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Muffy Aldrich
Muffy Aldrich, Editor of Salt Water New England: The Thing Before Preppy, since 2010. And a 12th Generation New Englander.
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Email Muffy at editor@saltwaternewengland.com
This is the first time in at least ten years that I've seen "farmers' market" punctuated correctly.
ReplyDeletei prefer no apostrophe the word farmers in this case is a descriptive noun
ReplyDeleteWithout the apostrophe suggests the market is "for" farmers as opposed to a market "of" farmers
Deleteand you prefer no punctuation
DeleteI'm slightly puzzled by your response as I was clearly pointing out that the apostrophe should be there as it was clearly a market "of" farmers
DeleteWithout the apostrophe it might suggest that the farmers are the ones being sold.
DeleteIs it a hot dog stand? It’s a Farmers Market. Customers go to the market to buy produce etc., direct from farmers.
ReplyDeleteHence the apostrophe. Otherwise it would be a market for farmers to go and buy things!
DeleteAI:
ReplyDeleteFarmers market (No apostrophe): This treats "farmers" as a plural noun acting as an adjective to describe the type of market (a market for farmers). This is the preferred style for major guides like the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook.
Miriam Webster:
"Style guides try to make a distinction between possessive phrases and those that are merely descriptive. Since a farmers market is a place where farmers convene, but that does not necessarily belong to the farmers, many style guides recommend eliminating the apostrophe and simply treating the plural noun as a modifier: farmers market, a market for farmers."
Grammargeddon
"Now, as for “farmers market”: Again, it doesn’t belong to the farmers. It’s there for the farmers to sell their produce, wares, whatever. Same as with [fill in the blank] union. Teamsters union. Service workers union. Teachers union. The union is there for the benefit of the workers. It doesn’t belong to them. No need for the possessive form. CMoS says “farmers’ market,” so that’s what I would use if I were being paid to conform to style. However, I personally prefer “farmers market” with no apostrophe. There’s a general moving away from apostrophe usage in this kind of construction, these days. Yay for living language and the attendant mechanics!"
Oh. And I just came to comment on those gorgeous "vegetables". I guess I need to ratchet up my curmudgeon. And find out where to get multicolored eggs.
ReplyDeleteThe problem here is that both farmers and farmers' can be read in unintended or inaccurate ways. Using a strict approach, a reader can inaccurately conclude that farmers own or control a farmers' market. Usually, a non-profit is in control. Meanwhile, teachers union is not absolutely parallel to farmers market. The teachers union is an organization that promotes the interests of teachers. A farmers market is a place where both farmers can make money and customers can purchase nutritious food.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, the vast majority of people don't need the apostrophe to know what a farmers market is. Most importantly for me, that apostrophe, particularly in a headline, is inelegant as Hell. Farmers it is for me.