Ladies night?

Branwyn · Jan 25, 2007

It was Ladies Night, at Hart's Cove.

It was ladies night, at Hart's Cove. (No caps, right?)

And twenty/twenty vision, or 20/20 vision.

Thanks

Ol' Fashioned Girl · Jan 25, 2007

How about 'Ladies' Night'?

And 20/20.

san_remo_ave · Jan 25, 2007

I think that depends on how it's used. If "ladies night" refers to a predominance of women, then lower case. If "ladies night" refers to a named event at the bar, caps as in "Ladies Night". With your sentence structure above I think it would be,

It was Ladies' Night at Hart's Cove.
or
It was a ladies' night at Hart's Cove.

(notice also no comma)

But I'm not a member of the grammar police, so I'll be interested to see if anyone thinks differently.

Jongfan · Jan 25, 2007

Branwyn said:
It was Ladies Night, at Hart's Cove.

It was ladies night, at Hart's Cove. (No caps, right?)

And twenty/twenty vision, or 20/20 vision.

Ladies Night and 20/20

Judg · Jan 25, 2007

It was Ladies' Night at HC. That is correct 1) because it's probably a named event and 2) because it is possessive (nouns used as qualifiers are supposed to be singular). But most bars probably completely forget the apostrophe when they advertise it, so it's a bit of a judgment call on whether you want correct grammar or common usage.

San, your second suggestion is impossible, because you've mixed singular and plural.

I personally would go for numbers in the 20/20 thing because I've never seen it written in words. But I'm not a definitive authority, so if anybody quotes one, listen to them first.

Rolling Thunder · Jan 25, 2007

Where is Hart's Cove and when is Ladies Night?

*straightens night cap and puts Visine in eyes*

san_remo_ave · Jan 25, 2007

Judg said:
San, your second suggestion is impossible, because you've mixed singular and plural.

"It was a night at Hart's Cove" is the base sentence since ladies' is being used as an adjective. So, why isn't "It was a ladies' night at Hart's Cove" correct? Like "It was a blues night at Hart's Cove"?

:e2shrug:

Wikipedia may be debateable as a "definitive" source, but it's another point of reference with a similar context.
Ladies' night

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A ladies' night (sometimes ladies night) is a promotional event, often at a bar or nightclub, where female patrons get a reduced price for admission or goods.

Branwyn · Jan 25, 2007

Rllgthunder said:
Where is Hart's Cove and when is Ladies Night?

*straightens night cap and puts Visine in eyes*

LOL!

Thanks everyone. I've never seen 20/20 written, but I wanted to double check.

Sandi LeFaucheur · Jan 26, 2007

But most bars probably completely forget the apostrophe when they advertise it, so it's a bit of a judgment call on whether you want correct grammar or common usage.

Most bars would probably put ladie's night!

And it does need to be correct grammar rather than common usage. You can write dialogue as it's spoken, but that makes no difference to proper punctuation. Whether you've got a university professor or someone with a grade four education speaking, the punctuation must still be correct. And I'd say ladies' night, as it is the night belonging to the ladies.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 26, 2007

Lady's

Around here, all the bars have Lady's Night, not ladies night. But either lady's Night or Ladies' Night is correct.

No comma, but either way, there should be an apostrophe.

Pagey's_Girl · Jan 26, 2007

So, on a related note, is it ladies room or ladies' room? Or should I just call it what it is - the bathroom?

Judg · Jan 26, 2007

sanremoave said:
"It was a night at Hart's Cove" is the base sentence since ladies' is being used as an adjective. So, why isn't "It was a ladies' night at Hart's Cove" correct? Like "It was a blues night at Hart's Cove"?

Wikipedia may be debateable as a "definitive" source, but it's another point of reference with a similar context.
Ladies' night

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A ladies' night (sometimes ladies night) is a promotional event, often at a bar or nightclub, where female patrons get a reduced price for admission or goods.

Hmm, hadn't thought of that reading. I thought the a was refering to ladies not night. You win.

CaroGirl · Jan 26, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
Around here, all the bars have Lady's Night, not ladies night. But either lady's Night or Ladies' Night is correct.

No comma, but either way, there should be an apostrophe.

Bars can advertise incorrectly all they want (and they do) but the correct way to write it is: Ladies' Night, unless the bar is open to only one lady. From my perspective, Lady's Night is never correct.

