Last month we had a news story whose headline suggested it was about a disembodied leg that knocked on a door for help. Following in its frisky footsteps* is a disarming report about a “Huge arsenal of forearms discovered in Otahuhu”:
Well, not really. What was meant, of course, was “firearms”. A typing lapse was followed by an editorial oversight, or several, resulting in what Stephen Bell (who brought it to my attention) described as a “spellchecker-proof typo”.
The content has been wiped from the original page, but a Google search for “huge arsenal of forearms” throws a few cached pages our way. It’s too good a typo to be allowed to disappear, and I can’t help but wonder who shouldered the blame for allowing it to elbow its way into publication.
* It actually dates from December 2009, but I didn’t see it then.
Actually, I could do with a few extra forearms. Providing they’re in good conditions and selling cheap. Mine get awfully tired at times. I wonder if I would have to pay duty fees?
I imagine much forelock tugging by the aforementioned shoulderer.
XO
WWW
Claudia: A few extra forearms would come in very handy. I’m sure they wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg.
WWW: Indeed! It was an ‘armless enough mistake, but the surreal image it conjured up has given it legs.
Fantastic. This is the kind of thing that livens up my day something rotten.
Fran: I’ll be keeping an eye out (figuratively) for more examples of surreal typos.
I reckon the police were tipped off about the arsenal. After a;; forewarned is forearmed…
It’s taken me this long to think of that one. Not worth it eh?
That’s true Jams, and I’m glad you said it — because I was going to but didn’t! I wanted to adapt the saying into the post title, but I couldn’t do it satisfactorily. So instead I brought in foregrounding because it has a linguistic meaning, though a fairly obscure one.
Yes, too good a typo to remain cached!
I thought so too, Welshcakes! Thanks for stopping by.
And this is exactly why proofreading beets automated spell checking!
Tim: You’ve hut the nail on the bead.
Got bliss the spool chucker that lot this won through.
Got bliss them indeed, Andy — unless they got enough bliss already.