 Re: sign vs. autograph
Yes, an autographed baseball. "sign" is used for documents - when you add your name to something to authenticate it, for example sign a cheque, sign your tax forms, sign a letter. "autograph" is used when someone famous gives you their signature to keep as a memento of your having met them. Of course, what you do is the same thing - write your name in your typical handwriting. - so it's also true that this baseball has been signed. But because of the purpose, "autographed" would probably be used here.
One slight exception, incidentally, is when an author signs a copy of a book s/he's written. Then we do tend to use "sign" rather than "autograph". |