December 5, 2007 - "0f" [zero-f] and 0ff [zero-f-f] for "of" and off"
This is a similar type error to using the letter "l" for the number "1" that was a common error in the 1980s and 90s when the switch was made from typewriters to computer keyboards. Frankly, I can't imagine why someone would use the number zero instead of the letter "o" in common words, such as of and off. You'll find the incorrect zero-f in phrases such as "1 0f 2" and the incorrect zero-f-f as a abbreviation for U.S. Gov. Print. "0ff." in the 260 field.
Wendee Eyler
2 comments:
One way to make this error would be overreaching the o key and hitting the 0 key instead.
Typists made these substitutions because many old manual typewriter keyboards did not have a key/character for 1 (figure one) and 0 (figure zero), requiring the typist to use l (lower-case letter L) and O (upper-case letter O) all the time for figure one and figure zero
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