Talk:Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky

Latest comment: 7 years ago by TonyBallioni in topic Requested move 21 April 2017

Origin edit

This purported legend as to the origin of the name would appear to be very hard to verify. This may be another example of whether the question is "How verifiable is it that this is a widely-repeated legend?" more than "Can it be verified whether this legend is based in fact?" Rlquall 00:47, 30 August 2006 (UTC)Reply

Move to Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky edit

There is no official source given for the grammatically incorrect form here and the only source on the page uses the apostrophe. Could a mod kindly move this over the redirect? — LlywelynII 11:49, 5 August 2013 (UTC)Reply

OPPOSE. Actually, thats not quite correct. The road signs nearby and at the location as well as maps do NOT list an apostrophe. Grammar is swell, but to change it to a name that fits grammar rules, and does not reflect reality, seems to be tad over the edge.Coal town guy (talk) 12:48, 5 August 2013 (UTC)Reply
The U.S. government has had a policy for some time of being hostile to apostrophes. They have removed them from the names they use as identifiers for many places – e.g., Pikes Peak and Harpers Ferry. The government is who prints the road signs and many of the maps, and they select names partly by following certain policy guidelines, not just as a matter of trying to use whatever is the most common form in general usage (nor as a matter of trying to follow grammatical correctness based on the origin of terms). For this place, the removal does result in something that seems incorrect, and I doubt that non-government sources prefer the non-apostrophe usage. See, e.g., http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324244304578471252974458308, http://www.thewire.com/national/2013/05/apostrophe-battle/65294/, http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2013/05/apostrophes_and_when_to_use_them_punctuation_necessary_at_all_not_really.html, etc. Wikipedia is presumably not required to follow the governmental guidance on that question. —BarrelProof (talk) 12:06, 20 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

Requested move 21 April 2017 edit

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: page moved. (non-admin closure) TonyBallioni (talk) 22:30, 28 April 2017 (UTC)Reply


Monkeys Eyebrow, KentuckyMonkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky – per WP:COMMONNAME. The U.S. federal government has had a policy for some time of being very hostile to apostrophes (per sources already cited on this article's Talk page). They have removed them from the names they use as identifiers for many places – based on the notion that they don't want places to have names that might imply ownership (although the notion that this place's name implies ownership seems rather dubious). However, what matters to Wikipedia is the common name, not the official name, and the name of this place makes no sense without the apostrophe. Wikipedia tries to merely document common usage and follow ordinary English grammar. Both of the non-government sources that are cited in the article include the apostrophe, and so does the title of this book. —BarrelProof (talk) 22:03, 21 April 2017 (UTC)Reply

  • Support move. There is no reason to keep this article the way it is.  ONR  (talk)  00:58, 22 April 2017 (UTC)Reply

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.