I Will Forgive Them For Their Apostrophe Abuse

[gnomi]

Because their iPhone app is so brilliant. Free for a limited time, they say.

(They use the name "Email 'n Walk." They've got smart quotes turned on, so their apostrophe is upside-down. Also, they should have apostrophes on both sides of the n. I also would prefer they use a dash in "E-mail," but that's a matter for style guides to fight out.)

(Thanks to Universal Hub for the heads-up.)

Comments

". . . up with which I shall not put."

[(Anonymous)]

Alas, distracted by the faulty punctuation, you have ended a sentence with a preposition. I suggest: "... but that's a matter for style guides to resolve."

This reminds me of a tale about a lighthouse keeper and his wife who lived on a remote island. The keeper was an avid reader, but his wife, who liked to maintain a neat lighthouse, grew weary of finding his books scattered about the beacon room in disarray. Accordingly, she insisted he keep all his books in a separate, one-room building situated at the foot of the lighthouse. Thus, it came as a great surprise to the keeper one day when he returned from an inspection tour of the island, climbed the spiral staircase to the beacon room, and discovered his wife leafing through the pages of his "Illustrated Encylopedia of Australian Flora and Fauna." In consternation he demanded, "What did you bring that book about Down Under in up around from out below for?"


STEVE O.

Re: ". . . up with which I shall not put."

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

In informal writing (and in formal writing when it would otherwise sound awkward), I have no problem ending sentences with prepositions. I'd rather not do verbal gymnastics when my point is clearly made anyway.

And I have always enjoyed the tale of the lighthouse keeper and his wife.