Holiday Apostrophe Catastrophe

An anonymous reader found this apostrophe catastrophe while holiday shopping at TJ Maxx.


Good grief indeed! Maybe if Lucy had just said "Merry Christmas," this catastrophe could have been avoided.

Thanks, person who sent this to me!

O Holy Catastrophe

Susan sent me a screenshot from a YouTube video of some kids in Alaska town going all Bob Dylan on the Hallelujah Chorus. She writes that the video is "Cute, fun, in the spirit of the season and all, but every time they got to 'King of King's' and 'Lord of Lord's,' I cringed a little."


Happy Holidays to Susan and all my other readers out there! All I want for Christmas is apostrophe catastrophes.

Filene's Basement Catastrophe

Everything must go at Filene's Basement, including the apostrophe in its name.


My condolences to people who loved the Basement.

Video Store Catastrophe

Emily spotted this catastrophic sign in a video store in Victoria, BC, so who knows how long it has been there.


I hope the parents aren't responsible for their chiderns [sic] spelling!

Thanks to Lillian for sending this in!

Christmas Public Service Announcement

It's probably a little bit late for this, but I thought I would extend a public-service announcement related to holiday cards. If you are signing your family's name on the card, do not use an apostrophe. Even if your last name ends in "y." I'm probably preaching to the choir, but this seemed relevent for today.

And now for today's apostrophe catastrophe, submitted by Alan, a prolific contributor to this blog.


It should just say "The Jonkmans," or "The Jonkmans' House." He says he tried to explain the error to the owner of the store where he found the sign, to no avail.

Thanks, Alan!

Hooters T-Shirt Catastrophe

Sherry picked up a Hooters T-shirt for a Halloween costume a few years ago -- or so she claims -- and has been annoyed by its apostrophe catastrophe ever since.


The name of the city is Pembroke Pines, so if the shirt is trying to say that the city rocks, it shouldn't have an apostrophe at all. If the shirt is trying to refer to rocks that belong to the city (unlikely), the apostrophe should be after the "s."

Thanks, Sherry!

Only on Days that End in "Y"

Leah couldn't resist correcting this apostrophe catastrophe that she found in the dressing room at Old Navy.


Two days in a row, I have featured entries in which readers have corrected errors. I'm proud of you guys!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I was very honored a couple of days ago that Passive Aggressive Notes posted a sign that I sent them. At least someone cares about me... (kidding! meta!)

She's Crafty!

Last year Melissa sent in a photo of a tree skirt that was marred with an apostrophe catastrophe. When she brought the tree skirt out of storage today, she decided to fix the catastrophe with an editor's mark made of red thread.


Well done, Melissa! Now I'm in the holiday spirit.

Thank God It's for Dogs

Sherry spotted this horrible-looking food at Wal-Mart, and I was completely grossed out, until I realized that it's a dog treat. Whew.



I don't know if I would even feed this stuff to a dog, though! It looks truly disgusting. And even a dog would probably recognize that this product's name should not have an apostrophe in it.

Thanks, Sherry!

Manhattan Post Office Catastrophe

The post office is extremely busy at this time of year with millions of people shopping for Cyber Monday deals. So, presumably employees at the main Manhattan branch won't notice the double catastrophe on this sign in their cafeteria.



Edward, who sent in this catastrophe, notes that the sign will certainly be torn down as the post office is converted to Moynihan Train Station.

Thanks, Edward!

Good On Cold

The catchphrase on this cup reads "good on cold" or perhaps "good in cold," but I'm pretty sure McDonald's means to say "good and cold."


This is a minor catastrophe compared to many others I have posted on this site, but since it was committed by McDonald's, I can't let it go.

Gardening Catastrophe

Someone handed this flyer to Kate's husband in Hampton, England:


I don't know if I have ever seen so many apostrophe catastrophes on one page! While it's not technically an error, per se, it looks awkward to start an advertisement with parentheses.

Thanks, Kate!

Veterans Day: An Apostrophe-Free Holiday

Happy Veterans Day, everyone! Yes, that's Veterans with no apostrophe. The day is for all veterans, unlike Mother's Day, which is apparently for only one mother.

The Washington Post has an interesting blog posting today about Veterans Day and how it came to be celebrated on 11/11.

Nancy sent me this screenshot of a blog posting that erroneously adds an apostrophe to make veterans plural. That's just completely wrong!


Nancy was able to get the blog changed, so it's now error free.

Keep fighting the good fight, apostrophe soldiers!

You and Whose Army?

My softball team won our game last night, so we moved on to the next round of the playoffs. When we got to field #2, we found these guys cheering us on.


Gary's Army had lost to the Red Squirrels, so the army stuck around to drink and root for us to beat the Red Squirrels. Their team is named after one dude name Gary, but somewhere along the line, the newer versions of their shirts were printed without an apostrophe. "I think you would have won if your shirts were properly punctuated," I told them.

Standing on first base after hitting a single, one of the guys yelled, "Yeah! Do it for the apostrophes!"

Thanks for the good wishes and for letting me take your photo. It's good to have fans.

