A mistake

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Genug

Member
Jan 8, 2014
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Hello all Constant Readers.
Currently reading the latest paperback English edition of Danse Macabre I came upon a mistake Stephen King has made originally and which has not yet been corrected (obviously).
Indeed, on top of page 55 in this Hodder 2012 edition, he wrote « The French for left, bastardized from the Latin, is la sinistre, from which comes our word sinister. » Now the actual French word for "(the) left" is "(la) gauche", and it has been so for about five centuries, since actually there was a such a word as "la sinistre" in French for "la gauche" but it was discarded sometime during the XVth century.
These days "sinistre" only is an adjective mealing the same as the English "sinister". In the masculine it is a noun meaning "damage, loss".
Then again the Italian for "the left" is "sinistra".
Wondering how Stephen King could take this observation into account without having to erase the whole sentence, I thought he may be interested by the fact that "gauche" in French not only means "left" but also "clumsy", which could quite fit the intention.
 

FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
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Apr 11, 2006
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Thanks!
Concerning the reason I posted, on second thought I doubt it will prove useful since that mistake has been around for over thirty years and I can't possibly be the first reader to pick it out. What do you think?
I personally don't know whether this has previously been noticed sorry, but Ms. Mod (Stephen's personal assistant) will be online in a few hours and may have an answer for you.
 

Haunted

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Neesy

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May 24, 2012
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Hello all Constant Readers.
Currently reading the latest paperback English edition of Danse Macabre I came upon a mistake Stephen King has made originally and which has not yet been corrected (obviously).
Indeed, on top of page 55 in this Hodder 2012 edition, he wrote « The French for left, bastardized from the Latin, is la sinistre, from which comes our word sinister. » Now the actual French word for "(the) left" is "(la) gauche", and it has been so for about five centuries, since actually there was a such a word as "la sinistre" in French for "la gauche" but it was discarded sometime during the XVth century.
These days "sinistre" only is an adjective mealing the same as the English "sinister". In the masculine it is a noun meaning "damage, loss".
Then again the Italian for "the left" is "sinistra".
Wondering how Stephen King could take this observation into account without having to erase the whole sentence, I thought he may be interested by the fact that "gauche" in French not only means "left" but also "clumsy", which could quite fit the intention.
Not to be gauche or anything but maybe he was talking about the 25th century. No matter - welcome to the site anyway.

You don't have to pick out errors in his books to join the site - it is not a prerequisite!

On a recent trip to Paris with Ms. Mod he must have heard lots of French.

I was not taught Latin in school so when someone made a joke about his left hand and the word sinister I just gave him a blank stare (it was an older gentleman).

Keep on posting!
 

Genug

Member
Jan 8, 2014
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85
63
Keep on posting!
I will when I get something I deem worth sharing (or asking, etc.) Thanks for the warmth of your welcome anyway!
Just for the heck of it, I looked up the etymology of sinister.
I never wrote the word never existed! I mentioned the fact that St. King wrote « The French for left, bastardized from the Latin, is la sinistre » when this should have read « Five centuries ago the French for left, bastardized from the Latin, was la sinistre ». So you're proving my point exactly: these days "sinistre" has absolutely no actual connexion whatsoever with "gauche".
Did you get a chance to see Stephen King in Paris?
Well, France is smaller than the US but quite bigger than Bangor, Maine, and all the French do not dwell in Paris ;), so no I didn't go to Paris to meet him (which would probably not have happened anyway--at best I might have hoped to het a glimpse of the man, having no way to get nearer to him). Then again he featured in some TV shows, one of which I downloaded but haven't watched yet (because I usually don't watch TV live plus I boycott the host as he once was very enthusiastic about a female write guest of his without ever mentioning she was his wife--well that's another problem altogether).
On the other hand I just don't know what I could possibly have told Mr King, has I had a chance to talk to him--anything worth hearing I mean...
 
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Genug

Member
Jan 8, 2014
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63
As I mentioned earlier, in case Mr King would care to correct his error without having to discard the whole paragraph, he could go with the idea that "gauche" in French also means "clumsy", which seems to be historically--ethymologically--connected with the left-handedness.
 
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FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
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Apr 11, 2006
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New Zealand
I will when I get something I deem worth sharing (or asking, etc.) Thanks for the warmth of your welcome anyway!
I never wrote the word never existed! I mentioned the fact that St. King wrote « The French for left, bastardized from the Latin, is la sinistre » when this should have read « Five centuries ago the French for left, bastardized from the Latin, was la sinistre ». So you're proving my point exactly: these days "sinistre" has absolutely no actual connexion whatsoever with "gauche".
Well, France is smaller than the US but quite bigger than Bangor, Maine, and all the French do not dwell in Paris ;), so no I didn't go to Paris to meet him (which would probably not have happened anyway--at best I might have hoped to het a glimpse of the man, having no way to get nearer to him). Then again he featured in some TV shows, one of which I downloaded but haven't watched yet (because I usually don't watch TV live plus I boycott the host as he once was very enthusiastic about a female write guest of his without ever mentioning she was his wife--well that's another problem altogether).
On the other hand I just don't know what I could possibly have told Mr King, has I had a chance to talk to him--anything worth hearing I mean...
As I mentioned earlier, in case Mr King would care to correct his error without having to discard the whole paragraph, he could go with the idea that "gauche" in French also means "clumsy", which seems to be historically--ethymologically--connected with the left-handedness.
I'm just curious to see if you've heard of the saying "you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"? It's just that Ms. Mod (Moderator) is probably the very best person you'll come across to speak to in regards of your question. (she is Stephen's personal assistant)
Personally, the way you're coming across, I'm not sure I'd want to pass the information on and normally I'm the kind of person to go (quite far) out of my way to help people. I know Ms. Mod is too... just a thought.
 

Lisey Landon

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2009
754
3,966
Germany
Well, France is smaller than the US but quite bigger than Bangor, Maine, and all the French do not dwell in Paris ;), so no I didn't go to Paris to meet him (which would probably not have happened anyway--at best I might have hoped to het a glimpse of the man, having no way to get nearer to him). Then again he featured in some TV shows, one of which I downloaded but haven't watched yet (because I usually don't watch TV live plus I boycott the host as he once was very enthusiastic about a female write guest of his without ever mentioning she was his wife--well that's another problem altogether).
On the other hand I just don't know what I could possibly have told Mr King, has I had a chance to talk to him--anything worth hearing I mean...
Welcome to the SKMB, Genug.
I was fortunate enough to get a ticket for Hamburg before they sold out. I don't live in Hamburg, but the train ride was totally worth it, to sit and listen to Mr. King telling stories and answering questions + reading from Doctor Sleep, of course :)