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Jill

Needs comma

Cory Doctorow at 10:47 am Sat, Dec 15, 2012

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I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE:  Funny • language • london • pictures • signs • uk • wide

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  • doomcake

    Damnit Produce, quit telling me what to do

  • http://www.facebook.com/matthew.david.sweeney Matthew Sweeney

    DO NOT STEAL PRODUCE, OR BECOME COMPOST.

  • http://twitter.com/digitalArtform Joseph Francis

    Needs two periods.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      One semicolon and one period would do.

      • http://twitter.com/digitalArtform Joseph Francis

        I considered that option.

  • mathman_mr_t

    as a gardener and recovering truck farmer i think the sign looks correct as it is.

  • Daneel

    I used to interpret “Pick Your Own Strawberries” signs as a demand to leave the owner’s alone.

    • DisGuest

       Dude, that was hilarious. I gave you an up-vote but I had to also comment.

  • ryane

    You’ve been in Farmer Maggots crops!

  • http://twitter.com/dailyrev Brian Donohue

    might go for the semicolon there myself; they just taste better.

  • millie fink

    Needs a closing shriek mark too.

  • vinegartom23

    Or we could go with artistically dramatic punctuation. DO. NOT. STEAL. PRODUCE. Reads like a film trailer now.

    • Boundegar

      Shatner FTW!

      • http://daruiburns.tumblr.com/ Dlo Burns

        Not enough words for faux-iambic pentameter 

    • Preston Sturges

      Wasn’t that one of the posters in “They Live?”

  • Mike Baker

    I wanted to write something flippant but I just agree. “Do not steal” suffices and “produce” is sound advice.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/5FDXZESRY5KDSLG3VWOLPDER6U Nate

    Amateur artists borrow; great artists banana.

    • http://www.raines.com/ raines

      Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like, look at this banana, seriously.

  • Preston Sturges

    Eats shoots and runs?

    • http://profiles.google.com/gigazarak Adam Lemmo

      Isn’t that meant to be “Eats, shoots and leaves”? You’re about as useful as screen doors on a battleship!

      • Preston Sturges

        Damn it. stepped on my own punch line. 

      • Jake0748

        Ahem. Isn’t it screen door on a submarine?

        • ocker3

           Careful, they’re trying to build a chain of mis-remembered qoutes, all leading to one another. They’re walking softly and carrying a big zuchini, if you know what I mean ;-)

  • http://newnumber6.livejournal.com Peter

    Punctuation is important.  Sometimes a comma is all that stands between an invitation at a happy family gathering and that same family resorting to cannibalism.

    (“Let’s eat, Grandma!” vs “Let’s eat Grandma!”)

    • Preston Sturges

      Or the importance of the apostrophe in preventing polygamy:

      “Those old things in the corner are my husbands.”

    • http://twitter.com/DaleGlass Dale Glass

      So it capitalization. There’s a difference between “I had to help my uncle Jack off a horse” and “I had to help my uncle jack off a horse”

  • http://profiles.google.com/gigazarak Adam Lemmo

    “That’s ‘make like a tree and leave’ you idiot, you sound like a damn fool when you say it that way”, …aaand I’ve said to much.

  • tudza

    A definite article might do as well, Do not steal the produce.

    Perhaps this is a left over sign from some Occupy march.

  • Paul Renault

    My guess is that it’s OK to steal everything except the produce.

  • TacoChuck

    Needs please.

    I believe any sort of sign like that works better if it starts with the word please.

  • jimh

    I was thinking grocer’s quotes:
    DO NOT STEAL “PRODUCE”

    • Preston Sturges

      Don’t even get me started of random use of quotation marks, just don’t.

      A common and baffling exanple is the use of quotes around “Ice” at gas stations.  Is it some sort of hipster ironic thing? Is it fake “Ice?”

  • http://twitter.com/KillAdequate Do Something.

    Answering the question in my head with a typo:
    Do not. Steel Produce.

  • http://wowgrump.blogspot.com/ Ed

    The link below was right below this article in my feed. Very similar
    http://www.futilitycloset.com/2012/12/15/green-party/

    • http://twitter.com/therilesyouknow riley

      Great minds RSS alike!

  • oasisob1

    I prefer the sign, “Some of my plants are covered in deadly poisons. Only I know which ones.”

  • Preston Sturges

    Fun with homonyms!  Bitch! Pussy! Cock! Fag! Chink!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLXkPOThr0Q

  • steve849

    I don’t get it. 

  • miasm

    It’s a common koan and is correctly understood as: “Do not. Steal. Produce.”

  • lewis_stoole

    tut. tut. you guys don’t know of which you type, the queen would not be proud of your use of her english.
    DO! NOT! STEAL! THE! PRODUCE!!!  
    note the judicious use of exclamation points as well as all caps, plus the addition of a definite article.
    in addition, i have removed the cloaked invocation of the protective angels and installed the curse of bambino.
    hail satan!  he shall ruul you allllll!?.//!::?  (note the satanic invocation of misspellings and poor gramur–hail, hail satan)

  • rocketpjs

    DO NOT, STEAL PRODUCE.  Perhaps the owner does not wish us to buy produce?