Judg · Jan 26, 2007

Sandi LeFaucheur said:
Most bars would probably put ladie's night! And it does need to be correct grammar rather than common usage. You can write dialogue as it's spoken, but that makes no difference to proper punctuation. Whether you've got a university professor or someone with a grade four education speaking, the punctuation must still be correct. And I'd say ladies' night, as it is the night belonging to the ladies.

That would be my preferred solution, too, Sandi. I do get accused of being overly anal sometimes, so I try to show a little flex.

One does have to beat down the inner curmudgeon occasionally. Or at least I try. Bludgeon the curmudgeon!

Judg · Jan 26, 2007

Pagey's_Girl said:
So, on a related note, is it ladies room or ladies' room? Or should I just call it what it is - the bathroom?

Ladies' room, of course. It's possessive. When in doubt, check the parallel. Men's room. Mens is wrong at all times under all circumstances. Et voilà.

Carmy · Jan 26, 2007

It was Ladies Night at Hart's Cove.

I wouldn't place a possessive apostrophe after Ladies unless they own the night.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 26, 2007

Carmy said:
It was Ladies Night at Hart's Cove.

I wouldn't place a possessive apostrophe after Ladies unless they own the night.

They do own the night, at least that night at the bar. That night at the bar belongs to women. They get cheaper drinks, and often other amenities not given to men. With bars that have a cover charge, women get a reduced charge, or often aren't charged at all.

Many such bars also give women free drinks during a certain time period, often 9-11 P.M.

Try Googling the term. Whether it's the books that have been published with this title, such as http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312340788/?tag=absolutewritedm-20 or the actual bars that advertise such a night, all I've seen anywhere in the country use an apostrophe, and rightfully so.

jennifer75 · Jan 26, 2007

Branwyn said:
It was ladies night at Hart's Cove.

20/20 vision.

Thanks

I think. Unless of course Hart's Cove officially named the night "Ladies Night". But if its just a known fact that "tonight" is ladies night, at Hart's Cove, no caps.

Sandi LeFaucheur · Jan 26, 2007

Try Googling the term. Whether it's the books that have been published with this title, such as http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312340788/?tag=absolutewritedm-20 or the actual bars that advertise such a night, all I've seen anywhere in the country use an apostrophe, and rightfully so.

The only thing wrong with the example of that book, James, is that it has Lady's in the singular. If only one lady is going to show up at the bar, pickings will be poor for the publican. Therefore, it should be ladies'. And I wouldn't trust bars that advertise such events, any more than I'd trust the grammar of greengrocers who sell banana's.

We could always run this past Lynne Truss!

truelyana · Jan 26, 2007

I have never ever been to one of those, or have ever been out with women

san_remo_ave · Jan 26, 2007

Judg said:
Hmm, hadn't thought of that reading. I thought the a was refering to ladies not night.

OK, gotcha. I was trying to figure out where I'd gone awry. Thanks!

Jamesaritchie · Jan 27, 2007

Sandi LeFaucheur said:
The only thing wrong with the example of that book, James, is that it has Lady's in the singular. If only one lady is going to show up at the bar, pickings will be poor for the publican. Therefore, it should be ladies'. And I wouldn't trust bars that advertise such events, any more than I'd trust the grammar of greengrocers who sell banana's.

We could always run this past Lynne Truss!

Nevertheless, whether "lady's night," of Ladies' night" it's possessive. Whether it's singular or plural doesn't matter in this case. Singular works just as well, even for a group, largely because each lady is supposed to feel special that night. Whetehr to use the singular or teh plural is purely discretional.

And while it can certainly be used without the apostrophe, the intent of a ladies's night is to give that night over to the women. The night belongs to them. Leaving of the apostrophe changes the meaning, which is one of possession.

Ladies night?

Branwyn

Print release:Sept.1,'09

Ol' Fashioned Girl

Hand? What hand?

san_remo_ave

Back at it

Jongfan

Insane, in a good way

Judg

DISENCHANTED coming soon

Rolling Thunder

san_remo_ave

Back at it

Branwyn

Print release:Sept.1,'09

Sandi LeFaucheur

Jamesaritchie

Pagey's_Girl

Still plays with dolls

Judg

DISENCHANTED coming soon

CaroGirl

Living the dream

Judg

DISENCHANTED coming soon

Judg

DISENCHANTED coming soon

Carmy

Jamesaritchie

jennifer75

SupahStah!

Sandi LeFaucheur

truelyana

Set yourself free

san_remo_ave

Back at it

Jamesaritchie