What's new

"Simpson" or "Simpsons"

ChiefBroom

No tattoo mistakes!
I think the company name is "Simpson", but I'm not sure.

Is my T3 a Simpson brush (per the label) or a Simpsons brush per most references on the website. If it's the former, and "Simpsons" is intended as a reference to multiple styles and/or brushes, then what's with the banner "Simpsons - Manufacturers of the Finest Shaving Brushes." I usually trip over this in possessive usage: is it more proper to say "Simpson's Manchurian brushes" or "Simpsons' Manchurian brushes"?
 
All of my brush boxes say Simpsons (no apostrophe before the last s)

Now Trumper's on the other hand does have the apostrophe in the name
 
I have wondered as well. The boxes say:

Simpsons
Manufacturers of the Finest Shaving Brushes

They don't say:

Simpson
Manufacturer (singular) of the Finest Shaving Brushes

There could be an implied "The" at the beginning which would make more sense:

(The) Simpsons
Manufacturers of the Finest Shaving Brushes

So it could be a reference to the family of people named Simpson who make shaving brushes. If that were the case, then it would be correct to refer to the items they sell as Simpsons's brushes.
 

ChiefBroom

No tattoo mistakes!
Whatever it is, I suspect I've spent more time thinking about it than Simpson/Simpsons have.

I'm pretty sure "Simpson" is the family name. If you first have one "Simpson" brush and then buy another one, you have a couple of "Simpsons," both of which bear Simpson's (i.e., the company's) trademark "Simpson". But I think usage on the site is inconsistent and to some extent conflicting. And Simpson's management doesn't really care. In fact, Simpson's management may also not know the answer -- assuming the question has occurred -- and decided that if i they roughly split usage, they'll at least get it right half the time.

None of this has any bearing on my appreciation of Simspon brushes (aka "Simpsons"). But I'd still prefer to know proper usage.

BTW, this isn't subjective. It's grammar.
 
Last edited:
Looking at the label on one of the brushes it says Simpson (no s) and the box it came out of says Simpsons (with an s)

SO....

I guess the brush by itself is Simpson and when you put it in a box both of them then become Simpsons

BUT

When you take the brush out of the box does it go back to Simpson even though the box is on the shelf?

Oh my..... Wet shaving is so confusing :letterk1:
 
Whatever it is, I suspect I've spent more time thinking about it than Simpson/Simpsons have.

I'm pretty sure "Simpson" is the family name. If you first have one "Simpson" brush and then buy another one, you have a couple of "Simpsons," both of which bear Simpson's (i.e., the company's) trademark "Simpson". But I think usage on the site is inconsistent and to some extent conflicting. And Simpson's management doesn't really care. In fact, Simpson's management may also not know the answer -- assuming the question has occurred -- and decided that if i they roughly split usage, they'd at least get it right half the time.

None of this has any bearing on my appreciation of Simspon brushes (aka "Simpsons"). But I'd still prefer to know proper usage.

BTW, this isn't subjective. It's grammar.

Well, their management on their Terms and Conditions section of their website (contractual section) uses both, "Simpson Shaving Brushes" and "Simpsons."

http://www.simpsonshavingbrushes.com/terms.html

Maybe this is one of those circular arguments that never ends. Maybe we use Simpsons to describe the brushes and Simpson Shaving Brushes to define the company owned by Progress Vulfix.

I have thought about this in the past and it just gives me tired head, so I tried to ignore the confusion and just call them Simpsons.
 

ChiefBroom

No tattoo mistakes!
Maybe this is one of those circular arguments that never ends. Maybe we use Simpsons to describe the brushes and Simpson Shaving Brushes to define the company owned by Progress Vulfix.

I have thought about this in the past and it just gives me tired head, so I tried to ignore the confusion and just call them Simpsons.

Pretty much where I come out, except I was bored.
 
When referring to a brush or their cream, it's Simpson...like in their tweets: "Some 'very' special Simpson Limited Edition brushes in work atm" and " and the first three Simpson fragranced luxury shaving creams"

the overall company as a whole entitiy, is referred to as Simpsons, like on their main page logo and their twitter name


 
proxy.php
 
I have been wondering about this, too. I think they just got sloppy and dropped the apostrophe from the possessive form of their name, "Simpson."
 

ChiefBroom

No tattoo mistakes!
When referring to a brush or their cream, it's Simpson...like in their tweets: "Some 'very' special Simpson Limited Edition brushes in work atm" and " and the first three Simpson fragranced luxury shaving creams"

the overall company as a whole entitiy, is referred to as Simpsons, like on their main page logo and their twitter name

That's about as close as I've come to making sense of it as well.

I think they just got sloppy and dropped the apostrophe from the possessive form of their name, "Simpson."

Me too
 

ChiefBroom

No tattoo mistakes!
Looking at the label on one of the brushes it says Simpson (no s) and the box it came out of says Simpsons (with an s)

SO....

I guess the brush by itself is Simpson and when you put it in a box both of them then become Simpsons

BUT

When you take the brush out of the box does it go back to Simpson even though the box is on the shelf?

This is profound! Brush discussion that seeks to penetrate the fundamental nature of reality.

I don't believe this kind of insight is likely to be found on other shaving sites.
 
It's a thankless job, but someone has to hold the line against split infinitives.

Well, to be really pedantic about it...if the name IS "Simpsons," then the correct possessive is "Simpsons's." That's not just my (Chris's) opinion. Check out the NYT guide on usage.

BTW, the rule against split infinitives was a late (18th c.) pedantic effort to impose Latin grammar on to English. The infinitive in Latin is one word (like in modern Spanish or Portuguese, for example), so it can't be split by definition. Split infinitives never troubled Chaucer or Shakespeare.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
The name is "Simpson". That is what the sticker on my brushes says and that is how they name them-self:
Simpson Shaving Brushes
I think the " ' " was left off on the boxes just to make the appearance of the name on the box look evenly....Maybe some 30 years ago someone decided to drop the ' because this looks better on the box...
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom