# When TV gets it very wrong: spelling
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 18, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675 "2013-12-18T20:47:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/1 "2013-12-18T20:47:00Z")
So I’m kicking back with my coffee watching the most popular morning TV show in Aus when a report comes up about a bashing in Sydney overnight. Ever so common nowadays amongst the younger-bloke set, seems you can’t go out on the town without the risk of experiencing a VISCOUS ATTACK.
Good grief…have all the spellcheckers and proofreaders gone on holidays already? Is the poor 16yr old **Work Experience** kid to be held responsible?
Or did somebody get a bowl of aspic thrown at them?
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### Author:  [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/2 "2013-12-18T20:51:49Z")
Don’t remember which show it was, but about 20? years back there was a major network primetime series whose opening sequence showed names of various nations. One name shown prominently was “Isreal”. I couldn’t believe they made such a typo on a show being shown to millions of viewers. CTTOI, this was probably pre-cable.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/3 "2013-12-18T21:10:02Z")
At least viscous is a word, though the wrong one. Two nights ago the local news had a story headlined: “Re-gifiting unwanted Christmas presents.”
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/4 "2013-12-18T21:18:05Z")
No thread on this topic would be complete without [this classic gaffe from MSNBC.](http://www.cymerian.com/innis.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/5 "2013-12-18T21:22:43Z")
> [@kambuckta](#):
>
> So I’m kicking back with my coffee watching the most popular morning TV show in Aus when a report comes up about a bashing in Sydney overnight. Ever so common nowadays amongst the younger-bloke set, seems you can’t go out on the town without the risk of experiencing a VISCOUS ATTACK.
Hey, [you never know when it might happen to you…](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster)
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/6 "2013-12-18T22:48:24Z")
> [@kambuckta](#):
>
> Good grief…have all the spellcheckers and proofreaders gone on holidays already? Is the poor 16yr old **Work Experience** kid to be held responsible?
There used to be ten or fifteen people involved in a News show as it goes to air. They have recently reduced that number to about three, including the on-air talent.
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### Author:  [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/7 "2013-12-19T03:15:19Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#):
>
> Hey, [you never know when it might happen to you…](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Molasses_Disaster)
Wow! That was a seriously interesting read, and as amusing as some epitaphs for the dead could have been, incredibly sad at the same time. Thanks for the heads-up **Machine Elf**. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/8 "2013-12-19T05:21:48Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#):
>
> At least viscous is a word, though the wrong one.
That was probably the problem. Too many people rely too much on their spellchecker - but it won’t catch when you misspell the word you meant into a different word.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/9 "2013-12-19T07:44:17Z")
I saw an ad for either catheters or adult diapers by mail order. The ad said the contents would come _discretely_ packaged. I don’t know, if I received such a product, I’d prefer the packaging to give no indication of the contents.
Although it was spelled correctly, it was still a case of the wrong word used, “discrete” in place of “discreet.”
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### Author:  [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/10 "2013-12-19T10:15:16Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> I saw an ad for either catheters or adult diapers by mail order. The ad said the contents would come _discretely_ packaged. I don’t know, if I received such a product, I’d prefer the packaging to give no indication of the contents.
>
> Although it was spelled correctly, it was still a case of the wrong word used, “discrete” in place of “discreet.”
Heh, probably made by the same people that asked if you ever wanted to have sonic hearing.
Uh, already do, thanks.
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### Author:  [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/11 "2013-12-19T11:49:12Z")
Maybe the “viscous attack” involved the use of some type of liquid.
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### Author:  [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/12 "2013-12-19T16:34:33Z")
Living in Madison, WI, I once saw the local news report something from “Madsion, WI.” I was all, “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.” I mean, how do you get the name of your own town wrong?
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### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/13 "2013-12-19T18:01:01Z")
The whole level of writing on TV just sucks nowadays. I hear things like “Many people have given up the hope to lose weight” all the time, and it just … grates … on … my … nerves.\* On a recent H2 documentary, there was one moment when it sounded like the Japanese pounded the crap of the Americans in WWII, instead of the other way around, because of the way the passage was worded. Et cetera, et cetera. People actually get paid for churning out this dreck? :mad:
Anybody out there needs a good copy writer, I’m available whenever, wherever.
\*It should be “The hope _of losing_ weight.”
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/14 "2013-12-19T20:00:26Z")
> [@kambuckta](#):
>
> So I’m kicking back with my coffee watching the most popular morning TV show in Aus when a report comes up about a bashing in Sydney overnight. Ever so common nowadays amongst the younger-bloke set, seems you can’t go out on the town without the risk of experiencing a VISCOUS ATTACK.
>
> Good grief…have all the spellcheckers and proofreaders gone on holidays already? Is the poor 16yr old **Work Experience** kid to be held responsible?
>
> Or did somebody get a bowl of aspic thrown at them?
Heh. There’s a low-level weapon in World of Warcraft called the “[Viscous Hammer](http://www.wowhead.com/item=13045/)”. The first time I found it, my first thought was, “That sounds especially useless!”
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/15 "2013-12-19T21:14:56Z")
[Telescope has a pronounced limp](http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m305/llaaksonen/gammy.jpg%5B/url)
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/16 "2013-12-19T22:07:05Z")
> [@Snickers](#):
>
> Living in Madison, WI, I once saw the local news report something from “Madsion, WI.” I was all, “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.” I mean, how do you get the name of your own town wrong?
I grew up in Plattsburgh, NY. You’d be surprised how many locals spell it Plattsburg.
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### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/17 "2013-12-19T22:50:56Z")
It’s not just spelling, it’s pronunciation too!
I remember a promo for a PBS Masterpiece Theater show “I, Claudius” in which the announcer pronounced the name “Caligula” as Kal-i-GOO-la.
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### Author:  [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/18 "2013-12-19T23:04:11Z")
This is a news web page, not TV, but notice the headline in
> **[Immaculate Conception? 1 per cent of U.S. women claim virgin births - National...](https://globalnews.ca/news/1038508/immaculate-conception-1-per-cent-of-u-s-women-claim-virgin-births/)**
>
> About one per cent of young U.S. women say they’ve given birth while still being a virgin, according to a study released Wednesday.
(hint - immaculate conception relates to Mary’s conception, not Jesus’ conception).
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [December 19, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/19 "2013-12-19T23:13:31Z")
Back during H1N1 I caught a screen shot of my local news’ web page when it ran a short article about The H1N! Virus. Someone forgot to take their finger off the shift button, but for a few hours is was pretty funny to look at.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-tv-gets-it-very-wrong-spelling/676675/20 "2013-12-20T15:57:58Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> Back during H1N1 I caught a screen shot of my local news’ web page when it ran a short article about The H1N! Virus. Someone forgot to take their finger off the shift button, but for a few hours is was pretty funny to look at.
P!nk is a carrier of that virus, you know.
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