apostrofly
n.— «There is no guarantee that the apostrophe will appear in the right place in Queens’ College, Cambridge. The apostrophe, it sometimes seems, is like an insect—an apostrofly—over the dining table, alighting where it will. If either name, Queen’s or Queens,” appears in the corrections column a dozen readers will accuse me of having an Oxbridge fixation.» —“Open door—It’s in its rightful place—The readers’ editor on …the plague of the apostrofly” by Ian Mayes Guardian (U.K.) Sept. 30, 2002. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about...
Book recommendations and the art of apology. Martha and Grant share some good reads, including an opinionated romp through English grammar, a Spanish-language adventure novel, an account of 19th-century dictionary wars, and a gorgeously illustrated...