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.