July 16, 2007 - Agian

Agian for Again is a classic inversion that is found on the 'C' or moderate probability list in Typographical Errors in Library Databases. Like every inverted letter typo that we can think of, this involves letters on opposite sides of the keyboard. As always, we suggest looking at every example because this might be a double typo for Aegean, or it might have a 'sic' to indicate that the actual publication was at fault.

Agian (for Again)

We met this typo in July of 2007 and today we're meeting it again. Vera Lynn sings "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day"—while Slim Pickens ironically navigates a nuke to the end of the earth—at the close of Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. While the results of today's meeting are not nearly as calamitous for humanity, Agian does turn up 15 times in OhioLINK, making it a typo of "moderate to high probability" on the Ballard list. So, once again, search your OPACs carefully and take the bombs away.

(Vera Lynn entertaining factory workers, from the Stanway Primary School's "Women at War" website.)

Carol Reid