Literal (Noun)
Meaning
A mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The proofreader caught the literal that had resulted from a misaligned type block.
- The literal on the first page of the newspaper was a result of a faulty printing press.
- A careless error by the compositor had led to a literal that changed the meaning of the entire sentence.
- The literal was not noticed until the book had already been distributed to stores.
- The typesetter's mistake had resulted in a literal that was not caught until the book was in its second printing.