This story was all over the papers this morning, but in case you missed it, check out the Metro’s version here.
It’s one of those mistakes where you just wonder how in hell it could have happened. You’re writing a recipe for spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto. You want your attentive cooks to add freshly ground black pepper. You write ‘freshly ground black people’ (why, why, why?). The proofreader thinks that is just fine and dandy, and hey presto it’s in print.
Whoops!
Rantings of a sub-editor 
do they have to be ground down by centuries of oppression, or will a standard pepper-grinder do?
Comment by self-wrighteous — April 19, 2010 @ 1:23 pm |
Subconscious racial violence or subtle BNP propaganda…? We shall never know.
Comment by Nadine — April 19, 2010 @ 5:14 pm |
Funny tricks the mind plays. I read ‘pepper’ because that’s what I expected to see and had to go back and read it more carefully to see what you were referring to. Methinks I would have failed as a proofreader that time 😦
Comment by Stefmez — April 19, 2010 @ 6:43 pm |
I know – I read it in the paper this morning, which had the same headline but no picture (in fact it was above a picture of a monkey having an operation). I could not work out what that headline was on about at all!
Comment by substuff — April 19, 2010 @ 7:28 pm |
Editor: How the hell did you let this one get past? It’s “freshly ground PERSON OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY!”
Comment by Michael Reed — April 19, 2010 @ 9:10 pm |
Surely that should be “and hey pesto, it’s in print”.
PS The new site looks like you’ve moved out of the student union. 🙂
Comment by Vice-Chancellor — April 20, 2010 @ 10:52 pm |
I’ll take that as a compliment!
Comment by substuff — April 21, 2010 @ 2:20 pm |