Don’t know if the “inappropriate” use of quotation “marks” is one of your peeves the way it is mine, but if so, you will likely “enjoy” this blog that the Shop Tart brought to my “attention.” It’s called The “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks. What else?
You’ll “laugh.” Until you “cry.”
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.
That was classic Dave Barry.
loved the website, excellent! Must confess to overusing quotation marks in my own “writing.”
one frequently seen grammatical error is the misuse of the plural negative, as on some trains/subways: “All doors will not open.”
I’ll just be happy when more restaurants than not spell “prosciutto” correctly…
@phillip, based on your well-written comments heretofore, I hardly think you are in the category here. Using quotation marks to indicate irony or some similar detachment, while certainly overused by some at times, is not the same thing as randomly placing them around words, as if to italicize them, or because they are proper nouns….
“Vine ripe” tomatoes–that’s a popular one, and I don’t think they really mean to highlight that the tomatoes are not “vine-ripened” at all, but green ones ethylene-gassed to pink rocks.
Overuse of quotation marks “amuses” me.
I’ve been to a few places that don’t have exit signs, but do have “Entrance” signs.
My pet peeve is the apostrophe. I’ve always cringed at the wood-burned name signs in front of houses: The Smith’s, The Davidson’s, The Jone’s.