George Keleny: Every Thursday night, Dad's there with his trusty OED
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.My dad's column has been going for 12 years, ever since the editor of the paper summoned him to his office and suggested that his weekly internal report on the errors committed by The Independent's journalists might amuse the readers as well. So what's it like to live with the column?
Well, it has no name in our house. From my point of view, it's a bit like a poltergeist: you never know if it's there, and you do your best to avoid talking about it, but every so often it gets in the way of using the internet.
To my mother, on the other hand, it has always been a source of amusement. It's lucky she likes it, since she's the one who checks the grammar. For the man who actually writes it, the column will always be a way to fill up a Thursday night, accompanied by his faithful sidekick, a two-volume Oxford English Dictionary.
Perhaps the publication of this compilation will herald a new era in pedantry. But it seems unlikely. It's been going for more than a decade, and it seems the people who write the paper still haven't learned to spell.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments