{{Short description|Selling point of fruits and vegetables}} {{distinguish|Greengrocer (insect)}}

[[Image:Gourock_greengrocers_ext.jpg|thumb|In front of a greengrocer's shop in Gourock, Scotland]] [[File:Fruteria de la Esquina.jpg|thumb|Greengrocer's shop in Buenos Aires]] A '''greengrocer''' or (Australian English; often) '''fruiterer''' 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. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia.

In the United States, the terms ''produce store'' or ''produce shop'' are used. By the 1940s, produce sales (measured in tonnage) made at grocery stores had surpassed those made at produce stores.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marius Peter |first1=Rasmussen |last2=Ford Alrik |first2=Quitslund |last3=Edwin Wood |first3=Cake |title=Fruit Sales in Retail Grocery Stores and Meat Markets, New York City |date=1943 |publisher=Cooperative Research and Service Division, Farm Credit Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture |location=United States |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKQ80rOZYtYC |access-date=14 June 2021}}</ref>

While once common in the United Kingdom and Australia, the increase in popularity of supermarkets 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 (e.g ''apple's'', ''orange's'', or ''banana's''), an apostrophe used incorrectly to form a plural is known as a greengrocers' apostrophe.<ref>{{cite web|last=Quinion|first=Michael|title=Possessive Apostrophes: The greengrocer's speciality|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/apostrophe.htm|access-date=10 October 2011}}</ref> [[Image:Greenrocer's Interior.jpg|thumb|Interior of a greengrocer's shop in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England]]

== See also == * Fruit stand * {{section link|The Power of the Powerless|Havel's greengrocer}}

==References== {{Reflist|40em}}

{{Commons category|Greengrocers}} {{Wiktionary|greengrocer|fruiterer}} {{Retail}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Food retailers Category:Greengrocers Category:Sales occupations

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