The Society is a member of the Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd)
Dear Ed archive
December 2009
Dear Ed
I do like a good typo. Does that make me a bad person?
Helen
Dear Helen
You're not alone: I like a good typo too. I'm not sure whether this is because I look for typos to convince myself of my own superiority (which nicely balances out the constant nagging doubt that watches over my shoulders as I create my freelance existence one phrase at a time), or whether it's one of the occupational hazards of a job that involves reading most of the time.
My favourite typos are those that introduce new concepts, inadvertently creating alternative versions of reality. Here are some samples from my scrapbook.
They may experience irregular patterns of sleep ranging from insomnia to deep comma-like sleep
What can I say? At least the hyphen is in the right place. Often when I wake up in the morning, I discover two things. The first is that I'm not and never will be Ernest Hemingway. The second is that I'm curled up under the doona in a comma-like position. It could be worse; if you find you're in bed on your own curled up like double quotes it's time to call the doctor.
Folling is a skill peer-checklist for touch football
OK, I'll 'fess up: this was my typo. I left out the 'ow' from following. Six mea culpas and press command z. But the author was impressed and immediately wanted to press folling into service in the glossary, with this heart-felt plea: 'Please add folling to Glossary. Never heard of it myself!' It's a curious bit of thinking: I have no idea what this means and neither will anyone else, so let's bung it in the glossary. Perhaps that's what folling means: neologism created by editor's sloppy keyboard technique.
Handman $45 per hour
I was walking to the Existential Fruit Shop when I saw this on an A-frame sign outside the cleaning shop. I went in and explained to a slightly baffled shop attendant why they needed a 'y' in 'handman', otherwise they were suggesting a service they probably hadn't intended to offer. I was met with incomprehension but at least they were polite with the introductions: 'Ed, this is Incomprehension; Incomprehension, this is Ed'.
Cuppacciosa and a glass of wine $20
My local pizzeria has this tasty treat on offer, aimed squarely at people who like to ingest coffee, pizza and wine at the same time, preferably via a funnel. It's a drinkable pizza for people who've forgotten that a) the best part of a pizza is the aroma, and b) taste receptors are on the tongue. Be thankful it's not an Hawaiian pizza.
Site Lice Information
I was searching for site licence information for a CD-ROM and never thought I'd have to sneak into the chemist wearing a black beanie to get it. Now I can work on CD-ROMs and comb little beasties out of my hair at the same time. It's good to have, although I do wish the beasties would stop falling on the keyboard as the crunching noises distract me and I make errors of the folling variety.
Well, Helen, thanks for the chitty-chat. If you're in the neighbourhood you're always welcome to pop around with your scrapbook of typos for a collective gloating session. I always keep a chilled bottle of 1997 Schadenfreude on hand for such occasions.
Cheers
Ed