[Ads-l] (Request help with German) Joke: Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint

[Chris Waigl]

On a side note, it's a little bit odd that it's not "... aus Abu Taleb's
Miscellanenhefte*n*". What I get from the lack of agreement is an implied
set of quotes, that is, read as  "... aus 'Abu Taleb's Miscellanenhefte'"
(Modern school German also would skip the Apostrophe, but since it's a
non-German name, German name genitive case apostrophe rules don't
necessarily apply. The orientalism should be obvious, but I thought I'd
point it out.)

On Tue, Mar 14, 2023 at 3:15 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Great. Thanks Dan and Chris. Here is the revision for the article title:
> Allerlei aus Abu Taleb's Miscellanenhefte
> (All Sorts of Things from Abu Taleb’s Miscellaneous Notebooks)
>
> I will incorporate the suggestions from Chris.
> Garson
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 14, 2023 at 5:51 PM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I believe your Ufferlei is actually Allerlei, meaning "all sorts", or a
> > miscellany.
> >
> > On Tue, Mar 14, 2023, 4:49 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > The quip in the subject line is often attributed to Mark Twain. I was
> > > asked to explore its provenance. Way back in January 2010 researcher
> > > Ken Hirsch posted a pertinent message.
> > >
> > >
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-January/095313.html
> > >
> > > Ken located a wonderful 1841 citation in German with an attribution to
> > > Dr. Markus Herz. Ken shared four helpful citations on the Wikipedia
> > > Talk webpage for Twain.
> > >
> > >
> https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Mark_Twain#You_may_die_of_a_misprint
> > >
> > > Fred Shapiro included the 1841 citation in his pivotal 2021 reference
> > > “The New Yale Book of Quotations”.
> > >
> > > Barry Popik explored the topic and began with the 1841 citation.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/be_careful_about_reading_health_books_you_may_die_of_a_misprint
> > >
> > > Now, I have located several German citations starting in 1817. I am
> > > requesting your help to read the 19th century German font and to
> > > examine the translation. Below are the first two most interesting
> > > citations. The links lead to images of pages containing the
> > > quotations. The periodical names can be seen by scrolling backward.
> > >
> > > Are the metadata and text correct? Is the translation ok?
> > >
> > > Thanks for any help you can provide.
> > >
> > > Date 1817 October 18
> > > Periodical: Der Gesellschafter oder Blätter für Geist und Herz
> > > (The Companion or Pages for Mind and Heart)
> > > Article: Der Schluß folgt (The ending follows)
> > > Quote Page 683, Column 2
> > > Publication: In der Maurerschen Buchhandlung, Berlin, Germany.
> > > Database: Google Books Full View
> > >
> > >
> > >
> https://books.google.com/books?id=i1pEAAAAcAAJ&q=%22Sie+sterben%22#v=snippet&q=%22Sie%20sterben%22&f=false
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt - check for typos]
> > > Zu einem Patienten, dem es zur Gewohnheit geworden war: durch
> > > medizinische Hülfsbücher sich selbst helfen zu wollen, sagte der
> > > verstorbene Dr. Herz: Nehmen Sie sich in Acht, Sie sterben einmal an
> > > einem Druckfehler!
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > [Begin translated excerpt]
> > > The late Dr. Herz said to a patient who had become accustomed to
> > > trying to cure himself with medical manuals: "Be careful, you will die
> > > one day from a printing error!"
> > > [End translated excerpt]
> > >
> > > The 1818 citation below is interesting because it specifies the full
> > > name “Marcus Herz”:
> > >
> > > Date: 1818 May 27
> > > Periodical: Die Leuchte: ein Zeitblatt für Wissenschaft, Kunst und
> Leben
> > > (The Lamp: A Journal for Science, Art and Life)
> > > Section: Ufferlei?? aus Abu Taleb's Miscellanenhefte (Offerings from
> > > Abu Taleb's Miscellanea Booklets )
> > > Quote Page 167, Column 2
> > > Publication: Berlin, Germany
> > > Database: Google Books Full View
> > >
> > > https://books.google.com/books?id=X2tEAAAAcAAJ&q=Marcus#v=snippet&
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt - check for typos]
> > > „Der stirbt noch an einem Druckfehler!” sagte Marcus Herz von einem,
> > > der sich aus Büchern kurirte.
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > [Begin translated excerpt]
> > > “He’ll die of a misprint!” said Marcus Herz of one who cured himself
> from
> > > books.
> > > [End translated excerpt]
> > >
> > > Garson O’Toole
> > > QuuoteInvestigator.com
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
Chris Waigl . chris.waigl at gmail.com . chris at lascribe.net
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net . http://chryss.eu

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