Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#183537 03/13/09 01:12 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
D
addict
OP Offline
addict
D
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
Is it...

The boss's car
The boss' car

Or something else

And having typed it out and stared at it for 10 minutes, I'm much in favour of the former.

Last edited by doc_comfort; 03/13/09 01:37 AM. Reason: To negate questioning of my intelligence. :p
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
yes


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
heh

sorry, couldn't resist.

I would go with the latter, just because three ss's in a row looks kinda silly.


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956
The latter for me as well. The Boss' Car.

Headmistressship was the only triple sss word I could come up with.

olly #183541 03/13/09 02:25 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
D
addict
OP Offline
addict
D
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
I'm happy with silly if it's right. smile

My initial thinking was Boss', for the very reasons given. But everything I can find (via professor g) tells me that only mythical / relgious entities can skip the s, and that everyone else is stuck with it. Having struggled with the possessive of Davies (my surname) for 25 odd years, I thought it would be nice to know with *some certainly. And Bighard Word is no help...

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
I learned to use boss' when I was in grammar school, but nowadays they teach boss's. Go figure. I still tend to write it like I was l'arned.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
zmjezhd #183551 03/13/09 10:19 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
I say, if you pronounce it "the boss car" go with 2. If you pronounce it "the bossiz car" go with 1.

zmjezhd #183555 03/13/09 02:55 PM
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 107
P
member
Offline
member
P
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 107
Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
I learned to use boss' when I was in grammar school, but nowadays they teach boss's. Go figure. I still tend to write it like I was l'arned.


As there are protocols in politics, military, computers, ets., there are similar in grammar and language. In the USA, the newspaper industry has had a tremendous influence re: rules of grammar and spelling. The use of the apostrophe in possessives has been the cause of controversy. Isn't it the Chicago Style Manual that most American newspapers recognize as their standard? When I was in college (early 1960s), most American colleges used Harbrace for routine issues and Turabian for formal papers. But the Chicago style was beginning to intrude so that today it is predominant. Wonder what is going to happen as the hard-copy newspapers are having an increasingly difficult time of holding on to their share of the media market?

BTW, I believe that boss' is pronounced as bosses as if it were spelled boss's.

PastorVon #183572 03/13/09 11:30 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Originally Posted By: PastorVon
I believe that boss' is pronounced as bosses as if it were spelled boss's.


That's as may be. It's not spelled as if it were pronounced as bosses.

Faldage #183573 03/13/09 11:32 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
are apostrophes spelling?


formerly known as etaoin...
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5