I'd take up the banner

[novapsyche]

'Punctuation hero' branded a vandal for painting apostrophes on street signs

Mr Gatward, who served for four years in the Gordon Highlanders in the 1960s, is not just a campaigner for the apostrophe. He will not join the 'five items or less' queue at the supermarket, in protest that the sign should read 'five items or fewer'.

He also gets annoyed when people-neglect the 'Royal' in 'Royal Tunbridge Wells', and was vexed when he saw a major chain store advertising sales with signs saying 'until stocks last' rather than 'while stocks last'.

I also am dismayed when I see "X items or less" in supermarkets. Usually I just sigh and get in line, though.

"Until stocks last" doesn't make a lick of sense.

Comments

[jojomojo.livejournal.com]

I don't know why, but I just knew he'd be British.
(I'm also not terribly surprised the story's in the Daily Mail)

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

You may have gotten a hint from some of the word choices, such as "queue" instead of "line". Also, I don't think Americans (or other non-monarchial citizens) care that much if "Royal" is left off appellations.

Now, about the story being in the Daily Mail, that I cannot otherwise explain. Is the paper known for featuring odd stories?

[jojomojo.livejournal.com]

I think he cares, not because it's Royal per se, but because it's part of the name (historically you'd have towns divided into Royal X and Bishop's X because different parts of the town were under different authorities, but that's long gone now). A US example might be talking about Jersey instead of New Jersey.

The Daily Mail is a rightwing newspaper beloved of older middle-class people who like to talk about how things were better back in their day when they had hanging and flogging. It sort of fits in my mind with some crotchety old grandpa complaining about the decline of standards in grammar and spelling since his day :)

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

Heh. I think some Americans already address the state as such: "I'm going to Jersey for the weekend." It might be a provincial thing.

Dropping "New" from New Mexico, on the other hand, might cause some difficulty.

[pstscrpt.livejournal.com]

I think "until stocks last" is probably just a mistake, not really a grammar problem.

Indian people tend to say queue, and computer programmers will do it sometimes (we all know what it means, but may or may not use it in everyday conversation).

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

Indian people tend to say queue, and computer programmers will do it sometimes.

Yes, all true, I grant you. I'm just saying that the combination of certain words in a particular style might have subconsciously signaled to a former Brit that the person in the article was from his motherland.