Do we celebrate one president, or many, on that day? That’s how I’d decide.
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I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying: It's not singular. He's wrong. There can be a debate between — for example — AP and Merriam-Webster about whether it should be Presidents Day or Presidents' Day. But it is not President's Day.
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Ahh yes. So then the question becomes, does the day belong to them?
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I am aware of the question. And, my response, to go back to my initial tweet: "There can be a debate, I suppose, over whether there should be an apostrophe at the end of “Presidents” or not."
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The point is not to answer that question, which a leading dictionary and leading wire service disagree on, but to say that the president's tweet suggests he either doesn't understand grammar or thinks the day is just about just him.
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It’s both.
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Or we can refer to the day by its official title and call it Washington’s Birthday. Then no question of where the apostrophe goes!
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Washingtons' Birthday!
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But is it really either?https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/6103 …
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I think if you want to call it Washington's Birthday, it is Washington's Birthday. But, if you are using the popular usage for the day, I'd say it is (at a minimum) a celebration of both Washington and Lincoln, so, plural usage is required! Right?
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If your definition of popular usage presumes the answer, then yes. Plural usage is required. ;-)
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As I said, there can be a debate:https://twitter.com/APStylebook/status/566246941756252160?s=20 …
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Presidents Day is just like a farmers market or a teachers college. It's a day for presidents, a market for farmers, a college for teachers; it doesn't belong to them, thus it is not possessive.
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It is singular in the egomaniacal mind of one man we know.
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The rarely seen Freudian grammar slip
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Chris! There is only one president worth celebrating. Geez.
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