
A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily
fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily
produce
Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables ( grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and ...
. It is used predominantly in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Australia.
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, the terms ''produce store'' or ''produce shop'' are used. By the 1940s, produce sales (measured in
tonnage
Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically ...
) made at grocery stores had surpassed those made at produce stores.
While once common in the United Kingdom and Australia, the increase in popularity of
supermarkets
A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limite ...
caused greengrocer shops to become rarer, though they may still be found in smaller towns and villages. Today, greengrocers can also be found in street markets, malls, and supermarket produce departments.
Greengrocers' apostrophe
Because of its common misuse on greengrocers' signs, an apostrophe used incorrectly to form a
plural
The plural (sometimes list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical number, grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the ...
—such as ''apple's'', ''orange's'', or ''banana's''—is known as a
greengrocers' apostrophe.
References
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Food retailers
Sales occupations