# (sic) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 25, 2000, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295 "2000-10-25T19:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/1 "2000-10-25T19:48:21Z")
This may sound kind of dumb, but what is that (sic) for when people quote things other people said? ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/2 "2000-10-25T19:53:39Z")
It’s when you are quoting somebody and they have made an error and you reognize the error and want the reader to know that you did not make it. For example, I found this note written by a roommate of mine on the couch. It read “I fucken [sic] wicked love you and I’m thinking of you.” It means that I KNOW that there is a misspelled word, but the original author misspelled it. Man, that was a dumb note. ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/3 "2000-10-25T19:56:17Z")
“It’s when you are quoting somebody and they make an error and you reognize [sic] the error and want the reader to know you didn’t make it.” It’s also if the original author chose to spell something differently. Not just spelling errors, either- they might hav a date wrong or something… ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/4 "2000-10-25T19:58:00Z")
sic is Latin for ‘thus’. It is used when quoting to indicate an error (intentional or not) that might otherwise be mistaken for an editing error (most often spelling), i.e. ‘thus’ to indicate “that’s how the original is, I’m just reporting it”.It’s not normally used to indicate other than a potential editing error, so you might see : “We don’t want to obsfuscate[sic] the issues.” but you wouldn’t use it with : “My father helped me with state capitals in Third Grade. So I’ve got it down, ‘Seattle’” ---
**Author:** ![fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fish_in_the_sky)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/5 "2000-10-25T20:26:41Z")
Has anyone read the book called (sic) by Sean Landers? It’s… different. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/6 "2000-10-25T21:02:55Z")
An interesting thing to look for is [sic] being used to make someone look bad, while quietly correcting the statements of others that are being made to look good. For example, note the difference between: Harry said: “I seen [sic] with my own eyes for who [sic] it was being sent”. vs. Harry said: “I [saw] with my own eyes for [whom] it was being sent.” ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/7 "2000-10-25T22:14:26Z")
Just so you know, I’ve seen people misusing [sic] around here lately (mostly in the Pit). Oh, and the square brackets generally indicate editorial comment, rather than author’s intention. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/8 "2000-10-25T22:32:14Z")
Also, remember John Wilkes Booth’s immortal words as he leapt onto the stage of Ford’s Theater after shooting President Lincoln: “Sic semper tyrannus!” Thus always to tyrants! ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/9 "2000-10-25T22:39:48Z")
So when I tell my dog to “Sic 'im,” it means, from Latin, “Thus him?” ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/10 "2000-10-25T22:42:43Z")
sic transit gloria mundi ---
**Author:** ![Omniman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bcef8e/32.png) [@Omniman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniman)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/11 "2000-10-26T00:37:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slithy Tove \* > \*\*So when I tell my dog to “Sic 'im,” it means, from Latin, “Thus him?” \*\* Different sic. Not Latin, but “a dialectical variant of _seek_” with an Old English root. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/12 "2000-10-26T00:54:09Z")
I always thought it meant “spelled intentionally crappy.” Well, ya learn somthing new every day! ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/13 "2000-10-26T19:23:42Z")
I always thought it was a latin abbreviation for “Let it stand.” The s, i, and c each stands for a latin word and has nothing to do with the word “sic” meaning “thus.” ---
**Author:** ![jmullaney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@jmullaney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmullaney)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/14 "2000-10-26T19:40:14Z")
Let it stand is “stet” – usually when an editor crossed something out and then changes mind about it. sic itur ad astra… ---
**Author:** ![Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2000, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/15 "2000-10-26T20:07:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stephe96 \* > \*\* > > Also, remember John Wilkes Booth’s immortal words as he leapt onto the stage of Ford’s Theater after shooting President Lincoln: > > “Sic semper tyrannus!” > > Thus always to tyrants! \*\* And as Crazy Joe Davola proclaimed as he jumped Seinfeld as he was taping his pilot. ---
**Author:** ![djbdjb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@djbdjb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djbdjb)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2000, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/16 "2000-10-27T18:32:34Z")
I recently was filling out our weekly football pool, specifically a guess for the total points scored in a certain game. I wrote 1 [sic], to show that it was not a typo for 10, or 31, or something. I gather this usage is incorrect as I was not requoting. How do you indicate “not a typo”: “1. No, really, 1. Yah, just that:1 The page after 1 intentionally left blank” ? ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2000, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/17 "2000-10-27T18:49:30Z")
> [@](#): > > sic transit gloria I didn’t know Gloria was sick! ---
**Author:** ![jmullaney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@jmullaney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmullaney)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2000, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sic/38295/18 "2000-10-27T20:50:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by djbdjb \* > \*\*I recently was filling out our weekly football pool, specifically a guess for the total points scored in a certain game. I wrote 1 [sic], to show that it was not a typo for 10, or 31, or something. I gather this usage is incorrect as I was not requoting. How do you indicate “not a typo”: “1. No, really, 1. Yah, just that:1 The page after 1 intentionally left blank” ? \*\* You might try -1- although the “rules” dictate numbers smaller than eleven are to be spelled out to prevent this sort of confusion.