7 parking signs that need a proofreader

The poor spelling, misplaced apostrophes and superfluous punctuation on these signs are enough to make even the most hardened editor cry.

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What, exactly, is a low-emmiting, fuel-efficent vehicle? Can a vehicle park there if it’s magn-efficent? And how do you know whether you have one?

This sign should read “Low-Emitting, Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Parking Only.”

Sign makers in the United Kingdom are so polite. They are ever so regretful that they must inconvenience you by informing you that this parking area is unsuitable for HGV’s. (In other words—to translate for Americans—don’t park your semi here, bub.)

That’s a charming sign, but an apostrophe and an “s” signal possession. An “s” alone indicates a plural, and that’s what “HGVs” is.

Therefore, the message invites the question, “Unsuitable for HGV’s what? Who is HGV?”

It’s comforting to know that none customers—I guess that means “no customers”—will be towed away. (Sometimes after I dine at a Mexican restaurant, I feel like I need to be towed away-or, better yet, hoisted onto a flatbed truck.)

Oh, I get it now: “noncustomers.”

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