As a freelance proofreader, I get the chance to see all kinds of typos—many dull, a few irreverent, and some hilarious—before they reach the reader. Although it’s fun to correct misspellings, some are too creative to be buried under red markups forever.
To make you smile, here is the first half of the lineup of the most creative typos I came across in 2017:
Customers prefer leaning [learning] about a brand
Who knows what customers prefer these days: leaning against a brand or learning about a brand? I lean towards the second option. You can lean against a wall when you’re tired of waiting in line. You lean toward an idea when you have a preference for it.
Install your valences [valances]
Even if your high school years are far behind you, you probably remember valences have something to do with chemistry. Valence refers to the combining power of a chemical element. Valence also has specific meanings in psychology and linguistics, but in all cases, valences cannot be installed. But valances can. Valances are the short decorative curtains hung across the top of windows.
Conversation [Conversion] of measurements
It could be something like this:
Clock: You’ve gained a bit of weight, haven’t you?
Weight: We’ve come a long distance and still all you care about is my weight.
Clock: I shouldn’t waste another second on you when you’re moody.
Conversion of measurements, such as meters to feet, is anything but a good conversation starter—unless you work for an organization like The National Measurement Institute.
The walls will be rained [retained]
“The walls will be rained” and “the roof will be snowed” are good examples of passive voice, and bad examples of song lyrics. If you want to keep the walls and you insist on using passive voice, write “the walls will be retained”.
Goof [good] access to the beach
A building with good access to the beach isn’t an architectural goof. One that creates a “death ray” that fries passers-by is.
Training plants [plans]
This typo was funny in a business document about training plans for employees, but finding the expression training plants in a biology paper wouldn’t be that awkward after all. For example, researchers in Australia are teaching plants to use their energy more efficiently.
Do you need a freelance proofreader or editor for your business documents? Send me a message at editor@languageediting.com.
Similar posts:
- The funniest typos of 2017 – Part 2
- The 7 funniest typos (so far this year)
- And 5 more funny typos (to end the year with a smile)
Last revised on 21 June 2022
