That's Entertainment

Saturday night’s all right (for fighting), or so Elton John proclaimed. Saturday’s not all right (for writing), or so I declare — in this instance, anyway.

My friend Lindsay, of IAMNOTASTALKER, saw this banner while shopping in Rancho Mirage, California. I’m sad to report that it wasn’t a mirage; it was real.

The River, a shopping and dining complex, sets aside a three-hour block of time once a week for entertainment-related activities. I wonder what constitutes “entertainment” from 6 to 9 p.m. What do people do on a regular or semi-regular basis on Saturday evenings? What stokes their Saturday-night fever? Football games? Outdoor plays? AA meetings? Cooking classes? Street races? Extramarital affairs? I’m not sure. Anyway, it’s not important. I’ve gone off course. Allow me to right the ship … and to rewrite the banner.

When referring to more than one of these three-hour blocks, “Entertainment Saturday” becomes “Entertainment Saturdays.” Saturdays is plural, not possessive, so what possessed the banner’s planner to dress it with an apostrophe? Saturday’s is not in its Sunday best.

Here’s what a week’s worth of special days might look like. Note the complete absence of apostrophes.

Super Bowl Sundays

Meatless Mondays

Super Tuesdays

Ash Wednesdays

Maundy Thursdays

Black Fridays

Entertainment Saturdays

At the end of the days, all’s well that ends well.