ETAOIN SHRDLU
Encyclopedia
ETAOIN SHRDLU (ˈɛtiˌɔɪn ˈʃɜrdlu) is a nonsense phrase that sometimes appeared in print in the days of "hot type
" publishing because of a custom of Linotype machine
operators. It appeared frequently enough that it became part of the lore of newspapers. A documentary about the last issue of The New York Times
to be composed in the hot-metal printing process (2 July 1978) was titled Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu.
It is the approximate order of frequency
of the twelve most commonly used letters in the English language
.
The letters on Linotype
keyboards were arranged by letter frequency, so "etaoin shrdlu" were the first two vertical columns on the left side of the keyboard. Linotype operators who had made a typing error could not go back to delete it, and had to finish the line before they could eject the slug and re-key a new one. Since the line with the error would be discarded and hence its contents did not matter, the quickest way to finish the line was to run a finger down the keys — a "run down", as it was termed — creating this nonsense phrase.
If the slug with the error made it as far as the compositors, the distinctive set of letters served to quickly identify it for removal. Occasionally, however, the phrase would be overlooked and be printed erroneously. This happened often enough for ETAOIN SHRDLU to be listed in the Oxford English Dictionary
and in the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
Hot metal typesetting
In printing and typography, hot metal typesetting refers to 19th-century technologies for typesetting text in letterpress printing. This method injects molten type metal into a mold that has the shape of one or more glyphs...
" publishing because of a custom of Linotype machine
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
operators. It appeared frequently enough that it became part of the lore of newspapers. A documentary about the last issue 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...
to be composed in the hot-metal printing process (2 July 1978) was titled Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu.
It is the approximate order of frequency
Frequency analysis
In cryptanalysis, frequency analysis is the study of the frequency of letters or groups of letters in a ciphertext. The method is used as an aid to breaking classical ciphers....
of the twelve most commonly used letters in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Linotype history
Linotype machine
The Linotype typesetting machine is a "line casting" machine used in printing. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at once, hence a line-o'-type, a significant improvement over manual typesetting....
keyboards were arranged by letter frequency, so "etaoin shrdlu" were the first two vertical columns on the left side of the keyboard. Linotype operators who had made a typing error could not go back to delete it, and had to finish the line before they could eject the slug and re-key a new one. Since the line with the error would be discarded and hence its contents did not matter, the quickest way to finish the line was to run a finger down the keys — a "run down", as it was termed — creating this nonsense phrase.
If the slug with the error made it as far as the compositors, the distinctive set of letters served to quickly identify it for removal. Occasionally, however, the phrase would be overlooked and be printed erroneously. This happened often enough for ETAOIN SHRDLU to be listed in the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
and in the Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
Appearance outside typography
- SHRDLUSHRDLUSHRDLU was an early natural language understanding computer program, developed by Terry Winograd at MIT from 1968-1970. In it, the user carries on a conversation with the computer, moving objects, naming collections and querying the state of a simplified "blocks world", essentially a virtual box...
was used in 1972 by Terry WinogradTerry WinogradTerry Allen Winograd is an American professor of computer science at Stanford University, and co-director of the Stanford Human-Computer Interaction Group...
as the name for an early artificial-intelligence system in LispLisp programming languageLisp is a family of computer programming languages with a long history and a distinctive, fully parenthesized syntax. Originally specified in 1958, Lisp is the second-oldest high-level programming language in widespread use today; only Fortran is older...
. - The ETAOIN SHRDLU Chess Program was written by Garth Courtois Jr for the Nova 1200 mini-computer; competing in the 6th and 7th ACM North American Computer Chess Championship 1975 and 1976.
- Etaoin Shrdlu, or a portion of the phrase, is the name of a character in many works of fiction, including: Elmer RiceElmer RiceElmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
's 19231923 in literatureThe year 1923 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey makes his first appearance in print....
play The Adding MachineThe Adding MachineThe Adding Machine is a 1923 play by Elmer Rice; it has been called "... a landmark of American Expressionism, reflecting the growing interest in this highly subjective and nonrealistic form of modern drama." The story focuses on Mr. Zero, an accountant at a large, faceless company. After 25 years...
, Charles G. FinneyCharles G. FinneyCharles G. Finney was an American fantasy novelist and newspaperman. His full name was Charles Grandison Finney, evidently in honor of his great-grandfather, famous evangelist Charles Grandison Finney.-Biography:...
's The Circus of Dr. LaoThe Circus of Dr. LaoThe Circus of Dr. Lao is a 1935 novel written by Arizona newspaperman Charles G. Finney, and illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff. Many later editions omit these illustrations.- Plot summary :...
, Crockett JohnsonCrockett JohnsonCrockett Johnson was the pen name of cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk...
