teh Peda'nt's "anonymous" WEB sight

[baratron]

I do hope the title of this entry has caused you pain. Just think yourselves lucky - I was going to make it my journal title... ;)

Does anyone else have the same reaction I did to this pub sign, seen on one of my regular bus routes to work:

Sunday roast: £5.95
Children: £3.95

?

Mmmm... delicious children... (And they let me become a teacher?!)

Those of you who are less, or simply differently, pedantic might say "What's your point? Even after the sarcasm, you still clearly know what the sign means: adults' meals are £5.95 and childrens' meals are £3.95." To those people, I'd reply: just because you're right, doesn't mean I can't also be right. It's still an abuse of the English language, even if I know what it means :)

But I remain irritated by another pub on the same bus route which has a sign outside saying:

Bring your family to play in our garden. "We have two".

Comments

[kightp.livejournal.com]

But pedantry can be so much fun!

And useful, too. There's a restaurant in my town which used to advertise:

Mexican "Food"

Those superfluous quotation marks were enough to keep me away ... and then it was closed down by the health department after a number of diners came down with "food" poisoning.

[mjl]

Your writing "childrens'" rather than "children's" was, of course, the deliberate error that it's traditional to make when correcting someone else's spelling or grammar, right? :)

[baratron.livejournal.com]

No, I really forgot that children is already plural :) Damn silly language.

[nitoda]

I'm just confused by the last bit - they have two gardens? Or are they implying they have two children or two families or what? It just doesn't make enough sense AT ALL!