Editor, heal thyself 2

Here’s hoping that last post on editing (especially the cringe-worthy number 10, from our own book) was amusing, and also explained a bit of what editors look for, which is, well, everything. Sometimes even the dates of historic events.

One author wrote: “The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee . . .” Oops.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn was June 26, 1876, in Montana; Wounded Knee was December 29, 1890, in South Dakota. Fourteen years and 400 miles apart, and with opposite outcomes, the former a defeat of the US Cavalry, the latter a defeat of the Sioux.

Editors spend a lot of time looking stuff up.

Many astute readers have requested a follow-up post “with the answers” (so to speak) explaining the errors in the ten examples given earlier.

Here are the original sentences from the previous post, with the erroneous word or words in boldface, and my explanation below each one.  So, without further ado:

10. This is a great place to get views out over the pretty lake and the marsh, with a variety of birds and incest to see throughout the year.

No, that would be insects.

9. Rivers that sweep slowly through lush valleys and pastureland will have a tendency to freeze quicker than rivers that carve their way through a swift, majestic, boulder-filled canyon.

(The swift canyon darted away!) Rivers can be swift. Canyons can’t. Canyons pretty much stay in one place, not moving at all, never mind swiftly. Rewritten as “. . . than rivers that flow swiftly through majestic, boulder-filled canyons.”

8. Watching the troupe of lowland gorillas wander through their habitat, Gail could imagine she was on an adventure in deepest Africa.

A troupe is a group of dancers or other entertainers who perform together. For gorillas, it’s a troop.

7. The Green River below Flaming George Dam offers great fishing for rainbow trout.

The correct name is Flaming Gorge. If George is flaming, someone fetch a fire extinguisher.

6. Utah’s Green River below Flamingo Gorge Dam is one of the most famous trout streams in the West.

The correct name is Flaming Gorge. There are no flamingos in Utah.

5. A wool baklava is an excellent choice for hunting in late fall and will keep your face and head warm even in the coldest weather.

(If you put baklava on your head for a hunting trip, you might attract bears–and hunting guides will deduce you’re new at the game.) Should be balaclava, the Russian word for a knit garment that covers the face and head. Baklava is a delicious Greek pastry made with phyllo dough, honey and walnuts.

4. Boats are usually dropped down embankments alongside the canoe launches using a variety of wenches, homemade slides, and plenty of elbow grease.

Should be winches, mechanical devices for lifting and moving heavy objects. Wench is a lewd, disrespectful olde English term for a tavern serving girl, reflecting on these women’s supposedly loose morals.

3. Quietly, I set up my Predator Shooting Sticks, upholstered my Magnum Research .45-70 pistol and laid the barrel on the sticks.

Did you upholster it in leather, or did you go with a subtle pastel fabric? Should be unholstered.

2. The gays at Southeastern Anglers make their living on the river, and know the stream and its trout better than anyone else.

Should be guys. It’s amazing what a single letter can change.

1. One day, we were fly fishing for strippers in front of singer Jimmy Buffet’s shorefront home in the hamptons.

Should be stripers, for striped bass, Morone saxatilis. (Did you try the stuffed mushrooms at the buffet? They’re delicious.) The famous singer’s (“Margaritaville”) name is Buffett. Should be The Hamptons (cap. T and H), which refers collectively to the townships of Northampton and East Hampton on Long Island, New York, where people like Jimmy Buffett have bought shorefront real estate.

I admit that last one is a bit obscure, but in editing, as in many other areas of life, the devil is in the details.

Bill Bowers