Lo and behold. The Macquarie Dictionary defines this “an exclamation used to indicate that the circumstance about to be revealed or described is surprising”. But if you make a spelling error and use low instead of lo, you lose the impact.
Picture: Getty Images
That’s exactly what happened to US baker/household organiser/publisher Martha Stewart during an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit last week. Here she is explaining her technology habits
I have always tried to stay ahead of the tech curve. I use the new Samsung notebook, I use the iPhone, and low and behold, I still have a new Blackberry. All I need now is one phone number for all of them.
I’m prepared to accept that typos are going to happen in a live chat environment, even for a perfectionist like Stewart. But we mustn’t perpetuate the idea that this spelling is correct. Accuracy matters.
Lifehacker’s Mind Your Language column offers bossy advice on improving your writing.
Comments
2 responses to “Lo And Behold, Martha Stewart Got It Wrong”
When was the last time you actually used that exclamation, and did you say it or write it down..? Somehow I doubt that many people are actually using it anymore in the common vernacular, let alone actually writing it down…!
Was a joke, wasn’t as funny when I read it as when I typed it.