Grunts from the Wordgrump (3)

   A good true story deserves many tellings, and in class whenever I had a group of new students I related my experience with “the one letter difference.”  When I worked for the Great Books Foundation, I traveled extensively conducting training courses.  The invoice presented at the end of one’s hotel stay listed the name of your employer or organization.  At one memorable check out, I took note of a “one letter difference” in the recorded name of my firm. I discovered that I was part of a group that devoted its energies to either dumb people or attractive breasts.  The k in “Books” had been typed as a b.

   “Typos,” the scapegoat for careless writing, are not simply matters of form; they are frequently matters of meaning.  For example, if you write “prostrate” for “prostate” you are addressing a spiritual posture rather than a troublesome male gland.  If you use the term “interment” you’re referencing burial which will confuse your meaning if your intent is to speak of being held in custody without trial, i.e., “internment.”  “Decadent” and “decedent,” “dear” and “drear,” “navy” and “navvy,” “sear” and “seer” are some other examples of choices that qualify for the one letter difference botch-er-roo.  Strictly speaking, they are not all homophones or homonyms although they partake of elements of both.  Choosing the wrong word cannot be blamed on the computer or the word processing program.  The error is caused by the writer.  And it’s not merely a “typo.”  It’s a matter of meaning and meaning matters.