PrintIt's Balthazar, Not Balthazar's
I'm not sure why it bothers the pedant in me so much, but it drives me nuts when people add an "apostrophe-s" to the end of a restaurant's name.
It's Balthazar, not Balthazar's, because there is no person (fictional, live, dead, or otherwise) named Balthazar. Why do people do this? I never used to notice it. Now I see it all the time. Some cultural thing that I'm not picking up on?
(It's almost as bad as when people recommend restaurants and give the wrong name or a misspelled version of the right name. Google, people. Use it, please. For the children.)
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10 Comments:
Actually, you are wrong. He was one of the magi or wisemen who came to witness the birth of Jesus. I'm not sure if the restraurant is named for him, but he is a character of some sort.
Husband at 4:16PM on 05/21/07
It's a lost cause, Kathryn. For your own sanity, try to let it go or just do some deep-breathing exercises -- I learned some good ones at a seminar at my previous employer that I can teach you. ;) I've never noticed what you mention with Balthazar, but people drive me batty all the time with Rachael Ray's name — note two a's in her first name.
Adam Kuban at 5:02PM on 05/21/07
Ha, thanks Adam and Husband. :)
It's not so much me trying to understand why it happens with some restaurant names but not others. You wouldn't say, "I ate at Daniel's last night," would you, if you were referring to Daniel Boulud's NYC restaurant, Daniel.
kathryn at 5:06PM on 05/21/07
I feel better about "Daniel's" because it actually IS Daniel's restaurant and there's something nice about the illusion of him cooking! But unless Balthazar has risen from the dead and flown in from Bethlehem, this is an incorrect usage. I hate it when people say Barnes & Noble's.
My advice is to have an ex-presso – you will feel better irregardless of the grammar.
Phoebe Damrosch at 5:22PM on 05/21/07
Very funny Prof. Plum, I thought the same thing when I read the post.
"eSSSSpresso" drives me nuts.
spaghetti at 5:47PM on 05/21/07
A) That bugs me, too.
B) So does people referring to the final book of the New Testament as Revelations. It's singular, not plural, as in The Revelation of Saint John the Divine.
C) Prof. Plum and spaghetti, I'm pretty sure you'll find that espresso is the original spelling and pronunciation. It's Italian, and they aren't much given to Xs.
thepictsie at 6:35PM on 05/21/07
I can't wait until the next time I have dinner at French Laundry's, then. :)
kathryn at 6:45PM on 05/21/07
Is this in reference to an article or just comments on the internet? I don't think that you can expect the level of grammar on blogs and elsewhere to be of a high quality. The very nature of the medium works against it.
shea at 7:07PM on 05/21/07
They're there, all y'all, try knot to get yore panty in a not with all this watt-knot. Theirs know spill-chucker hear on Sirius Seats, sand if ewe due it rite it wooden ketchup width awl of thesis won any who. Awl rite? Awl rite.
LunaPierCook at 7:09PM on 05/21/07
oops, i meant to say eXXXXpresso. and I am sure prof plum was being sarcastic
spaghetti at 8:02PM on 05/21/07