Double Play

[kevin_standlee]

As I was walking away from the barbershop yesterday, I spotted this sign in the dilapidated shopping center's parking lot.

Maybe the sign maker was offering a "sale" on "free quotation mark's" the day they ordered this sign.

Comments

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

Scratches, head. Even without the quotation marks it doesn't make sense!

FF

[were-gopher.livejournal.com]

Maybe they've had someone using it as an unofficial lot for his web based second hand car dealing.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Yep that usually means people are parking their cars they want to sell on the "empty" lot. San Jose City Law says you can't park For Sale cars on the street.

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

Ah, that would make sense. And make the quotations correct, I think?

FF

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

No, not a bit, not in my grammar. If a car is "for sale," that implies to me that it's not really for sale, just pretend.

You shouldn't use quotes for emphasis. Neither the apostrophe nor the quotes in this sign are correct. A sign that said

NO PARKING
OF AUTOS
FOR SALE

would be correct and doesn't need any punctuation marks at all: neither the grocer's apostrophe or the unnecessary scare-quotes belong here.

[frostfox.livejournal.com]

Yep, you're right.

FF

[rono-60103.livejournal.com]

It looks to me like the owners don't want any auto parking it's "For Sale" there. Now what a "'For Sale'" is, I haven't the foggiest.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

Last week I was handed a note that something "need's label's," which made me wince. But more than one person should have looked at this sign before it was made and posted; somebody should have noticed...unless the errors are intentional to attract attention? That's probably hoping for too much.

[hazelchaz]

Oh, I think they're trying to emphasize that if you have a sign or other markings on your vehicle that say "FOR SALE" that it's not allowed.

If you've just parked it there, and it is for sale but you're only advertising it on Craigslist or something and not with any signage, then it doesn't violate their ruling. After all, that would make it a lot harder to enforce.

I'd be more concerned with the apostrophe than the quotation marks myself. But if the shopping center has a grocery, then I can blame that on the grocer.

[totient]

Even so NO PARKING OF "FOR SALE" AUTOS would seem more correct, ne?

[hazelchaz]

Ah, but the admonition is for the car's sign, not the car itself. Hence the apostrophe.