grammatical number - Re: a sign on your residence: The Smiths vs. The Smiths’



I know the former is the generally accepted usage, as that’s all I’ve ever seen over the years; meaning, by extension, "The Smiths ..live here" – presumably; whilst the second example implies, "The Smiths’ Home", which seems to me an obviously superior proposition for a sign on a residence.


My bias makes me suspect the former is just a pragmatic simplification that has become standard practice (but then, so is the latter an incomplete shortcut.)


What might a pedantic English instructor think if driving by such a sign, The Smiths’, and why?




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