A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum

[Old Grumpy]

I was re-going through some childhood memorabilia of my late mother yesterday, and came upon a little book of poems and amusing stories with her own drawings, dated 1915, when she would have been ten. In one of them she had used the apostrophe/s in the manner you cite, indicating that this problem may be older than we think!

It seems apologists are in order:

I have observed the notice from the car as I drive past...

...on closer inspection the "apostrophe" seems to be the head from a nail affixing the board to a post!

[oddoneout]

It seems apologists are in order:

I have observed the notice from the car as I drive past...

...on closer inspection the "apostrophe" seems to be the head from a nail affixing the board to a post!

But did the nail have to go there - or did the nailer see "stalls" and think - there's something missing there - and so placed the nail accordingly?

[Old Grumpy]

But did the nail have to go there - or did the nailer see "stalls" and think - there's something missing there - and so placed the nail accordingly?

Good point...


...on closer inspection, walking past this morning I note it is actually a screw head (either Phillips or is it Pozidriv?)*



*This should really be in Pedants' Paradise, I guess