's comic strip Barnaby, Walt KellyWalt KellyWalter Crawford Kelly, Jr. , or Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip, Pogo. He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, contributing to Pinocchio and Fantasia. Kelly resigned in 1941 at the age of 28 to work at Post-Hall Syndicate,...
's comic strip Pogo, and the novel PsychoshopPsychoshopPsychoshop is a science fiction novel begun by Alfred Bester, who died in 1987, and Roger Zelazny. It was published posthumously in 1998 by Random House under their Vintage imprint, following Zelazny's death in 1995....
by Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
and Alfred BesterAlfred BesterAlfred Bester was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books...
. - Etaoins is used in James ThurberJames ThurberJames Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
's 19311931 in literatureThe year 1931 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Cherokee playwright Lynn Riggs' play Green Grow the Lilacs premiers. It would later be adapted by Rodgers and Hammerstein as Oklahoma!....
Owl in the AtticThe Owl in the Attic and Other PerplexitiesThe Owl in the Attic and Other Perplexities is a book written by James Thurber and first published in 1931 by Harper and Brothers. It collects a number of short humorous pieces, most of which had appeared in The New Yorker, and an introduction by E. B...
to indicate the incompetence of a Linotyper. - Etaoin Shrdlu is used several times in H. Beam PiperH. Beam PiperHenry Beam Piper was an American science fiction author. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" alternate history tales.He wrote under the name H. Beam Piper...
's science fiction novel Four Day Planet as imaginative "profanity" that could still be published in 1950s era magazines, e.g.: "That's a double two-em-dashed lie, you etaoin shrdlu so-and-so!" - In 19421942 in literatureThe year 1942 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*André Gide leaves France to live in Tunis.*Robertson Davies becomes editor of the Peterborough Examiner.*Thomas Mann emigrates to California....
Etaoin Shrdlu was the title of a short story by Fredric BrownFredric BrownFredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was born in Cincinnati.He had two sons: James Ross Brown and Linn Lewis Brown ....
about a sentient Linotype machine. (A sequel, Son of Etaoin Shrdlu: More Adventures in Typer and Space, was written by others in 1981.) - Anthony Armstrong's 19451945 in literatureThe year 1945 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*November 1 - The magazine Ebony is published for the first time.*Noel Coward's short play, Still Life, is adapted to become the film, Brief Encounter....
whimsical short story "Etaoin and Shrdlu" ends "And Sir Etaoin and Shrdlu married and lived so happily ever after that whenever you come across Etaoin's name even today it's generally followed by Shrdlu's". - It was used as part of the masthead for MAD Magazine
- Douglas HofstadterDouglas HofstadterDouglas Richard Hofstadter is an American academic whose research focuses on consciousness, analogy-making, artistic creation, literary translation, and discovery in mathematics and physics...
's Gödel, Escher, BachGödel, Escher, BachGödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid is a book by Douglas Hofstadter, described by his publishing company as "a metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll"....
(1979) includes a dialogue entitled "SHRDLU, Toy of Man's Designing"Jesu, Joy of Man's DesiringJesu, Joy of Man's Desiring is the most common English title of the 10th movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. A transcription by the English pianist Myra Hess was published in 1926 for piano solo and in 1934 for piano duet...
between fictional programmer "Eta Oin" and the artificial-intelligence program SHRDLU. - In The Complete Charlie Parker On Verve, four titles — "JATP Blues", "Blues For Norman", "Jam Blues" and "The Opener" — are credited to Shrdlu, and "The Closer" is credited to Etaoin. Etaoin is also credited as the composer for "Blues" on the original 1944 10" LP Jazz at the Philharmonic (Mercury/Clef MG35005).
- Herb CaenHerb CaenHerbert Eugene Caen was a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco journalistwhose daily column of local goings-on, social and political happenings,...
claimed that the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
newspaper was nicknamed the Etaoin Shrdlu because of its questionable production standards. - The French version, "elaoin sdrétu", was used as the name of a robot in the Petit Noël comics of André FranquinAndré FranquinAndré Franquin was an influential Belgian comics artist, whose best known comic strip creations are Gaston and Marsupilami, created while he worked on the Spirou et Fantasio comic strip from 1947 to 1969, during a period seen by many as the series' golden age.-Franquin's beginnings:Franquin was...
.
See also
- Filler textFiller textFiller text is text that shares some characteristics of a real written text, but is random or otherwise generated. It may be used to display a sample of fonts, generate text for testing, or to spoof an e-mail spam filter...
- Lorem ipsumLorem ipsumIn publishing and graphic design, lorem ipsum[p] is placeholder text commonly used to demonstrate the graphics elements of a document or visual presentation, such as font, typography, and layout...
- QwertyQWERTYQWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
- RSTLNEWheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...