Intersting, Intresting (for Interesting)

Interesting is an interesting word! It seems to lend itself typically to two different "typos," depending on whether it's written or spoken. When typing the word, I have a tendency to skip the second E, but when speaking, I'm more likely to omit or elide the first one. Intersting was found seven times in OhioLINK (all but one on records for material from the 1700s, so this could be one of those "interesting" spellings) and 209 times in WorldCat. Intresting comes up only once in OhioLINK and 22 times in WorldCat. Laura Muntz Lyall (1860-1930) has an interesting story. Born in England and raised in Ontario, she was an Impressionist painter who studied in Paris and was the first female artist from Canada to be recognized outside of that country. Nevertheless, like most other women of her day, she was conscripted into more conventional duties as well: after her sister died, Lyall devoted nearly a decade to rearing her eleven nieces and nephews. Not surprisingly, "she is known in particular for her images of maternité," according to the Canadian Women Artists History Initiative.

("Interesting Story" by Laura Muntz Lyall, 1898, from Wikimedia Commons.)

Carol Reid