One of a kind!

Seen at a local pizza place. It's amazing to me that people will put a grammatical error in print like this and leave it there long enough to wear out. It's not like the rules of grammar are some big secret -- Ethan is learning about There, Their and They're in first grade. Worse yet, if the customer didn't spot it, how about the company who printed it for them? Dave Barry was right.

Dear Mister Language Person: What is the purpose of the apostrophe?

Answer: The apostrophe is used mainly in hand-lettered small business signs to alert the reader than an "S" is coming up at the end of a word, as in: WE DO NOT EXCEPT PERSONAL CHECK'S, or: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ITEM'S.

Another important grammar concept to bear in mind when creating hand- lettered small-business signs is that you should put quotation marks around random words for decoration, as in "TRY" OUR HOT DOG'S, or even TRY "OUR" HOT DOG'S.