# Typos that become words. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000 "2003-04-07T04:22:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/1 "2003-04-07T04:22:57Z")
What typos have become words “in their own right”? The only one I can think of is “filk”, which refers to a type of music popular among “fen” (science fiction fans). Filk is usually written in a pseudo-folk idiom but features topics drawn from science fiction or fantasy literature. Legend has it that the word was coined as a typo in the first WorldCon program, which was supposed to have a slot in it for “folk” music, but “filk” is what was printed. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/2 "2003-04-07T04:35:11Z")
Well the legend is that Cape Nome, Alaska was so named when the transcriber misread the surveyer’s writing which said ? Name by that point on the alaska coast. I won’t vouch for its authenticity tho ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/3 "2003-04-07T07:15:07Z")
grilf =girlfriend cow-orker=co-worker newsfroup=newsgroup hing=hint I’m an avid reader of the [Hacker’s Jargon Lexicon](http://www.hack.gr/jargon/html/lexicon.html). ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/4 "2003-04-07T08:06:39Z")
inside joke between me and a friend: yrd=yes. After that night we’d randomly shout it at eachother at school. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/5 "2003-04-07T12:29:12Z")
Og of course. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/6 "2003-04-07T12:52:30Z")
Hate to get all linguisticky and ruin your fun, but the spelling of words changes over time. Most of the words we have today were spelled different back in the day. A good example is the substitution of letters–they used to use what looked like an ‘f’ instead of an ‘s’, so “this” would look like “thif”. Sorry. Boring. It’s Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/7 "2003-04-07T12:57:17Z")
> [@](#): > > they used to use what looked like an ‘f’ instead of an ‘s’, so “this” would look like “thif”. As I understand it, the “f”-looking thing was actually an “s” (in a different font?). > [@](#): > > Filk is usually written in a pseudo-folk idiom but features topics drawn from science fiction or fantasy literature. So what’s Filthy Pierre up to nowadays? ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/8 "2003-04-07T13:03:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > **As I understand it, the “f”-looking thing was actually an “s” (in a different font?).** Actually, it was a [medial s](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_110.html), meant to be used in the middle of a word. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/9 "2003-04-07T13:18:06Z")
[Medireview](http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-944320.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/10 "2003-04-07T13:48:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xgxlx \* > **inside joke between me and a friend: yrd=yes.** ypivj yu[omh ? ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typos-that-become-words/167000/11 "2003-04-07T14:24:51Z")
You might want to check out [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=174955) that I started a few days ago (and which still appears to be going strong). Barry