Apostrophes
A visiting blogger recommended a hook, so I'll begin today my war on apostrophes's'. One of my many jobs is the editing of a church newsletter, one of which recently advertised lilly's for sale. Of course, the error was sneaked in (yes, sneaked, not snuck) post-editing, and I was more than dismayed. Lilies could be for sale, and Lilly's hair could be on fire, but never the twain shall meet....wait, Lilly's Lilies could be for sale. Catchy. Lilly's Lilies' whiteness could be dazzling.
posted by Musing Mama K (Angie Burgin Kratzer) | 10:57 AM
8 Comments:
Is it inconceivable that Lilly herself is for sale?
I say "sneaked," too (and "shrank," not "shrunk"). But according to the OED, "snuck" is the original past tense of "sneak," and is fairly standard in the U.S.
I like variation in language.
And by the way, Ms. Kratzer - what is your position on the possessive form of a proper noun that ends with an 's'? The Chicago Manual seems to indicate that one must enjoy listening to Brahms's symphonies - but I 'stinkly remember learning that those of us lucky enough to end our names with a dento-lingual sibilant are exempt from burdening Brahms' moniker with extra letters.
I get absolutely nuts about typos, spelling, and all sorts of mistakes, yet I continue to make them.
Welcome to the blogging world. I look forward to reading your work.
jw
http://www.howdoyoulikeme.blogspot.com/
I once worked somewhere that had “Mens” and “Womens” restrooms. “Men” and “Women” would have been just fine, but they could have at least given us a “Men's” and “Women's.” Apostrophes paired with acronyms also annoy me. If I want to pluralize “HMO” without spelling it out, I'll write “HMOs” not “HMO's.”
Gryphon, I think these days Brahms's is mostly seen in academic writing. If I'm not mistaken, the AP style guide would suggest Brahms', as it seems to be the most common style in American media and advertising. This may not be the case in other English-speaking (and writing) countries, though.
I've taught my students for years that Moses, Jesus, Odysseus, and Zeus get the single apostrophe with no additional s (Jesus'). I reckon they deserve the exception.
Here's a fun one:
My sisters-in-law are visiting.
My sister-in-law's children irritate me.
Jenn's comment reminds me of:
Is an acronym something that can be pronounced or just any, perhaps commonly recognized, set of initials?
Good luck with your blog.
dale
Hi Dale,
According to Merriam Webster and the AP, an acronym can create a new word from initals (e.g. NATO) or remain an abbreviation of initials (e.g. FBI).
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