Double-take, # 227

Dr Faustus is puzzled by bus stop signage:

Baughurst Commom

The Wrong Word Entirely, # 91

Not actually a homophone, and definitely not the right word, as spotted by John Holloway in a mangle for which he chose the caption: ‘Interesting evening activities in Plymouth?’ The first picture shows the object described and part of the mangled sign; the second displays the mangle in full:

carousal for carousel

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 105

John Holloway spotted a small herd of misplaced apostrophes in Walton in the Naze:

eel’s, cockle’s, prawn’s, mussel’s, whelk’s, winkle’s, crab’s

Not Washed or Cooked, # 271

Spotted by John Holloway. Perhaps the writer was thinking about fish…

soley

Spellchecking Is Never Enough, # 201

A slip on a sign in the main cloisters canteen at University College London, submitted by Dr Faustus:

you for your

Not Washed or Cooked, # 258

Another from Dr Faustus. With these prices the centre will soon be able to afford a spell-checker!

tarriff

Spellchecking Is Never Enough, # 198

From the backlog of Dr Faustus, who spotted this at the Tudor House in Southampton:

us for is

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 96

The charity formerly known as Citizens’ Advice Bureau has apparently been rebranded and eschews possessive apostrophes in its name, which rather implies uncertainly about the number of citizens it is willing to aid:

Link: Citizens Advice

Elsewhere (Rugby, in this case), nonsensical pre-rebrand signage sidesteps the apostrophe problem entirely:

Citizen Advice Bureau

Double-take, # 186

Spotted in July 2012 in a charity shop:

No food or drink to be consumed in this store. (Including children)

Double-take, # 185

Des Pond of Slough finds this Sainsbury’s sign quite amusing:

Our fresh chicken […] has been for 10 years

Multimangle, # 26

The stone circle alluded to here certainly predates the apostrophe, and the name applied to it may well do, but the modern signage at the site does not and apostrophes consistently appear in the name on the official website (of which more tomorrow). It is also not apparent why the name here is treated as a plural when ‘The Rollright Stones’ — equally plural to the naked eye — takes singular verb forms on the website (where this name does not appear as a subject); nor why the superfluous singular subject noun in the first paragraph on the sign is treated as if plural:

Kings Men

Not Washed or Cooked, # 253

To celebrate the blog’s thousandth post, here is a lovely Midsomer Murders mangle that I’ve been saving for a special occasion:

Source: Midsomer Murders, series 13, episode 6, ‘The Noble Art’

turf accounants

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 75

Mo Juste went to Corby the other week, and this is what he found:

As he says, ‘If you’re going to get it wrong, make sure everyone can see it.’
carer’s wanted

Apostrophe catastrophe, # 59

Spotted by Des Pond of Slough:

I wonder if andrewlomas is pleased that Lidl is showing the world his apostrophe catastrophe. I also wonder whether andrewlomas exists or is a marketing creation. I don’t wonder about the apostrophe catastrophe. That definitely exists.

better than it’s price tag

Double-take, # 105

Above a shop in Dunchurch, Warwickshire. Is the middle one especially for American visitors?

[random] off license