Excepted--or Accepted?

Yesterday, while taking a break from attempting to de-clutter the office I share with my husband, I picked up a weekly insert that arrived in one of our local newspapers. I won't say which one. As I thumbed through, a colorful half-page ad caught my eye and I quickly scanned down the page.

Aaarrrggghhh! No! I could not believe what I saw. I looked again to be sure. Yep, there it was. It read:

"All major Credit Cards Excepted"

I'm pretty sure the establishment advertising in the newspaper's insert meant "Accepted" instead of the "Excepted" that was printed. To be sure, I looked up "accept." One of the meanings in Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, defines "accept" as "to receive favorably; approve." So, in my mind, "Accepted" would mean that the establishment would be willing to take any major credit card.

One of the meanings for the word "except" in the same dictionary reads, "exclude; omit." Did the establishment know the difference between "Accepted" and "Excepted"? Was that their way of telling customers they would NOT take credit cards, at least not major ones? I'm pretty sure that's not the case. But the misuse of words such as "accepted" and "excepted" drives me nuts!