greengrocer's apostrophe
greengrocer's apostrophe noun: an incorrectly used apostrophe; (especially) one mistakenly used to form the plural of a noun, for example: writing the plural of banana as banana's (a possessive) instead of bananas.
Noun
greengrocer's apostrophe (plural greengrocer's apostrophes or (humorous) greengrocers apostrophe's)
- An incorrectly used apostrophe; (especially) one mistakenly used to form the plural of a noun, for example: writing the plural of banana as banana's (a possessive) instead of bananas.
- [A] flashing neon sign advertising the Pari's Hotel is less an early case of greengrocer's apostrophe than a sardonic Pascalian allusion (pari in French meaning 'bet').1993, British Film Institute, Sight and Sound Film Review
- It is hardly surprising that these conventions seem to be in rapid collapse, with what has been called "the greengrocer's apostrophe" (apple's 60p, Antique's, linguistic's, and perhaps even mean't, all personally attested) […]1998, Richard M. Hogg et al., The Cambridge History of the English Language, page 121
- Synonyms:
- idiot's apostrophe, rogue apostrophe
Synonyms of greengrocer's apostrophe
Forms of greengrocer's apostrophe
| plural | greengrocer's apostrophes |
|---|---|
| plural (humorous) | greengrocers apostrophe's |
| alternative form (archaic) | greengrocer's-apostrophe |
| alternative form (nonstandard) | greengrocers' apostrophe |
Origin of greengrocer's apostrophe
From the relatively common misusage of apostrophes seen on the placards used at greengroceries.
Questions about greengrocer's apostrophe
- What does greengrocer's apostrophe mean?
- Greengrocer's apostrophe means an incorrectly used apostrophe; (especially) one mistakenly used to form the plural of a noun, for example: writing the plural of banana as banana's (a possessive) instead of bananas.
- What part of speech is greengrocer's apostrophe?
- Greengrocer's apostrophe is a noun.
- What is the plural of greengrocer's apostrophe?
- The plural of greengrocer's apostrophe is greengrocer's apostrophes.
Words near greengrocer's apostrophe in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: greengrocer's apostrophe (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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