I went to the doctor’s office the other day, and there was a sign on the door to the examination rooms requesting that cell phones, etc, be turned off when inside. I took a picture of it with my phone:
The quotation marks make the sign incomprehensible… Do they mean they really don’t want cell phones past that door? Or are they winking at me? Like "no" as in "sure we don’t mind cell phones". Why put "no" in quotation marks? The sign drove me crazy during my 35-minute wait. But I’m over it now. Obviously.
That made me laugh, thanks for sharing your obsession with the incorrect use of quotation marks.
I thought of you when we were traveling to MN. I saw so many signs with incorrect quotations. For some reason especially while driving through Iowa…. 😉
ben, here is my interpretation:
“no” cell phones as in have the sound/vibrate off, and no use of them.
people will have their cell phones on them…. but “no” cell phones.
i totally get this sign.
do the quotes work now?!
Valiant effort, Jamie. But I still don’t think they work. But I have been known to be a stickler when it comes to things like this. So maybe I just need to open my mind.
I feel your pain! As an amateur grammar pedant myself, it would have driven me crazy too. You are not alone! x x
A descriptivist grammarian would ask the question: what do the quotation marks mean here? They aren’t acting as scare quotes after all. It would seem that they are stressing the no, like putting something in italics, bold, or underlining. They do call special attention to the no and tend to stop the reader at no.
Okay we made it back from another trip driving across Nebraska, and I had to add the one I saw. This was seen on an ad for a hotel
“Free Hot Breakfast”
????