Atypographical error (often shortened totypo), also called amisprint, is a mistake (such as a spelling ortransposition error) made in thetyping of printed or electronic material.[1] Historically, this referred to mistakes in manualtypesetting. The term is used of errors caused by mechanical failure or miskeying.[2][3] Before the arrival ofprinting, thecopyist's mistake orscribal error was the equivalent formanuscripts. Most typos involve simple duplication, omission, transposition, or substitution of a small number of characters.
Historically, the process of converting amanuscript to a printed document required atypesetter to copy the text and print a first "galley proof" (familiarly, "a proof"). It may contain typographical errors ("printer's errors"), as a result of human error during typesetting. Traditionally, aproofreader compares the manuscript with the corresponding typeset portion, and then marks any errors (sometimes called "line edits") usingstandard proofreaders' marks.
When using atypewriter, typos were commonlystruck out with another character such as astrikethrough. This saved the typist the trouble of retyping the entire page to eliminate the error, but as evidence of the typo remained, it was not aesthetically pleasing.Correction fluid andcorrection tape were invented to hide the original mark and allow the typist to correct the error almost invisibly. There were also specialisedtypewriter erasers.[4]
A more elaborate attempted solution was the "laser eraser" made byArthur Leonard Schawlow, co-inventor of the laser. This used a laser to vaporize the ink of the typo, leaving the paper beneath unharmed. Although Schawlow received a patent for the invention, it was never produced commercially.[5]
Later typewriters such as theIBM Correcting Selectric incorporated correction features.[6] The development ofword processors all but eliminated the need for these solutions.
In computer forums, sometimes "^H" (a visual representation of theASCIIbackspace character) was used to "erase" intentional typos: "Be nice to this fool^H^H^H^Hgentleman, he's visiting from corporate HQ."[7]
Ininstant messaging, users often send messages in haste and only afterward notice the typo. It is common practice to correct the typo by sending a subsequent message in which anasterisk (*) is placed before (or after) the correct word.[8]
In formal prose, it is sometimes necessary to quote text containing typos or other doubtful words. In such cases, the author will write "[sic]" to indicate that an error was in the original quoted source rather than in the transcription.[9]
Scribal errors receive much attention in the context oftextual criticism. Many of these mistakes are not specific to manuscripts and can be referred to as typos. Some classifications includehomeoteleuton and homeoarchy (skipping a line due to the similarity of the ending or beginning),haplography (copying once what appeared twice),dittography (copying twice what appeared once), contamination (introduction of extraneous elements), metathesis (reversing the order of some elements), unwitting mistranscription of similar elements, mistaking similar looking letters, the substitution ofhomophones, fission and fusion (joining or separating words).[10][11]
TheWicked Bible omits the word "not" in thecommandment, "thou shalt not commit adultery".
TheJudas Bible is a copy of the secondfolio edition of theAuthorized Version, printed byRobert Barker, printer toJames VI and I, in 1613, and given to the church for the use of the Mayor of Totnes. This edition is known as theJudas Bible because inMatthew 26:36 "Judas" appears instead of "Jesus". In this copy, the mistake is corrected with a slip of paper pasted over the misprint.
Certain typos, or kinds of typos, have acquired widespread notoriety and are occasionally used deliberately for humorous purposes. For instance, the British newspaperThe Guardian is sometimes referred to asThe Grauniad due to its reputation for frequent typesetting errors in the era before computer typesetting.[12] This usage began as a running joke in the satirical magazinePrivate Eye.[13] The magazine continues to refer toThe Guardian by this name.
Typos are common onsocial media, and some—such as "teh", "pwned", and "zomg"—have becomein-jokes among Internet groups and subcultures.P0rn is not a typo but an example ofobfuscation, where people make a word harder for filtering software to understand while retaining its meaning to human readers.[14]
Inmapping, it was common practice to includedeliberate errors so that copyright theft could be identified.[15]
In "The Influence of Science Fiction on Modern American Filk Music", an early 1950s essay by Lee Jacobs, 'filk' was an accidental typo for 'folk'. However, the typo came to be intentionally adopted for songs etc. associated withscience fiction (seefilk music).[16][17]
Typosquatting is a form ofcybersquatting that relies on typographical errors made by users of the Internet.[18] Typically, the cybersquatter will register a likely typo of a frequently-accessedwebsite address in the hope of receiving traffic when internet users mistype that address into aweb browser. Deliberately introducing typos into a web page, or into itsmetadata, can also draw unwitting visitors when they enter these typos inInternet search engines.
An example of this isgogole.com instead ofgoogle.com which could potentially be harmful to the user.
Since the emergence and popularization ofonline auction sites such aseBay, misspelled auction searches have quickly become lucrative for people searching for deals.[19] The concept on which these searches are based is that, if an individual posts an auction and misspells its description and/or title, regular searches will not find this auction. However, a search that includes misspelled alterations of the original search term in such a way as to create misspellings, transpositions, omissions, double strikes, and wrong key errors would find most misspelled auctions. The resulting effect is that there are far fewer bids than there would be under normal circumstances, allowing the searcher to obtain the item for less. A series of third-party websites have sprung up allowing people to find these items.[20]
Another kind of typo—informally called an "atomic typo"—is a typo that happens to result in a correctly spelled word that is different from the intended one. Since it is spelled correctly, a simplespellchecker cannot find the mistake. The term was used at least as early as 1995 by Robert Terry.[21]
A few illustrative examples include:
and many more. For any of these, the converse is also true.
Lee Jacobs, a LArea [= Los Angeles area] fan who [...] in the 50s, [had] submitted an essay to SAPS (Spectator Amateur Press Society) entitled "The Influence of Science Fiction on Modern American Filk Music" supposedly about science fiction incidents in folk song, but actually a straight-faced analysis of a number of thoroughly filthy "dirty songs", taking various metaphors in them as if they were meant literally.Originally published in theConChord 12 Songbook, 1997
