Normative Signs: The Poetry of "Ought"

This sign is posted on the train from the Newark airport into Manhattan. It says “For emergency egress keep clear.” I wonder what proportion of people who ride that train know that “egress” is a slightly antiquated synonym for “exit”, rather than, say, the word for a female eagle.

It is said that the great showman P.T. Barnum, in order to avoid having people linger too long at his sideshow exhibits, posted signs saying “This Way to the Egress,” hoping folks would head to the exit thinking they were on their way to some fascinating new exhibit.

Thanks to Nancy Walton for the picture.