Apostrophe'''''s, when did the rot set in?

[Papa Hotel]

singlecoil said:

I'm not really seeing a problem there, isn't bra shortened from brassiere?

Yes. It still shouldn't have an apostrophe.

[singlecoil]

Papa Hotel said:

singlecoil said:

I'm not really seeing a problem there, isn't bra shortened from brassiere?

Yes. It still shouldn't have an apostrophe.

Because?

[Papa Hotel]

singlecoil said:

Because?

Explain why it should.

[Cock Womble 7]

singlecoil said:

Papa Hotel said:

singlecoil said:

I'm not really seeing a problem there, isn't bra shortened from brassiere?

Yes. It still shouldn't have an apostrophe.

Because?

I think it's served its time long enough now to be considered a word in its own right and not an abbreviation.

[Hugo a Gogo]

I've never seen " Bra' " written

[singlecoil]

Cock Womble 7 said:

singlecoil said:

Papa Hotel said:

singlecoil said:

I'm not really seeing a problem there, isn't bra shortened from brassiere?

Yes. It still shouldn't have an apostrophe.

Because?

I think it's served its time long enough now to be considered a word in its own right and not an abbreviation.

I'm inclined to agree, but it was posted here originally because it was felt to be actually wrong, I presume, and the fact that bra is now a word in its own right doesn't mean that the original quote was wrong. I'm not saying the quote was right, I'm just assking for it to be demonstrated that it was wrong.

[central]

Cock Womble 7 said:

singlecoil said:

Papa Hotel said:

singlecoil said:

I'm not really seeing a problem there, isn't bra shortened from brassiere?

Yes. It still shouldn't have an apostrophe.

Because?

I think it's served its time long enough now to be considered a word in its own right and not an abbreviation.

[Papa Hotel]

singlecoil said:

I'm inclined to agree, but it was posted here originally because it was felt to be actually wrong, I presume, and the fact that bra is now a word in its own right doesn't mean that the original quote was wrong. I'm not saying the quote was right, I'm just assking for it to be demonstrated that it was wrong.

Is that you backpedalling?

[singlecoil]

Papa Hotel said:

singlecoil said:

I'm inclined to agree, but it was posted here originally because it was felt to be actually wrong, I presume, and the fact that bra is now a word in its own right doesn't mean that the original quote was wrong. I'm not saying the quote was right, I'm just assking for it to be demonstrated that it was wrong.

Is that you backpedalling?

No, especially as I didn't say at any point that the original quote was correct, I simply pointed out that bra could, and certainly used to be, considered an abbreviation. I see you are not addressing my last point?

[Papa Hotel]

singlecoil said:

No, especially as I didn't say at any point that the original quote was correct, I simply pointed out that bra could, and certainly used to be, considered an abbreviation. I see you are not addressing my last point?

What is your last point? So far as I can see, your point has been "that's an abbreviation". I'm not sure how that necessitates an apostrophe when pluralising the word "bra".

I think you're just spoiling for a fight. You have, to all intents and purposes, admitted you were wrong yet you're still demanding we explain why.

[Cock Womble 7]

singlecoil said:

I'm inclined to agree, but it was posted here originally because it was felt to be actually wrong, I presume, and the fact that bra is now a word in its own right doesn't mean that the original quote was wrong. I'm not saying the quote was right, I'm just asking for it to be demonstrated that it was wrong.

The original quote was wrong, because of our old favourite the plural apostrophe.

Bras, not bra's.

[singlecoil]

Papa Hotel said:

I think you're just spoiling for a fight. You have, to all intents and purposes, admitted you were wrong yet you're still demanding we explain why.

I admit that I am not averse to the occasional punch-up, but only when it's something I actually care about. I'm really not that interested in the apostrophe thing. I have not admitted to being wrong because I don't have a definite position on this subject anyway, nor am I 'demanding' an explanation (be wary of using emotive terms in a discussion like this, it tends to weaken one's argument), I am simply pointing out that although people have said the original quote was wrong, they haven't demonstrated that. Saying something isn't the same as proving it.

Instead of treating this like a dispute, let's ask ourselves the question "has the time now arrived when it is actually wrong to treat words such as bra, photo and phone as abbreviations( even though they started that way)?"

For instance, would we consider photo's to be actually wrong? Or 'phone?

And I think we can all agree that there are better examples of apostrophe mis-use on this forum than the one Marshalla posted?

Edited by singlecoil on Monday 17th September 11:54

[Hugo a Gogo]

my feeling is that you are wrong, the usage is wrong, and it will never be correct

as wrong as " CD's "

If you could cite a source that says " bra's " is an abbreviation of brassieres, that would be nice

[singlecoil]

Hugo a Gogo said:

my feeling is that you are wrong, the usage is wrong, and it will never be correct

as wrong as " CD's "

If you could cite a source that says " bra's " is an abbreviation of brassieres, that would be nice

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/bra?q=bra

"Origin:
1930s: abbreviation of brassiere"

Incidentally, my feeling is that sentences should start with a capital letter.

[Hugo a Gogo]

singlecoil said:

Hugo a Gogo said:

my feeling is that you are wrong, the usage is wrong, and it will never be correct

as wrong as " CD's "

If you could cite a source that says " bra's " is an abbreviation of brassieres, that would be nice

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/bra?q=bra

"Origin:
1930s: abbreviation of brassiere"

Incidentally, my feeling is that sentences should start with a capital letter.

It's the apostrophe s that we're interested in.

There are not many of those words that take an apostrophe in the middle to show missing letters. There are the "..n't" type words, then there are things like "fo'c'sle"

[singlecoil]

Hugo a Gogo said:

It's the apostrophe s that we're interested in.

There are not many of those words that take an apostrophe in the middle to show missing letters. There are the "..n't" type words, then there are things like "fo'c'sle"

So how would you feel about 'photo's'?

[Papa Hotel]

singlecoil said:

So how would you feel about 'photo's'?

That's perfectly fine. Depending on context.

What belongs to the photo?

[Hugo a Gogo]

singlecoil said:

Hugo a Gogo said:

It's the apostrophe s that we're interested in.

There are not many of those words that take an apostrophe in the middle to show missing letters. There are the "..n't" type words, then there are things like "fo'c'sle"

So how would you feel about 'photo's'?

the exact same way

[singlecoil]

Perhaps I'm just an old fashioned type of guy, I would see 'photo's' as being more correct than 'photos'. I don't see 'photos' as being wrong, though, as it is now an accepted word in its own right.

[marshalla]

singlecoil said:

Perhaps I'm just an old fashioned type of guy, I would see 'photo's' as being more correct than 'photos'. I don't see 'photos' as being wrong, though, as it is now an accepted word in its own right.

What about pianos vs. piano's ?