Grammatically Incorrect Twitter Hashtag Ends Friendship

A decades-long bond was broken last week after an argument over the lack of apostrophe in a whimsical Twitter hashtag escalated.Gretchen Thibodeau and Natalie “Tallie” Spector, both 36, of Toledo, Ohio, first met as campers at the Can-Do-It Farm International Horse Camp for Girls in the mid-1980s. “Tallie was such a good groomer,” Ms. Thibodeau recalled with a barely-contained sneer. “She sometimes gave the horses perms. We all wanted to be friends with her.”

Ms. Spector and Ms. Thibodeau, who then lived 50 miles apart, became pen-pals, keeping up constant communication throughout high school. “We always talked about forming a band,” Ms. Spector said tersely when reached for comment at the Kroger where she now works as an assistant manager. “We were gonna be Lisa Frank and the Trapper-keepers. Gretchen couldn’t sing her way out of a school for the deaf, but I sometimes let her do backup vocals.”

In 1997 both women matriculated to Bowling Green State University, where they roomed together for four years. After graduation, they got an apartment in Toledo and became waitresses at The Spaghetti Warehouse. They were maids of honor at each other’s weddings and Ms. Thibodeau is the godmother to Ms. Spector’s six year-old daughter. It seemed nothing could break the bond they shared, until Ms. Thibodeau sent out a Tweet last Thursday night.#YouKnowYourADogPersonWhen You watch Marley & Me and think they should get rid of the kids! LOL!!!

Ms. Spector, after what she admits were “a few Smirnoff Ices” quickly sent a reply.

@gretchthibs LOL, YOU’RE a dog person, not YOUR. Weren’t you an English major??

Ms. Thibodeau said that she was taken aback, but tried to take the high road, writing:

@LongTallTallie Oops, guess I’m getting sloppy in my old age Your totally right

Things escalated from there. Ms. Spector DM’ed Ms. Thibodeau, chiding her for setting a bad example. “Ava”–Ms. Spector’s daughter– “uses Twitter!” she wrote. “How is she going 2 learn if u don’t use APOSTROPHES? There’s a difference between your & you’re, which stands for YOU ARE.”

Ms. Thibodeau shot back that substituting 2 for “to” and u for “you” wouldn’t win any spelling bees.

“THERE’S A 140-CHARACTER LIMIT, WHOREFACE.” Ms. Spector replied. The epithet used to be a term of endearment in their Alpha Chi Omega days, but Ms. Thibodeau suspected that it was now being used maliciously. The fight migrated to their Facebook walls.

At 12:34 am, Ms. Thibodeau updated her status to read, “Surprised that some people can be so petty and judgemental!!” It garnered three “likes” before Ms. Spector commented.

“Try JUDGMENTAL.”

Ms. Thibodeau responded, “I would tell you to try it but obviously YOU’RE an expert already.” She then unfriended Ms. Spector.

The two women say they have not spoken for the past week and neither shows any desire to reconcile. “She knows she was in the wrong,” Ms. Thibodeau said. “I don’t want to tell tales out of school but her husband is spending a lot of late nights at the office if you know what I mean, and add to that how much she’s been drinking and, well, I’m not surprised her anger got misplaced.”

“She’s a fucking moron who can’t spell,” said Ms. Spector. “And Marley & Me blows. That was almost the worst part of the tweet. The apostrophe I can live without, but anyone who’ll watch that crap is no friend of mine.”