lisa, who sent in the above photo, found out about the Bleacher Creature's [sic] on the local news. These two sisters have gawked at the celebrities on the red carpet for 41 straight years! It sounds like a potentially interesting story, but Lisa was so annoyed by their badly punctuated t-shirts that she had to change the channel. "And then my poor husband had to endure a grammar lesson inspired by my annoyance," she writes.

Well, at least something positive happened as a result of this catastrophe.

Thanks, Lisa!

Childcare Catastrophe

Conor found this badly punctuated sign in his company's lounge while he was eating lunch.


I hope the apostrophe catastrophe didn't completely ruin his meal.

Thanks, Conor!

Spot the Inconsistencies

In my opinion, inconsistent punctuation is even worse than flat-out mistakes. Brenig sent in a photo with an inset (!) demonstrating some signage inconsistencies in Shrewsbury, England. See if you can spot all the differences.


Just make up your mind one way or the other!

Thanks, Brenig!

What Happened, Brits?

Another day, another catastrophe from Mike in Pensacola. The Brits managed to get their punctuation right in 2008 but not 2009.


What happened, guys? "Didn't the Brits invent the language?!" Mike asks.

Thanks, Mike!

Bouquet Is Florist

Mike, who sent in this catastrophe from Pensacola, tells us that the manager of this florist shop was an English major.


I think we should find out what school he/she went to and get the degree retracted.

Thanks, Mike!

Something for Everyone

This flyer, submitted by Robert, features just about every kind of punctuation mistake, plus a few random errors thrown in.


We've got capitalization and spacing problems, random periods and semicolons, apostrophe catastrophes, and even a misplaced hyphen. Yikes!

Thanks, Robert!