Thursday, January 11, 2024

Ginger Apostrophe Catastrophe

I noticed this intriguing product at the supermarket last night called Annas Ginger Swedish Thins. I looked at the back of the box, and it just mentions one woman named Anna, so the name is definitely a catastrophe.



I believe apostrophes are used in Sweden, so I'm not sure what's going on here. Also, doesn't it seem like it should be Anna's Swedish Ginger Thins?



Saturday, December 23, 2023

Cheerios Apostrophe Catastrophe

We’ve been eating this Cheerios Oats ‘N Honey for a few months, and I just noticed that that it has an apostrophe catastrophe on the box. With only one apostrophe, it looks like it should read “oats in honey,” but the apostrophe isn’t even an apostrophe! It’s a single opening quotation mark. 





Get with the program, General Mills. 


Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Cigar Apostrophe Catstrophe

I made the poor decision to go shopping at Market Basket last Sunday, and it was a mob scene! On the plus side, I spotted this apostrophe catastrophe on the door of the Market Basket liquor store, and it inspired me to update this blog for the first time in almost two years! 



I'm still alive, y'all! Just crazy busy!

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Halloween Movie Catastrophe

Halloween movies are scary enough, but this apostrophe catastrophe is downright terrifying.




Saturday, April 17, 2021

MSNBC Apostrophe Catastrophe

I was falling asleep on the couch watching TV, per usual, when I spotted this apostrophe catastrophe on MSNBC. 





Did they fire all their proofreaders?

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Jayson Tatum Tattoo Catastrophe

I'm a huge Boston Celtics fan, and I love Jayson Tatum, but he should have had someone proofread his new tattoo.



Assuming there is one God and he possesses will, there should be an apostrophe on Jayson's back between the "D" and the "S."


Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Kelly Clarkson Catastrophe

I have a soft spot in my heart for Kelly Clarkson, but this ad for her talk show is a catastrophe.



This ad was showing all around the Boston Garden during tonight’s Celtics game and half of the ads had the apostrophe and half didn’t. The game was a catastrophe too!

Monday, November 26, 2018

Triple Cheap Apostrophe Catastrophe

I hate the mall. Especially at this time of year. The crowds, the music, the conspicuous consumption... it all just makes me depressed. But I was meeting a friend for dinner at a mall near where I work the other day, and I was early, so I got sucked in to Primark , where I found some extremely cheap clothes. After I bought the clothes, I looked up Primark on Wikipedia and discovered that, not surprisingly, the company has been accused of poor labor practices. I felt even guiltier when I saw that the sign in front of the store featured three apostrophe catastrophes.




Next time, maybe I will try a charity shop.


Monday, April 30, 2018

Lucky Apostrophe Catastrophe

My husband and I stopped by an Irish pub in Nashua, NH, to check out the end of the Celtics game, and we sat right next to this blatant double apostrophe catastrophe.



The photo is a little hard to see, but it says, "Seven day's, Seven hour's."

Apparently, the bar itself was lucky because the Celtics won and moved on to the next round of the playoffs.

Slainte!


Saturday, March 10, 2018

Ivy League Apostrophe Catastrophe

Breaking news: going to Harvard does not guarantee that one uses proper punctuation. I’m at a Harvard hockey game right now, and this is the ticket.



This gets an “F” from me.

Friday, October 13, 2017

Mystery Meat Catastrophe

I was trying to decide whether to drive into Boston or take the T, but I figured I'd save myself from rush hour on 93 and stopped at the Quincy station. I was excited to see this blatant apostrophe catastrophe.



Thursday, April 6, 2017

Ironic Apostrophe Catastrophe

Easton spotted this apostrophe catastrophe at a book store and wrote, "I thought this apostrophe catastrophe I found was particularly ironic, given that the publisher is selling a book on grammar and punctuation for schoolchildren."


I agree!

Thanks, Easton!


Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Beer Catastrophe

Alison sent in this poorly punctuated ad from a local newspaper almost five years ago, and it somehow got buried in my email.



I need a drink after seeing this ad.

Thanks, Alison!


Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Another Day, Another British Apostrophe Catastrophe

Before getting to today's apostrophe catastrophe, submitted by Clive in East Sussex, I would like to take a moment to mourn the loss of one of my punctuation heroes, Bill Walsh. If you haven't read Lapsing Into a Comma or The Elephants of Style, definitely check them out. R.I.P., Mr. Walsh.

As for this entry's apostrophe catastrophe, it looks like Monty started out fairly well, in that he correctly punctuated his name, but everything falls apart after that.



Thanks to Clive for sending this one in!


Monday, November 28, 2016

Cuban Cigars Catastrophe

In honor of Fidel Castro, I thought I would choose this catastrophe for today.



Craig spotted this sign in Mexico, so perhaps we can forgive the sign makers as English is not their first language. I, however, cannot be forgiven for waiting three years to post this! I am way behind on submissions to Apostrophe Catastrophes, but I will try to be better about posting them from now on.

Thanks, Craig!