Monday, January 3, 2011

Santa Clause (for Santa Claus)

You better not cry and you better not pout, but on many records in OhioLINK that E should come out. Actually, we garnered 49 hits on Santa Clause, but a dozen or so of them refer to the 1994 movie with Tim Allen, while a few others contain the correct spellings of both Claus and clause (e.g., Congress as Santa Claus, or, National donations and the General Welfare Clause of the Constitution, by Charles Warren, 1932). The rest, however, appear to be legitimate typos for (or misspellings of) the name Santa Claus. While a great many people are either struggling to make ends meet in a desperate economy or relying on the kindness of strangers (that's what's known as a "dependent clause"), I hope we all managed to have a happy holiday this year. And may the spirit of giving remain in our hearts all throughout the new one.

(1902 photo of a man dressed as Santa Claus holding a sign that reads "Help the Volunteers of America send Santa Claus down 10,000 chimneys of Chicago's poor people," with a sign next to him advertising a "Free Christmas Dinner," from the Chicago Daily News negatives collection, DN-0001069, Chicago Historical Society.)

Carol Reid

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