On to the finals tonight!

Pizza Catastrophe

Katie spotted this pizza catastrophe at the California State Fair.


At least it wasn't deep fried like most of the food at state fairs.

Thanks, Katie!

Let Me Stand Next to Your Catastrophe

Shelby spotted a blatant apostrophe catastrophe (you're/your confusion) on Fender's website when she was trying to enter a contest.


The sentence also needs a period at the end. Jimi Hendrix would be horrified. Fender Stratocaster needs to tune up its punctuation skills.

Thanks, Shelby!

Everything Must Go, Including Apostrophes

Intense depression as a result of their stores going out of business is the only explanation for this apostrophe catastrophe from Border's.


Thanks to Lance for sending in this catastrophe. It's fitting that I'm posting his submission today because I met him at a Halloween party last year when he was dressed as Kim Jong Il.

Two Stores, Two Different Problems

Bradley visited two photo stores in one day and found that neither of them could use apostrophes properly. The first one missed the apostrophe in world's.


And the second one added an errant apostrophe to iPads.



Bradley concludes that one could argue that the second example could be a contraction, but it's probably just an error. I concur.

Thanks, Bradley!

Failing the Bar Exam

As I know all too well, Tommy Doyle's has two locations in Cambridge. Last Friday night, I told some friends to meet me at the Harvard Square location for a free-beer event, but it turned out to be in Kendall. Sorry, guys. Anyway, I'd been meaning to take a photo of TD's poorly punctuated sign for a while, but it would never come out right on my dumbphone. Thanks to someone else's iPhone, I finally got a clear shot of it.


Theoretically, this sign could say Tommy Doyle's Irish Bars, or, if there was more than one guy named Tommy Doyle, it could be Tommy Doyles' Irish Bar. But there has to be an apostrophe in here somewhere.

Thanks to Ben for taking this photo for me!

Three-for-One Sale on Punctuation Errors

Karen sells a variety of bits and bobs, but she's giving out apostrophe catastrophes for free.


It's too bad that Karen ruined a quaint expression with punctuation errors.

Thanks to Chris in Walthamstow, England, for sending in this triple catastrophe.

Deep-Fried Catastrophe

J. spotted a fattening apostrophe catastrophe at the Great Geauga County Fair (Ohio).


I have to admit that I ate a bunch of chocolate-covered potato chips last week at work (damn you, coworkers!), but even I would not eat deep-fried Oreos.

Thanks, J! Visit her blog here.

Bodega Catastrophe

I don't normally post spelling errors, but this one, which Nick spotted at a bodega in New York City, was so shockingly bad that I couldn't resist.



It's such a ridiculous misspelling that my first instinct was that it must be some sort of bad pun from Carvel's marketing department. But Nick swears that it's just a spelling error.

Check out Nick at CityBeams.com.

Puppy Is a Catastrophe

Russ spotted this (understandably) abandoned VHS tape at Goodwill.


I wonder if this video is made by the same people who produced this cat-astrophe.

Thanks, Russ!

Unnatural Disaster

Massachusetts has seen it all in the past year. We've had several blizzards, a hurricane, an earthquake, and worst of all, a tornado! The twister caused some serious damage in central and western Mass. Adding insult to injury, this fundraising t-shirt features an apostrophe catastrophe.


Thanks to Danielle for sending in this catastrophe. Let's hope the rest of 2011 is a little calmer, weather-wise.

Their Punctuation Really Sucks

My coworker Paul sent me this apostrophe catastrophe from Waltham, where he says finding punctuation errors "is like shooting fish in a barrel."


So was coming up with the headline for this posting.

Thanks, Paul!

Accent Catastrophe

Rae took a photo of this store in Horseshoe Casino in New Albany, Indiana (near Louisville).


She writes, "I can't decide whether it's a misplaced accent, an errant apostrophe, or perhaps a lazy prime number mark."

Regardless of its intentions, this is the worst accent catastrophe since since Julianne Moore on 30 Rock.

Thanks, Rae!

Someone Will Be Atoning for This

Just in time for Yom Kippur, here's an apostrophe catastrophe from the Holy Land.


Whoever messed up that ad should be racked with guilt. Sure, last year I ate a cheeseburger club on Yom Kippur and a lobster roll on Passover. And I'm 30 and not yet married to a doctor. But at least I use proper punctuation.

Thanks to Andrew in London for sending in this catastrophe. L'chaim!

I Call a Mulligan on This Sign

Whoever made this sign was doing pretty well until he got to the bottom and everything fell apart.



Can we start over?

Thanks to Todd for taking this photo at a golf course in an undisclosed location.

Rejected Insurance Spokespeople?

Pete sent in this apostrophe catastrophe from Goathland, England:


The word "gecko" is misspelled in the hand-written sign at the bottom of this display. And on the packaging of the product itself. Thanks to Alison for pointing that out!

Thanks, Pete!

Vote for Apostrophe Catastrophes!

Grammar.net is having a contest for the best grammar blog. Vote for Apostrophe Catastrophes using this link and I will be eternally grateful.

