{{Short description|Mistake made in typing printed material}} {{pp|small=yes}} {{hatnote group|{{Redirect|Typo}}{{Redirect|Typos|the ''Typos'' of Constans|Typos of Constans}}}} [[File:Titivillus.jpg|thumb|[[Titivillus]] is a [[demon]] said to introduce errors into the work of scribes. This is a 14th century illustration of Titivillus at a scribe's desk.]] A '''typographical error''' (often shortened to '''typo'''), also called a '''misprint''', is a spelling or [[transposition error|transposition]] mistake made in the [[typing]] of printed or electronic material.<ref>{{cite web | title=Typo - Definition | url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/typo | publisher=Merriam-Webster | work=[[Webster's Dictionary|Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary]] | access-date=2012-01-03 | archive-date=2013-07-19 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719024138/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/typo | url-status=live }}</ref> Historically, this referred to mistakes in manual [[typesetting]]. The term is used of errors caused by mechanical failure or miskeying.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Typographical+error&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&h= |url-status=dead |title=Wordnet definition | publisher=[[Princeton University]] | work=[[Wordnet]] | access-date=2007-11-12 | archive-date=2016-03-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304222243/http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Typographical+error&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&h= }}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |dictionary=Dictionary.com |title=typographical error (n) |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/typographical-error |access-date=25 August 2025 }}</ref> Before the arrival of [[printing]], the '''copyist's mistake''' or '''scribal error''' was the equivalent for [[manuscript]]s. Most typos involve simple duplication, omission, transposition, or substitution of a small number of characters.
==Marking typos== ===Typesetting=== Historically, the process of converting a [[manuscript]] to a printed document required a [[typesetter]] 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, a [[proofreader]] compares the manuscript with the corresponding typeset portion, and then marks any errors (sometimes called "line edits") using [[List of proofreader's marks|standard proofreaders' marks]].
===Typing=== [[File:Spelling Correction Example.jpg|thumb|right|[[Correction fluid]] was often used to correct typographical errors as (or after) the document was typed. The fluid was painted over the error and, when dry, the correct spelling was written on the new surface. Exceptionally, printing errors were painted out and a handwritten correction applied.]] When using a [[typewriter]], typos were commonly [[overstrike|struck out]] with another character such as a [[strikethrough]]. 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]] and [[correction tape]] were invented to hide the original mark and allow the typist to correct the error almost invisibly. There were also [[Typewriter eraser|specialised erasers]] to remove typescript.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ulrich |first=Laurel Thatcher |author-link=Laurel Thatcher Ulrich |date=2009-05-01 |title=Erasing History |url=https://www.historians.org/perspectives-article/erasing-history-may-2009/ |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=Perspectives on History |publisher=[[American Historical Association]] |language=en-US}}</ref> A more elaborate attempted solution was the "laser eraser" made by [[Arthur 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Laser Eraser |url=https://www.si.edu/object/laser-eraser:nmah_713785 |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref> Later typewriters such as the [[IBM Selectric#Correcting Selectric II|IBM Correcting Selectric]] incorporated correction features.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/ibm-correcting-selectric-typewriter-brochure |title=IBM Correcting Selectric Typewriter brochure |date=1973 |publisher=IBM |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
The development of [[word processor]]s and [[Printer (computing)|office printers]] all but eliminated the need for these solutions.
===Social media=== In computer forums, sometimes "^H" (a visual representation of the [[ASCII]] [[backspace]] character) was used to "[[epanorthosis|erase]]" intentional typos: "Be nice to this fool^H^H^H^Hgentleman, he's visiting from corporate HQ."<ref>[http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/writing-style.html Chapter 5. Hacker Writing Style] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906014019/http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/writing-style.html |date=2013-09-06 }}, The [[Jargon File]], version 4.4.7</ref>
In [[instant 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 an [[asterisk]] (*) is placed before (or after) the correct word.<ref>{{cite book|last=Magnan|first=Sally Sieloff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbYbGsgJclgC&q=asterisk&pg=PA260|title=Mediating discourse online|publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing Company]]|year=2008|isbn=978-90-272-0519-3|series=AILA Applied Linguistics Series|page=260}}</ref>
===Textual analysis=== 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Kenneth G.|url=http://www.bartleby.com/68/67/5467.html|title=The Columbia Guide to Standard American English.|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|year=1993|chapter=sic (adv.)|access-date=2007-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211191251/http://www.bartleby.com/68/67/5467.html|archive-date=11 December 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Scribal errors== Scribal errors receive much attention in the context of [[textual criticism]]. Many of these mistakes are not specific to manuscripts and can be referred to as typos. Some classifications include [[homeoteleuton]] 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 of [[homophones]], fission and fusion (joining or separating words).<ref>Paul D. Wegner, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SIMsY6b2n2gC&pg=PA48 ''A Student's Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible: Its History, Methods, and Results''], InterVarsity Press, 2006, p. 48.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ualberta.ca/~sreimer/ms-course/course/scbl-err.htm|title=Manuscript Studies: Textual analysis (Scribal error)|website=www.ualberta.ca|access-date=2 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404214516/http://www.ualberta.ca/~sreimer/ms-course/course/scbl-err.htm|archive-date=4 April 2016}}</ref>
== Biblical errors == {{main|Bible errata}} [[File:Marked_Wicked_bible.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Wicked Bible]]]] [[File:Judas Bible2.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Judas Bible]] in St. Mary's Church, [[Totnes]], Devon, UK]] The [[Wicked Bible]] omits the word "not" in the [[Ten Commandments|commandment]], "[[thou shalt not commit adultery]]".
