Where Are All the Editors?

Sometimes I think I should start a new blog devoted entirely to mistakes that make their way into print. Could be a full-time job, but I’m not sure who would pay me to do it. This week has been particularly bad—and I’m talking about obvious errors, not nitpicky little stuff that only editors and other English majors notice or care about. In such an error-rich environment, I’m beginning to wonder if I might be the only living editor on the planet. Is everyone else either dead or vacationing on Mars?

Speaking of Mars, I’m still making my way through that sci-fi mystery I started reading last weekend. It’s still full of missing words. (To any living editors not currently on Mars: Yes, I know that a book can’t really be “full” of something that’s “missing.” I was trying to be funny in my usual subtle way. Laugh with me.) At first I was mildly annoyed that my reading experience was being interrupted by these little error bombs. Now I feel bad for the author; she’s a talented writer who deserves better. And I’m moderately annoyed. Still reading the book, though, and still enjoying the story.

This morning I opened my e-mail and found another error bomb. This one appeared in the online version of a little newspaper from Ohio. The story was about a cat that saved her owner from a fire. I’m sorry I can’t tell you any details about the heroic kitty, but I was too ticked off to read the whole story. There were the usual comma errors, but those I can deal with. What got me was a sentence that went something like this: “She laid down on the bed.” Will someone please tell me why a newspaper, even a little newspaper from Ohio, cannot get lie and lay right? Is it really that difficult? Seriously, you don’t have to be a completely anal grammar expert to know the difference between lie and lay, do you?

Sorry for the outburst. I’m still trying to calm down from that particular bomb. I’m also thinking of taking a vacation—on Mars.