In other news, Russ sent me this apostrophe catastrophe that he spotted on Animal Planet:


If the apostrophe in Paw's just moved before the "n," everything would be fine.

Thanks, Russ!

Same Place, Two New Catastrophes

I spotted this sign in the bathroom of the bar where I saw this catastrophe a few weeks ago.


To even out the trifecta of errors, summer should not be capitalized. Sadly, it's time for them to come out with new drinks for fall. I wonder how long that sign has been up.

Dumps Like a Truck

This dump truck company has a good sense of humor but terrible punctuation skills.


Thanks to Mickey for sending in this hilarious, albeit gross, apostrophe catastrophe.

If you're like Anderson Cooper and enjoy this kind of humor, check out this unfortunate headline.

ABC Stores Vegas Catastrophe

Nat writes that he's seen this picture floating around the Internet "because of the unfortunate position" of the two superheroes, "but the real crime is in the background."


Check out the two apostrophe catastrophes on the neon sign.

Thanks, Nat!

Jersey Shore T-Shirt Apostrophe Catastrophe

My friend Jodi spotted this t-shirt on a recent family vacation to the Jersey Shore.


Two catastrophes in one! This t-shirt is especially close to my heart because my dad, whose birthday was earlier this week, has the patience of a saint. At least I'm not Snooki, but there have been a few truly horrific guys over the years. And that's all I'm saying about that topic....

Thanks, Jodi!

Old Navy College T-Shirt Apostrophe Catastrophes

Syracuse's website report that Old Navy is now selling college t-shirts with apostrophe catastrophes on them. Here's an example from OldNavy.com.


Some of the smartest people in the world go to Stanford, but obviously none of them were involved with designing these t-shirts.

A Van Down by the River

This apostrophe catastrophe-laden van was parked outside my office a couple of days ago.


CD's and DVD's could be OK depending on the style guide, but video's and magazine's is definitely wrong.

Making the Same Mistake Twice

Heather sent me this logo from the local newsletter in Chatham, Illinois, which makes the same error twice in a row.


She also admires the humor in the fact that the paper is called the Village Voice. I'm thinking its articles (or should I say it's articles) are quite different than these.

Thanks, Heather!

Weekend Is

Spotted at a bar in Watertown, Mass., which shall remain nameless.


Unlike Larry David, I don't want to sh*t where I eat.

Is it Friday yet?

Bluffin' with My Muffin's

Judy spotted this ad that has catastrophes in muffin's and jam's. Somehow, sandwiches and cookies escaped unscathed.


I guess it's better than cooky's.

Thanks, Judy!

And She Was with Some Kid Called David from the Garage Up the Road

Here's a somewhat subtle one:



Becca in Montpelier, Vermont, writes, "I'm not sure how perfect something needs to be to be babies perfect."

Maybe as perfect as the song that my LastFM was playing while posting this. Jarvis is a genius.

No Dice

This truck was parked outside a bar in Boston that I went to a couple of weeks ago.


I didn't even know that Major League Dice was a thing, but clearly this organization does not employ any proofreaders. Their punctuation is crap-tastic.

Australian TV Show Catastrophe

Crikey, this ad from Sydney needs an apostrophe in the headline.


Thanks for David for sending this catastrophe from the Land Down Under.

Gas Station Bathroom Catastrophe

This is the worst catastrophe to occur at a gas station bathroom since Britney Spears walked in barefoot.


Thanks to "Histdoc" for sending me this photo from Elko, Nevada.

Scotch On Sirloin

I suppose you could dip a steak in Scotch or pour some Scotch onto steak, but I think this sign, on a building in Boston's North End, is referring to Scotch and sirloin. So, it's missing an apostrophe. Maybe Axl Rose owns the restaurant.


I could go for some meat and whiskey right about now. Is it Friday yet?

Appliance's Sales and Service

Jerry was impressed to see that an appliance has its own sales and service.


Must be a smart fridge!

Thanks, Jerry!

Beach Apostrophe Catastrophe

My friend Mollie and I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago and were all set to bask in the sun and read trashy magazines when it started to rain. To add to the tragedy, the first place we tried to go for lunch looked like this:



I was starving, but I just couldn't buy food from a badly punctuated pizza shop.

Beach next weekend, betch.

Highway Catastrophe

This truck, which Kim spotted in Mesa, Arizona, is guilty of DWBP, driving while badly punctuated.


I appreciate that Kim sent me this photo, but I would like to remind everyone that it's not worth risking your life to capture an apostrophe catastrophe. Put those phones away on the highway!

Thanks, Kim!

Massachusett Is

How could this company be Massachusetts' premier vending company if they can't even spell the name of the state correctly?


Ruth, who sent me this catastrophe, writes, "If you can't spell it, move to Ohio!"

Thanks, Ruth!

Unpatriotic Catastrophe

The lack of apostrophe on this t-shirt, which Jen spotted at Ocean State Job Lot, implies that the nation has fallen from its former glory.


Whoever made this t-shirt should be charged with treason.

Thanks to Jen for sending this in.