Alll* (for All, etc.)

It’s August in Arkansas, at least for this one final day, and it’s all about hot weather and ragweed allergies. In Fort Smith, not even an hour south of here, there were 18 days this month with high temperatures at or above 100°F. And in Fayetteville, you can’t buy rain, but the ragweed is still flourishing.

Alll* is another high on the Ballard typo list. It occurs 25 times in records for English-language materials in the OhioLINK catalog. Sometimes it’s a misspelling of “all” (the exception being AllLookSame), but it also occurs in words like “alliance,” “allowed,” and “allegro.”

And now if you’ll pardon me, I have to go sneeze.

(Ambrosia artemisiifolia, or Common Ragweed, from Wikimedia Commons)

Deb Kulczak

Econim* (for Economy, Economic, etc.)

The global economic crisis has had far-reaching effects on our society. The language we speak is just one example. The Guardian reported last week that among the newcomers to the Oxford Dictionary of English are “toxic debt” and “staycation.” The latter term refers to a vacation spent in one’s home country, or even at one’s own home. While some folks have always done this, either from personal preference or because of their financial situation, the fact that there’s now a special term implies a critical mass of people who can’t afford to go away on holiday.

Econim* is a high-probability typo on the Ballard list. There are 17 OhioLINK instances of “econimic(s)” and “econimies” sprinkled throughout English-language title fields, notes, publisher statements, and subject headings. An additional 7 are for the French, Italian, and Spanish equivalents. But if you’re on staycation, please refrain from checking your catalog until you get back to work!

(Wouldn't this be a nice staycation retreat? Patio by scottsnyde, from stock.xchng)

Deb Kulczak

Highschool* (for High school*)

The kids in Louis Sachar's fiction book series about Wayside School (beginning with Sideways Stories from Wayside School) are students in a particularly high school.

Wayside school is built sideways, in a way: it's 30 stories high, with one classroom per story. There is, however, no 19th story--much like real life buildings without a 13th floor. One student wonders, if there's no 19th floor, why isn't the school 29 stories tall?

Are you confused yet? Not as confused as our typists seem to be: highschool is in fact a high probability typo on the Ballard list, appearing over 50 times in Ohiolink and 1200 times in Worldcat!

(Book cover image from Amazon.com)

Leanne Olson

Brookyn* (for Brooklyn*)

Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets. - Yogi Berra

I don't know if Berra actually said this, or if it's just one of many probable quotations that has cropped over the years, but I can't argue with his premise.

I'm thinking of baseball today because of an anniversary: Major league baseball in the U.S. was first broadcast on television on August 26, 1939. The doubleheader between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers was shown on New York station W2XBS. W2XBS also televised a game between Princeton and Columbia earlier that year. Japan, however, beat the U.S. to televised baseball by several years -- showing a game in 1931.

While I'm Canadian and should have hockey in my DNA, I must admit to a special love for baseball -- perhaps because it moves slowly enough for this non-athlete to follow the rules?

Leanne Olson

Accesor* (for Accessor*)

While I'm no fashionista, I know the right accessories (not accesories) can make an outfit, whether it's gold cuff links and a Mickey Mouse tie for a man, or a diamond necklace and a peacock feather fascinator for a woman.

So, where's a fashionable gal or guy to get some marvelous jewellery? I wouldn't recommend buying your diamond-encrusted watches from a guy off the street, or you may wind up being an accessory to a crime. And of course, a criminal record can deny you access (not acces) to the kinds of fancy balls where you might show off your accessories.

Accesor* is a moderate probability typo on the Ballard list. Watch out also for acess*, and make sure to count your Cs and Ss!

(Cartoon from freeprintables.com)

Leanne Olson

Sqaur* (for Squar*)

I grew up watching Sesame Street in the 1980s, and so I learned their parody songs, featuring letters, numbers, shapes, colours, and (of course) puppets, long before I ever knew the "real" classic rock hits.

One of my favourites was "It's Hip to be a Square", which twisted the lyrics of the Huey Lewis song, "It's Hip to be Square", and features squares, rectangles, circles, and triangles dancing and singing. It can still be found on YouTube, in all its glorious '80s animation, teaching tolerance:

When I go to the playground
And a triangle says 'How do you do'
Then comes in a circle
And a rectangle shows up too

Well I play with the triangle
And the circle can join the game
I play with the rectangle
Who cares that we're not all the same?

Of course, while tolerance for nonconformity is great on the playground, you have to watch out for it in the library catalogue: sqaur* is a moderate probability typo on the Ballard List.

(Square image from Wikimedia Commons.)

Leanne Olson

Braod* (for Broad*)

Today is the birthday of American dancer and actor Gene Kelly (1912 – 1996). He first won acclaim on Broadway (not Braodway) for the musical Pal Joey.

Kelly developed his own particular style for motion pictures, saying that “the only dancer in the movies at that time with any success was Fred Astaire, but he did very small, elegant steps in a top hat, white tie and tails. I was too big physically for that kind of dancing, and I looked better in a sweatshirt and loafers anyway. It wasn't elegant, but it was me."

He also used film technology to the fullest, dancing with himself in Cover Girl and with the animated mouse Jerry (of Tom and Jerry) in Anchors Aweigh. And of course, he’ll always be remembered for the joy in his performance of Singin’ in the Rain.

(Photo from us.imdb.com)

Leanne Olson