Chuckles

[With thanks to RDE, noch einmal.]

St James'ses

James Wood's use of the possessive in 'David Shields's recent manifesto "Reality Hunger"' (here, final para) is just plain ugly. But 'Roland Barthes's prosecutorial ruthlessness' (three lines later) is a real mind-warper.

Either it counts as doubly hideous - implying, as it may, that we think 'Barthes' is actually pronounced 'Barths' or 'Bart(h)ez' - and/or a mutant result of obsessive adherence to 'house style'; or it demonstrates an assumption that every New Yorker-reader knows full well that you don't pronounce the 'es' on the end of 'Barthes'.

Anyone fancy odds?*

--
*French-speakers do not apply.

The Facebook comment I SO wanted to Like

Surely "Pak 'n Save" should be "Pa'k 'n' Save"? Or do they do that so they can pass the savings from the two dropped apostrophes onto we canny consumers?

[With thanks to AH, who didn't give his permission for this in any way.]

Geek moment

The great thing about the phrase 'at arm's length' is that it doesn't logically matter where you put the apostrophe.