We Can’t Believe We Said That! CMOS 16 Outtakes

After the launch of the 16th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, there was all manner of media attention for the revision team here at the press, and through it all, if I say so myself, I think we managed to present ourselves as a fairly respectable and competent bunch.

But now that the excitement is winding down, we’ve been alerted to another, somewhat different view of the team, secretly culled from e-mails and meetings by David Morrow, senior editor in our reference division and team leader for the CMOS revision. David,  who generally affects a quiet and nonjudgmental demeanor, turns out to have a rather wicked sense of humor and a startling lack of mercy when it comes to skewering the team members for our behavior in some, let’s say, less than shining moments during the revision.

But never let it be said that we can’t take some ribbing. For your amusement, we’ll be posting and tweeting David Morrow’s CMOS 16 Outtakes. A preview:

“We’ve got one of four questions resolved; we’ll call that half done.”

“I just finished chapter 10. For the next few days, I may be able to speak only in abbreviations, some of them Latin.”

“That doesn’t make sense—a table’s not an illustration.” “These aren’t tables; they’re illustrations of tables.”

Okay, maybe they aren’t funny like bloopers from 30 Rock or The Office. We know we have our own special sense of humor, and if you’re reading this, we’re guessing you do too. Watch for more CMOS 16 outtakes on Facebook and Twitter, or check this page for the accumulating list.

(Fortunately, none of us remembers who said what.)

Comments

[Harsha Basu]

These interesting one-liners are symptomatic of the editorial group at CMOS. I could find some such fun in the Q&A Section as well.

[Lina]

“That doesn’t make sense—a table’s not an illustration.” “These aren’t tables; they’re illustrations of tables.”

I lolled.