[Ads-l] Misprint Origin: An enthusiastic crow at the station gave three rousing cheers as the train drew out

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The 'Quote…Unquote' Newsletter of Nigel Rees recently discussed
examples of misprints in which "crowd" became "crow". This inspired me
to tackle the topic.

Below is an overview. The word "verified" appears adjacent to genuine
mistakes that occurred in newspapers. The word "unverified" labels
instances that were described in newspapers and books. These instances
might have been jokes instead of genuine mistakes.

1891: Verified: An enthusiastic crow at the station gave three rousing
cheers as the train drew out

1899: Verified: A lively scrap and large, enthusiastic crows at each
game made them very gingerful

1913: Verified: A large crow attended singing here Sunday afternoon

1916: Verified: A large crow remained, evidently with the expectation
that an early verdict would be returned.

1919: Unverified: A large crow remained on the platform for half an
hour singing 'Rock of Ages'

1933: Verified: Small but Enthusiastic Crow Sees Football Battle Here

1950: Unverified: At the conclusion of the exercises, a large crow
remained in the hall, singing 'Abide with Me'

1986: Unverified: A large crow remained on the platform singing
lustily "God be with you till we meet again"

1997: Unverified: Welcomed by 'a small but enthusiastic crow'

Here are the details for the first citation. In 1891 U.S. President
Benjamin Harrison visited San Diego, California. The "St. Louis
Globe-Democrat" of Missouri reported that a crowd watched and cheered
as Harrison's train departed for Riverside, California:

[ref] 1891 April 24, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, The President: He Is
Enjoying the Pleasing Hospitality of California, Quote Page 2, Column
4, St. Louis, Missouri. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
At 11 o'clock the train left for Riverside. An enthusiastic crow at
the station gave three rousing cheers as the train drew out.
[End excerpt]

The QI article is available here:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/09/09/crow-singing/

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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