# Peens ensue! A test of Doper copyediting skills **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 7, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158 "2008-08-07T13:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/1 "2008-08-07T13:42:15Z")
A lot of editing work that I do is less about correcting simple, understandable mistakes and more about mystically channeling the intent of absent writers who were completely incapable of explaining themselves on paper. Allow me to share a favorite example, which always gives me a giggle whenever I remember it. I was working as a copyeditor for a monthly magazine in Egypt, and was checking the calendar of cultural events, which was often garbled as it was drafted by native Arabic speakers with limited English abilities. Under plays was this listing: “The Three Peens” by Bernard Bubernold. Umm…“The Three Peens”? This was not a play I had ever heard of, so I Googled the title and author. You’ll not be stunned to learn that I came up blank. The play was allegedly showing at the American University in Cairo, but wouldn’t you know it, their website was down. It was past midnight and we needed to go to press, so calling the office that had sent us the information was not a possibility. So, I allowed myself a moment of quiet meditation on peens, three of them, and Mr. Bubernold. And then, the insight struck! But of course! Once I had figured out the real name of the play, I was able to verify using Google that a play of that name was indeed scheduled to be performed in Cairo on the specified date. My question for Dopers: can you guess it? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/2 "2008-08-07T14:16:52Z")
I thought it might be “The Three Penes” even before I opened your thread, but I can’t find anything with that name. To my surprise, “The Three Penises” is the name of a painting from, the 1920’s: > **[Neel Life Stories - Nymag](https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/3409/)** > > Alice Neel's portraits stripped her subjects bare -- often literally -- and expertly revealed their inner lives. On the eve of a Whitney retrospective, Neel's subjects reflect on sitting for a modern master. It’s possible that someone named a play after that. But I’ll bet that the reality is much more mundane. Is it really “The Three Pines”? Plenty of things name “The Three Pines” around. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/3 "2008-08-07T14:26:36Z")
I’m not having any easy luck, blast it. I suspect it’s easier if you have some idea of how the Arabic speakers garble English. When I started my current job, I’d be listening to audio of an Indian speaker and comparing it to the transcript. The transcript had in some places ‘vote’ or ‘boat’ and indeed that’s what it sounded like, although it didn’t make sense in context. In my senior year of college, however, I’d done some research with Hindi and spoke to some Indians around campus, so I was more familiar with the accent and figured out the speaker was actually saying ‘booth,’ as in a convention booth. I don’t know if I could have figured it out without that. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/4 "2008-08-07T14:27:07Z")
Nope, although I love knowing there is actually a “three penises” painting. Maybe a hint is in order: the show is very famous, which is why meditating on the garbled version enabled me to figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/5 "2008-08-07T14:37:14Z")
The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht? ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/6 "2008-08-07T14:47:14Z")
So far, all I have been able to figure is: [ol] [li]“peen” = “ball” (like on a ball-peen hammer)[/li][li]Three balls = pawn-broker symbol[/li][li]“The Three Peens” = “The Pawn-Broker,” which was a movie based on a novel, but neither the film nor the book was by anybody named “Bubernold.”[/li][/ol] On preview, I think maybe **bookkeeper** got it. RR ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/7 "2008-08-07T15:00:08Z")
“Peens” could be “pins”, I suppose. Non-English speakers usually pronounce “i” as “ee”. For instance, I was considering buying a painting online that the art dealer said was "produced on a “fool shit” (full sheet). ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/8 "2008-08-08T02:15:34Z")
> [@](#): > > originally posted by **Bookkeeper** : > The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht? Well done! Clearly you are endowed with the Mystical Channeling Ability. I trust you use this power only to promote good. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/9 "2008-08-08T03:36:56Z")
Damn, I was gonna guess _Three Coins in the Fountain_, while completely ignoring the author’s name. Or The Three Amigos Or The Three Musketeers Or The Three Gentlemen of Verona Or the Three Wise Men Or Three Blind Mice ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peens-ensue-a-test-of-doper-copyediting-skills/459158/10 "2008-08-08T18:56:48Z")
[QUOTE=Bookkeeper] The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht? [/QUOTE] ::Thunderous applause:: I can’t imagine how you solved that. **CairoCarol** , thanks for that post. It is really hilarious. I’m still chuckling.