"greengrocer's apostrophe" (was Re: Cam(pb)ell)

[Peter A. McGraw]

--On Fri, Aug 4, 2000 1:25 PM -0500 Natalie Maynor <maynor at CS.MSSTATE.EDU>
wrote:

> Peter McGraw wrote:
>
>> I AM old enough to remember when supermarkets were a new thing.  Up to
>> that time, stores that sold food were called "grocery stores" and those
>> who
>
> They're still called "grocery stores" by many people, including me.
> I hear "grocery store" far, far more often than "supermarket."  I say
> "grocery store" always.  I don't think I've ever uttered the word
> "supermarket."
>
> During my childhood, a grocery store was often referred to simply as
> "the store."  E.g., "She's not here right now.  She went to the store."
>    --Natalie Maynor (maynor at ra.msstate.edu)

I didn't mean to imply that I ever say, "I'm going to the supermarket."  I,
too, say I'm "going to the store."  "Going to the store" always means a
food store (super or otherwise), never a drug store or a department store,
for instance.

****************************************************************************
                               Peter A. McGraw
                   Linfield College   *   McMinnville, OR
                            pmcgraw at linfield.edu