Unauthorized Corrections to

THE CANADIAN OXFORD DICTIONARY
(Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1998)

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Compiled by Mark Breault

 

 

The Corrections
Entry Comment
ABC ... American Broadcasting Company .... Wrong word. Sources disagree on this name, but it is styled American Broadcasting Companies (plural) in (CP) Caps and Spelling; Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed.; The Persons, Places & Things Spelling Dictionary; the Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, Addenda Section; and Infoplease.com (accessed 11-Sep-99). Encarta Online says the corporation was American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), Incorporated, until 1986. Through mergers it became Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., in 1986 and ABC, Inc., in 1996.
Belany Misspelling: Belany should be Belaney. See Grey Owl below.
Bush, George Herbert Walter Wrong word: Walter should be Walker.
Chechen Republic ... capital, Groznyy ... Inconsistency: spelled Grozny at the entry Grozny.
earth station a station which receives or retransmits signals received from satellites English error: the definition says, in part, either (a) a station which receives satellites or (b) a station which receives signals received from satellites. What Oxford is trying to say is a station which receives, or receives and retransmits, signals from satellites.
Egoyan, Atom ... Exotica (1993) Factual error: the generally accepted date appears to be 1994. (See www.google.ca/search?q=egoyan+exotica+filmography; Leonard Maltin, Movie and Video Guide 1999 Ed.)
Filmon, Gary (b. 1943) ... Factual error: Filmon was born on August 24, 1942, according to Canadian Who's Who 1997, The 1998 Canadian and World Encyclopedia, and "Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Living Members Biography" (www.gov.mb.ca/leg-asmb/living.html [accessed 1999; Filmon is no longer a member]).
Grenfell, Sir Wilfred Thomason, Canadian missionary and medical doctor ... Factual error: every other reference work on the planet says that Grenfell was English, not Canadian.
Inkatha ... Mangosouthu Buthelezi ... Inconsistency: spelled Mangosuthu (-suthu) in the entry Buthelezi. Misspelling: spelled Mangosuthu on Inkatha's Web site and in (CP) Caps and Spelling, The 1998 Canadian & World Encyclopedia, The Persons, Places & Things Spelling Dictionary, The Biographical Dictionary, Biography.com, Infoplease.com, and Encarta Online.
Grey Owl ... Archibald Stansfeld Belany ... Misspelling: Belany should be Belaney. The name is styled
  • Archibald Belaney, in The 1995 Canadian Global Almanac
  • Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, in The 1998 Canadian and World Encyclopedia (web)
  • George Stansfele [sic] Belaney, in Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia '98
  • George Stansfeld Belaney, in The Biographical Dictionary (web)
  • Archie Belaney, in the title of A.G. Ruffo's book Grey Owl: The Mystery of Archie Belaney (1997) (search)
  • Archie Belaney, in the title of Billinghurst and Smith's book Grey Owl: The Many Faces of Archie Belaney (1999) (search)
  • Archie Belaney, by The Grey Owl Trust (www.greyowltrust.org)
  • Archie Belaney, by the National Library of Canada (www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/6/h6-230-e.html [accessed June 2001])
Hebron ... It is one of most ancient cities in the Middle East. ... Sentence error: missing the.
rim Omission: no entry for the word rim. (Submitted by Kevin Linder. Thanks, Kevin.)
Streisand, Barbra Factual error: Streisand did not direct A Star Is Born. (Uncovered by expresso99 in alt.fan.barbra.streisand. See www.google.com/search?q=Streisand+filmography.)
Trinidad and Tobago ... capital, Port of Spain ... Inconsistency: styled Port-of-Spain at the entry Port-of-Spain.

 

Oxford rectified those gaffes — all but earth station — in the second edition of the dictionary, which came out in July/August 2004.

The following were posted only later, and they remain, uncorrected, in the second edition.

 

Entry Comment
Browning, Kurt He took the Canadian and world men's championships in 1989, 1990, and 1991, winning the worlds again in 1993. He was world and Canadian champion four times—in 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1993. (Google Who was that masked man who won the Canadian title in 1993?).
2004-08
Callwood, June . . . writings include The Law is not for Women . . . Caps: in title case, verbs (Is) and adverbs (Not) are capitalized.
2004-08
Churchill . . . situated at the mouth of the Churchill River and Hudson Bay. . . . Sentence fault: on Hudson Bay.
2004-09
Cummings, Burton . . . He was the lead singer of the Guess Who (1968-75). . . . Factual error or misleading date: Cummings joined the group in December 1965, give or take (Canadian Encyclopedia, classicbands.com, Blue Rodeo). The group used the name Guess Who well before 1968, if that is an issue. And Cummings was "the voice of the band" probably by 1966 (John Einarson, True North Records artist bio), if that is an issue. No Sugar Tonight for you, Oxford.
2004-08
dragon boat . . . propelled by a crew of 22 paddlers and used in races. Factual error. Dragon boat crews comprise a drummer, a steerer, and up to 20 (not 22) paddlers. ("The Dragon Boat -- History and Culture" [PDF document], International Dragon Boat Federation, link, accessed 2006-10-20. "History of Dragon Boat Racing," British Dragon Boat Racing Association, link, accessed 2006-10-20. "Dragon Boat," Wikipedia, link, accessed 2006-10-20. Google.)
Submitted by Diana L., 2006-10. Thanks Diana.
2006-10
earth station noun a station which receives or retransmits signals received from satellites Sentence fault: the station receives signals from satellites. To Oxford, it receives (or retransmits signals received from) satellites, or receives (or retransmits) signals received from satellites.
Incomplete definition: an earth station is not restricted by definition to receiving from satellites; it may transmit to satellites.
Compare American Heritage, Google Glossary, Webster's.
2004-08
Johnson, Ben . . . record times of 9.93 seconds at the World Championships in Rome (1987) . . . Factual error: 9.83 seconds; Carl Lewis was 9.93 and a metre behind (search).
2004-08
Lafleur, Guy Damien . . . he retired during the 1984–85 season. Temporarily. Then he played 1988–89 with the New York Rangers and 1989–90 and 1990–91 with the Quebec Nordiques.
2004-09
no one noun no person; nobody Everyone else classifies no one, thus defined, as one of the indefinite pronouns (Google, American Heritage, Webster's, Darling, Compact Oxford English Dictionary, Encarta World English Dictionary, Wordsmyth, Random House Webster's College Dictionary [1990], Cambridge).
Identified as a possible mistake by M.G. in the newsgroup can.politics, 2004-03-28.
2004-09
Orr, Robert Gordon He joined the NHL Boston Bruins in 1967. . . . Factual error: he began in the fall of 1966, at the start of the 1966–67 season (BostonBruins.com, bobbyorr.com, ESPN, Canada's Walk of Fame, Google orr "calder trophy" "1966-67", Hockey Hall of Fame - Great Moments - August 1966, The Biographical Dictionary, Britannica, Canadian Who's Who 1997).
2004-08
Stojko, Elvis Four times Canadian champion Seven times (search).
2004-08
vine maple a shrubby maple tree of the east coast of N America, Acer circinatum . . . Factual error: the west coast of North America, not the east coast (search).
Submitted by Raymond R. Fielding, author of Shrubs of Nova Scotia: A Guide to Native Shrubs, Small Trees and Woody Vines (Halifax, 1998), 2007-01. Thanks Ray.
2007-01

 

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Corrections to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition (2004).

 

Review of The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1998)
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