Hello, all! Before proof, I must exposit that I live in Strasbourg, France, currently, and so there are very few signs available for vandalism in English. (Come to think of it, most signs in English are pretty funny without any vandalism ... ) But I will translate my One Letter Off-ing, I promise.

(SIGN 1)



The original sign reads "STATIONNEMENT GÊNANT," which means "parking [here is] bothersome." Now, I know that doesn't sound very serious, but most "STATIONNEMENT GÊNANT" signs include a picture of a car being towed, so I guess it really is pretty bothersome.

+ 1 letter off --



The sign now reads "STATIONNEMENT GEANT," which means either "giant parking" or -- my preferred reading -- "parking for giants." I originally meant to cover up only half of the accent circonflex (this one: ˆ), thereby transforming it into an accent aigu (this one: ´), which is the correct way to write "géant," but it's amazing how little coordination you have when you've climbed halfway up a street sign! Luckily, the way the sign looks now isn't technically incorrect either, as there's an old rule (from the printing press days d'autrefois) according to which it is OK to omit diacritic marks on capital letters. So "STATIONNEMENT GEANT" should be perfectly acceptable, orthographically speaking ... and we all know how important it is not to screw around with orthography!

P.S. The vandalism looks a little more natural from a distance.

(SIGN 2)



The original sign reads "RUE FISCHART," or "Fischart Street." "Fischart" technically means "kind or species of fish," but it's also a last name and thus without much technical significance. For example, since this is Strasbourg, the street is probably named after the Germanophone writer Johann Fischart. (Who translated part of Rabelais into German, by the way, and therefore can easily be associated with géants.)

+ 1 letter off --



The Scotch tape behind the "Z" isn't as transparent as it could be, and the "Z" is kind of hovering above the letters there, but in theory, this sign now reads "RUE FISCHARZT." "Fischarzt" means "fish doctor," just as "Tierarzt" means "veterinarian" or, more literally, "animal doctor," because "Tier" means "animal" in German.

~

(summary)

1. "STATIONNEMENT GENANT" became "STATIONNEMENT GEANT."
2. "RUE FISCHART" became "RUE FISCHARZT."

À tout, les gars!