Apostrophe catastrophe, # 117

Spotted on Clarendon Road, Watford:

11 minutes walk

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 116

Via Tim Matter, an apostrophe catastrophe on the menu of The Countryman in Staverton. As the second screenshot shows, the pub’s website also has mangled apostrophes, while an adjacent date suggests that review/update schedules are being ignored:

Link: The Countryman, ‘Food’

Taylors, coffee's; menu's x2

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 115

Dr Faustus is unimpressed by the persistent misuse of apostrophes in this press release:

Link: ResponseSource Press Release Wire

CV’s (x3)

Double-take, # 239

Dr Faustus spotted this in his local EE shop:

Apologies’; shut from 5:30 tonight we apologise […]; To Our Valued Customers

Multimangle, # 53

A veritable cornucopia of mangles!

Link: Honeywell VT117 Traditional Flow Radiator Thermostat, ‘Installation and User Instruction’ leaflet

temerature, guideance, decorators cap, cle-aning, sea-ting, seperate

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 114

Dr Faustus found this on a piece of clothing in H&M and was, he says, quite tempted to buy it, but for the apostrophe catastrophe which he could not countenance wearing. The inexplicable dash and the odd motto beneath the main text also offer good reasons to leave it on the rack:

world’s; New— York City; the island of manhattan | city of superlatives

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 113

A painful moment at the British Museum:

Source: The British Museum, wall decoration, ‘Francis Towne’s Watercolours of Rome’ exhibition

it’s for its

Multimangle, # 49

A weekend variety pack:

Link: The Swindonian, ‘Lottery winners not too happy’

Saturdays draw; jut for just; punctuation; comma splice

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 112

Comparison between the third item below and later entries suggests that apostrophes apply only to children:

Link: Brussels Airlines, ‘Hand Luggage — General Rules’

1 ladies handbag

Spellchecking Is Never Enough, # 228

Today’s seasonal offering brings a range of mangles wrapped a short paragraph and finished with an astoundingly apt typographical slip:

Link: Community Restaurants’ Blog, ‘So how well did Restaurants do this Easter?’

the the; thats; 16830000; Fifty one; holiday themed buffet; in that order respectively; traditional Eater meal

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 111

Running since 1950, and discussed regularly in the news, this radio soap’s title is The Archers…

Link: The Telegraph, ‘The Archer’s [sic] domestic abuse plot […]’

The Archer’s

Other Englishes, # 5

This from Just Liam, who remarks: ‘I can’t comment on the translation, but come on! Get a native English-speaking person to proofread!’ Some of the errors here, such as the use of the conditional mood where the future tense is needed, are not uncommon among those taught English in Asia; others, such as the misused apostrophe, are not uncommon among those taught English in England… Some of the errors, however, are more puzzling:

The translation on the front label is not entirely satisfactory either:

thefinest; pour into boiling water on the proportion; would for will; it’s for its; poer for pour; ‘soup’!; served repeatedly for 3–5 times; avoid a long time infusion; Chinese Famous Tea

Multimangle, # 44

This much-mangled and puzzlingly retro webpage comes via Mo Juste, who comments: ‘I found a website about Abington Park, probably Northampton’s “jewel”, and thought how awful it looked. So I clicked on the web designer’s link. I leave the rest to you’ — quite a lot of ‘rest’, too!

Link: Mad Dezign

customize you website idea’s to a simple user friendly look, whilst not losing the concepts of the site you want to look like; who don't want the bother or spending huge amounts; easy to work with, whilst, maintaining a profession feel; heavy code

Multimangle, # 43

In amongst this bunch of mangles is one appropriate for St David’s Day:

Link: Chadwicks flowers, ‘English indoor dafodills’

dafodills; Chadwicks; Valentines Day; Mothers Day; foliages

Multimangle, # 42

This Google snapshot of its webpages suggests that J. D. Wetherspoon is having trouble harmonizing its corporate identity, amongst other things:

Link: Google search on ‘Wetherspoon’

Wetherspoon, founded in 1979 is a national chain across the whole of the UK & Ireland, with our award winning pubs & hotels, we are […]; Wetherspoon has […]; Wetherspoon have […]; Wetherspoon’ Pubs

Not Washed or Cooked, # 289

A thematic run this week, starting with a reminder that, should you choose a condescending stance, it is vital to proofread before posting:

Link: Lexington Montessori School, ‘Outdoor Clothing - Tis [sic] the Season!’

Tis the Season!; approrpiate weater; your child(ren) need; CLOTHINGS

Multimangle, # 38

Dr Faustus has found this piece of prose, which mangles grammar, syntax, punctuation and meaning:

Link: Generator, ‘More than a hostel’

your for you’re; shifting perspective; syntax; spacing

Multimangle, # 36

In a short seasonal interlude, today’s and tomorrow’s mangles relate to the annual commemoration of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, a commemoration irregularly marked with an apostrophe. Here is an announcement for last year’s festivities from the Morgan Arms in London:

Link: Metropolitan Pub Company, Morgan Arms, Burns’ Night 2015

kneeps for neeps, e for and, & whisky’s as plural [plus Burns Night]

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 110

From Dr Faustus:

Link: LSE Political Theory Graduate Conference 2015

years’ for year’s

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 109

In the second paragraph of this submission from Dr Faustus, the quotation marks used to distinguish the play’s title have collided problematically with a possessive apostrophe. The preposition used (twice) with ‘divorce’ in the first paragraph seems ill-chosen too:

Link: TimeOut, ‘Controversial author Rachel Cusk reshapes Euripides’s “Medea” in her own image’

‘Medea’s; divorce with