Muphry's law
Encyclopedia
Muphry's law is an adage
that states that "if you write anything criticizing editing
or proofreading
, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written". The name is a deliberate misspelling of Murphy's law
.
Similar laws have also been coined, usually in the context of online communication, under names including Skitt's Law, Hartman's Law of Prescriptivist Retaliation, (or The Law of Prescriptive Retaliation) The Iron Law of Nitpicking, and McKean's
Law. Further variations state that flaws in a printed or published work will only be discovered after it is printed and not during proofreading, and flaws such as spelling errors in a sent email will be discovered by the sender only during its subsequent retrieval by her/him from the "Sent" box for rereading.
of the Society of Editors (Victoria) in Australia identified Muphry's law as "the editorial application of the better-known Murphy's law
" and set it down in 1992 in the Society of Editors Newsletter.
The law, as set out by Bangsund, states that:
It goes on to say:
Muphry's law may be interpreted to be in accordance to a previous quote from Ambrose Bierce
:
described learning of the existence of Muphry's law in the Freakonomics
section of The New York Times
in July 2008. He had accused The Economist
of a typo
in referring to Cornish pasties
being on sale in Mexico, assuming that "pastries" had been intended and being familiar only with the word "pasties
" with the meaning of nipple coverings. A reader had alerted him to the existence of the law, and The Economist had responded by sending him a Cornish pasty.
In 2009, the then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
, who has limited vision due to a teenage rugby accident, hand-wrote a letter of condolence to a mother whose son had died in Afghanistan, during which he misspelled the deceased's surname. The Sun (a tabloid newspaper) published a vitriolic article criticizing his lack of care. In this article, the paper misspelled the same name and was forced to publish an apology of its own.
Adage
An adage is a short but memorable saying which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or that has gained some credibility through its long use....
that states that "if you write anything criticizing editing
Copy editing
Copy editing is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of text. Unlike general editing, copy editing might not involve changing the substance of the text. Copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication...
or proofreading
Proofreading
Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or computer monitor to detect and correct production-errors of text or art. Proofreaders are expected to be consistently accurate by default because they occupy the last stage of typographic production before publication.-Traditional method:A proof is...
, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written". The name is a deliberate misspelling of Murphy's law
Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". - History :The perceived perversity of the universe has long been a subject of comment, and precursors to the modern version of Murphy's law are not hard to find. Recent significant...
.
Similar laws have also been coined, usually in the context of online communication, under names including Skitt's Law, Hartman's Law of Prescriptivist Retaliation, (or The Law of Prescriptive Retaliation) The Iron Law of Nitpicking, and McKean's
Erin McKean
Erin McKean is an American lexicographer. Erin is a founder and the CEO of the online dictionary Wordnik. She was previously the Principal Editor of The New Oxford American Dictionary, second edition....
Law. Further variations state that flaws in a printed or published work will only be discovered after it is printed and not during proofreading, and flaws such as spelling errors in a sent email will be discovered by the sender only during its subsequent retrieval by her/him from the "Sent" box for rereading.
History
John BangsundJohn Bangsund
John Bangsund was a prominent Australian science fiction fan in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was a major force, with Andrew I. Porter behind Australia winning the right to host the 1975 Aussiecon, and he was Toastmaster at the Hugo Award ceremony at that convention.He was an influential and...
of the Society of Editors (Victoria) in Australia identified Muphry's law as "the editorial application of the better-known Murphy's law
Murphy's law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". - History :The perceived perversity of the universe has long been a subject of comment, and precursors to the modern version of Murphy's law are not hard to find. Recent significant...
" and set it down in 1992 in the Society of Editors Newsletter.
The law, as set out by Bangsund, states that:
(a) if you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written;
(b) if an author thanks you in a book for your editing or proofreading, there will be mistakes in the book;
(c) the stronger the sentiment expressed in (a) and (b), the greater the fault;
(d) any book devoted to editing or style will be internally inconsistent.
It goes on to say:
Muphry's Law also dictates that, if a mistake is as plain as the nose on your face, everyone can see it but you. Your readers will always notice errors in a title, in headings, in the first paragraph of anything, and in the top lines of a new page. These are the very places where authors, editors and proofreaders are most likely to make mistakes.
Muphry's law may be interpreted to be in accordance to a previous quote from Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
:
In neither taste nor precision is any man's practice a court of last appeal, for writers all, both great and small, are habitual sinners against the light; and their accuser is cheerfully aware that his own work will supply (as in making this book it has supplied) many "awful examples". ("Write it Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults" 1909)
Examples
Stephen J. DubnerStephen J. Dubner
Stephen J. Dubner is an American journalist who has written four books and numerous articles. Dubner is best known as co-author of the pop-economics book Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything and its 2009 sequel, SuperFreakonomics.-Background:His parents were...
described learning of the existence of Muphry's law in the Freakonomics
Freakonomics
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything is a 2005 non-fiction book by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner. The book has been described as melding pop culture with economics, but has also been described as...
section of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in July 2008. He had accused The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
of a typo
Typographical error
A typographical error is a mistake made in, originally, the manual type-setting of printed material, or more recently, the typing process. The term includes errors due to mechanical failure or slips of the hand or finger, but usually excludes errors of ignorance, such as spelling errors...
in referring to Cornish pasties
Pasty
A pasty , sometimes known as a pastie or British pasty in the United States, is a filled pastry case, associated in particular with Cornwall in Great Britain. It is made by placing the uncooked filling on a flat pastry circle, and folding it to wrap the filling, crimping the edge at the side or top...
being on sale in Mexico, assuming that "pastries" had been intended and being familiar only with the word "pasties
Pasties
Pasties are adhesive coverings applied to cover a woman's nipples and areolae. Though pasties are commonly associated with burlesque and erotic entertainment, they are also at times worn as an undergarment and occasionally as beachwear.Some women wear pasties when wearing a strapless or backless...
" with the meaning of nipple coverings. A reader had alerted him to the existence of the law, and The Economist had responded by sending him a Cornish pasty.
In 2009, the then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, who has limited vision due to a teenage rugby accident, hand-wrote a letter of condolence to a mother whose son had died in Afghanistan, during which he misspelled the deceased's surname. The Sun (a tabloid newspaper) published a vitriolic article criticizing his lack of care. In this article, the paper misspelled the same name and was forced to publish an apology of its own.
See also
- FumblerulesFumblerulesFumblerules are humorous rules for writing, collected from teachers of English grammar. A fumblerule contains an example contrary to the advice it gives, such as "don't use no double negatives", "eschew obfuscation" and "never use a preposition to end a sentence with", a form of self-reference.The...
- "Hoist with his own petard"