The [[Judas Bible]] is a copy of the second [[folio]] edition of the [[Authorized Version]], printed by [[Robert Barker (printer)|Robert Barker]], printer to [[James VI and I]], in 1613, and given to the church for the use of the Mayor of Totnes. This edition is known as the ''Judas Bible'' because in [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 26:36 "[[Judas]]" appears instead of "[[Jesus]]". In this copy, the mistake is corrected with a slip of paper pasted over the misprint.
==Intentional typos== Certain typos, or kinds of typos, have acquired widespread notoriety and are occasionally used deliberately for humorous purposes. For instance, the British newspaper ''[[The Guardian]]'' is sometimes referred to as ''The Grauniad'' due to its reputation for frequent typesetting errors in the era before computer typesetting.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2000/sep/12/schools.rostaylor | title=Internet know-how: Spelling | author=Taylor, Ros | date=2000-09-12 | access-date=2007-11-12 | work=[[Guardian Unlimited]] | archive-date=2008-06-29 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629094358/http://education.guardian.co.uk/old/schools/story/0,,367177,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> This usage began as a running joke in the satirical magazine ''[[Private Eye]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE3DD1F3CF935A25751C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title=Confession as Strength At a British Newspaper | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=1998-02-16 | access-date=2007-11-12 | author=Lyall, Sarah | archive-date=2007-12-14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214223819/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE3DD1F3CF935A25751C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | url-status=live }}</ref> The magazine continues to refer to ''The Guardian'' by this name.
Typos are common on [[social media]], and some—such as "[[teh]]", "[[pwned]]", and "[[Wikt:ZOMG|zomg]]"—have become [[in-joke]]s among Internet groups and subcultures. [[P0rn]] is not a typo but an example of [[obfuscation]], where people make a word harder for filtering software to understand while retaining its meaning to human readers.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/rhodri-marsden-cyberclinic-6230686.html | title=What do these strange web words mean? | author=Marsden, Rhodri | work=[[The Independent]] | date=2006-10-18 | access-date=22 December 2016 | archive-date=2016-12-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223010554/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/rhodri-marsden-cyberclinic-6230686.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
In [[Cartography|mapping]], it was common practice to include [[Fictitious entry#Maps|deliberate errors]] so that copyright theft could be identified.<ref>{{cite web |title=The case of Sandy Island; mapping error or copyright trap? |url=https://www.vicchi.org/2012/11/26/the-case-of-sandy-island-mapping-error-or-copyright-trap/ |date=November 26, 2012 |access-date=16 March 2023 |website=Vicchi |archive-date=16 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316202912/https://www.vicchi.org/2012/11/26/the-case-of-sandy-island-mapping-error-or-copyright-trap/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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 with [[science fiction]] (see [[filk music]]).<ref name="Gold97">{{cite web |last1=Gold|first1=Lee|author-link1=Lee Gold|title=An Egocentric and Convoluted History of Early Filk and Filking|url=http://www.fanac.org/Fan_Histories/filkhist.html|access-date=23 July 2025|website=Fanac.org|quote=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 the ''[[ConChord]] 12 Songbook'', 1997</ref><ref name="firstUse">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nightsong.com/filk/twippledop/ |title=Tracking Down The First Deliberate Use Of "Filk Song" |access-date=23 July 2025 |first=Lee |last=Gold |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121206001047/http://www.nightsong.com/filk/twippledop/ |archive-date=6 December 2012 }}</ref>
===Typosquatting=== {{main|Typosquatting}} Typosquatting is a form of [[cybersquatting]] that relies on typographical errors made by users of the Internet.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-502915.html?legacy=zdnn | title='Typosquatters' turn flubs into cash | date=2000-09-23 | author=Sullivan, Bob | publisher=[[ZDNet]] | access-date=2007-11-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071024032834/http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-502915.html?legacy=zdnn <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-10-24}}</ref> Typically, the cybersquatter will register a likely typo of a frequently-accessed [[uniform resource locator|website address]] in the hope of receiving traffic when internet users mistype that address into a [[web browser]]. Deliberately introducing typos into a web page, or into its [[metadata]], can also draw unwitting visitors when they enter these typos in [[Internet search engine]]s.
