I took this photo the other day of the local butcher's shop in Chipping Sodbury and pondered as to the meaning of the phrase 'Family Butchers'.
Is it a butcher's shop that is family owned and employs more than one family member as a butcher, or could it be a butcher who caters for families? Could it also be a bunch of butchers that specialise in butchering families - well, we are in the West Country. Shades of Royston Vasey.
People don't say I'm going to the butcher, but I'm going to the butcher's, just like they say they're going to the greengrocer's. The butcher's what though - shop? The apostrophe adds another layer of complexity, but it's missing in this case, so it can only refer to more than one butcher and the s indicates the plural.
2 comments:
Imagine the confusion in the East End of London, where "a Butcher's" means something completely different..
I see that they're 'game specialists'.
Maybe 'Artingstall's Family Butchers' is the latest violent video game!
(local entertainment for local people :)
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