Greengrocers' Apostrophe

Ah, the greengrocers' apostrophe. That bizarre and irritating addition to an otherwise perfectly normal plural. This photo was snapped outside a market in Cairns. What I especially love about this sign is the fact that the writer correctly used the apostrophe of possession and then epically failed further down the line. I also love that Rusty's Market is primarily made up of greengrocers. Or should I say "greengrocer's"?

Cut Price CDs

Someone (possibly Chris) once asked me which I hate more, the use of unnecessary apostrophes, or missing ones. Both really get on my nerves, but for the former, it feels like the writer knows about the rules, but doesn't know how to apply them, whereas the latter smacks more of laziness. Or maybe it is just ignorance. Oh whatever, each scenario is as bad as the other!

The above example is a very common evil. I personally believe people do it to differentiate the "S" from the rest of the acronym (though I think that writing a lower case "s" solves that problem, as demonstrated in this post's title), while another argument offered to me once is that it's actually intended as an apostrophe of omission. I disagree with that analysis; in fact, the relevant Wikipedia entry only mentions the acronym scenario in terms of plural forming and not to show omission, so the internet agrees with me! I suppose you could argue that an acronym is a form of abbreviation, but I can't be bothered to go there right now because I think that argument would be a stretch, and anyway, in my oh-so vaunted opinion, the above example is just plain incorrect.

American spelling invasion

Oh, American spelling is such a mixed bag. I grudgingly accept the logic behind its existence, but I really feel that using it anywhere outside of the US (or Canada, for some words) is completely unacceptable. It's possible that the writer of this sign is actually American, which would make the crime a little less heinous, but considering this photo was taken in small town Western Australia (Bridgetown, to be specific), I'd say the chances are slim. Besides which, the inclusion of a superfluous apostrophe in "Tees" is enough to raise my ire, so the writer would be in my bad books anyway.