An example of this is <code>gogole.com</code> instead of <code>[[Google|google.com]]</code>; the former of which could potentially be harmful to the user.
===Typos in online auctions=== Since the emergence and popularization of [[online auction]] sites such as [[eBay]], misspelled auction searches have quickly become lucrative for people searching for deals.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.king5.com/business/stories/NW_070104BUBebaytipEL.2b7cc3d91.html | title=How finding mistakes can net great deals on eBay | date=2004-07-01 | publisher=[[KING-TV]] | work=King5 | access-date=2007-11-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071220190352/http://www.king5.com/business/stories/NW_070104BUBebaytipEL.2b7cc3d91.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-12-20}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/business/media/24typo.html |url-access=subscription | title=Help for eBay Shoppers Who Can't Spell | date=2008-11-23 | author=Douglas Quenqua | newspaper=The New York Times | access-date=2017-02-25 | archive-date=2017-11-14 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114092924/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/business/media/24typo.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=typos%20ebay&st=cse | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Atomic typos== 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 simple [[spellchecker]] cannot find the mistake. The term was used at least as early as 1995 by Robert Terry.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hanif|first1=C. B.|date=August 10, 1995|title=Hurricane Coverage Kicks Up Dust|page=14|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16845952/atomic_typo/|access-date=January 25, 2018|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|archive-date=January 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125193601/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16845952/atomic_typo/|url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref>
A few illustrative examples include: <!--Please do not extend this list. It is just a selection for illustrative purposes, not an exhaustive list. --> * "now" instead of "not",<ref>{{cite web |last1=Callan |first1=Tim |title=The now vs. not typo |url=http://timcallan.com/blog/2011/04/23/the-now-vs-not-typo/ |website=Tim Callan on Marketing and Technology |access-date=2021-08-13 |date=2011-04-23 |archive-date=2021-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814023831/http://timcallan.com/blog/2011/04/23/the-now-vs-not-typo/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Karr |first1=Phyllis Ann |title=Frostflower and Thorn |date=2012 |publisher=Wildside Press |isbn=9781479490028 |page=415 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fab0AAAAQBAJ&dq=now+not+typo&pg=PA415 |access-date=2023-03-20 |archive-date=2023-04-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404002257/https://books.google.com/books?id=Fab0AAAAQBAJ&dq=now+not+typo&pg=PA415 |url-status=live }}</ref> * "unclear" instead of "nuclear" * "you" instead of "your" * "[[Sudan]]" instead of "[[wiktionary:Sedan|Sedan]]" (leading to a diplomatic incident in 2005 between Sudan and the United States regarding [[Sedan (nuclear test)|a nuclear test code-named Sedan]]) * {{notatypo|"Untied States"}} instead of "United States" * "the" instead of "they" and many more. For any of these, the converse is also true.
==See also==
* {{Annotated link |Clerical error}} * {{Annotated link |Errata}} * {{Annotated link |Fat-finger error}} * {{Annotated link |Human error}} * {{Annotated link |Obelism}} ** {{Annotated link |Obelus}} * {{Annotated link |Orthography}} * {{Annotated link |Scrivener's error}} * {{Annotated link |Titivillus}} * {{Annotated link |Transcription error}} * [[Typography]]{{snd}} the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. Typographers design pages; traditionally, typesetters "set" the type to accord with that design.
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[http://www.bookerrata.com/ BookErrata.com] *[https://themillions.com/2022/08/how-many-errorrs-are-in-this-essay.html "How Many Errorrs are in this Essay?"] on famous typos, in ''[[The Millions]]''
[[Category:Error]] [[Category:Typing]] [[Category:Typography]] [[Category:Printing terminology]] [[Category:Nonstandard spelling]]