Dord: The Ghost Word

<p>Webster’s New International Dictionary (Second Edition) was the largest book to be mass produced, but - as was revealed on 28th February, 1939 - it contained an embarrassing error: on page 771, between the entries for Dorcopsis (a type of small kangaroo) and doré (golden in colour), was the word ‘dord’. Which doesn’t exist. </p><br><p>The mistake had arisen from a note submitted by the dictionary’s Chemistry Editor, Austin M. Patterson, who had intended to include ‘D or d’ as an abbreviation for ‘density’. It became the most celebrated example of a ‘ghost word’.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether the time is right to re-introduce ‘dord’ to the dictionary; reveal how the word ‘ghost’ itself contains a ‘ghost letter’; and explain why the the 1975 edition of the New Columbia Dictionary deliberately included an entry on fictitious photographer Lillian Virginia Mountweazel…</p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><ul><li>‘The Curious Case of “Dord,” the Dictionary-Defined Word That Doesn’t Exist’ (MindBounce, 2020): <a href="https://www.mindbounce.com/446502/the-curious-case-of-dord-the-dictionary-defined-word-that-doesnt-exist/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.mindbounce.com/446502/the-curious-case-of-dord-the-dictionary-defined-word-that-doesnt-exist/</a></li><li>‘What Are Ghost Words?’ (Grammarly): <a href="https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ghost-words/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ghost-words/</a></li><li>‘Ask The Editor: Ghost Word’ (Merriam-Webster, 2011):</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3sDiH3FhnY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3sDiH3FhnY</a></p><br><p>Enjoy this episode? The team have uncovered even MORE about trap streets and unrecognisable words, which you can hear exclusively if you’re our supporter on Patreon* or subscriber on Apple Podcasts. </p><p>Support the show, skip the ads** and get bonus material every week!</p><p><em>*top two tiers only. Patreon.com/Retrospectors **Patreon only.</em></p><br><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.</em></p><br><p><em>#30s #Mistakes #Discoveries #Funny #US</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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