I recently spotted a copy editor’s nightmare — maybe one even worse than having to edit my screed: A photo in a local paper of a public-spirited bank exec giving a check to charity. Her last name was spelled (and I type this carefully) Szczepczynski.

Can you imagine the time she’s spent slowly spelling out her surname for people?

Good copy editors are a writer’s (and the English language’s) friend and protector. I’ve had some great ones over the years (both my wife and daughter have also been copy editors for book publishers.).  I briefly worked on newspaper copy desks in between writing columns, and it was demanding work that required an attention span I do not possess.

Good copy editors know all about hyphens, for example. If someone says, “I saw a man eating shark,” that’s a lot different from “I saw a man-eating shark.”

Copy editors know when to use “that” or “which,” because they understand restrictive clauses, which I don’t.

Copy editors also have to know the newspaper’s style book, which can be quirky.

One good example is New York Times style, which requires the use of “Mr.” or “Ms.” in a subject’s second mention.

One of the funniest unintended results of this rule came in a story about rock legend Bo Diddley. On second mention in the Times he became “Mr. Diddley,” which sounds like a kid’s toy.

-Let’s get alliterative: Alliteration is another thing copy editors appreciate (if used sparingly, of course).  I came across a good example the other day in Seattle Times business columnist Jon Tarlton’s well-written farewell column, a paean (that’s spelled correctly. I checked) to the newspaper business. Tarlton recalled one daily he worked for where passersby on the street could watch the paper’s thundering presses.

“Pedestrians,”  wrote Tarlton, “could watch the mesmerizing making of the morning miracle.” Nice.

-Book ‘em! Not sure why the Carnegie Library here doesn’t impose library fines — a topic for a future column — but I caught this fine info on KIRO Radio in Seattle the other day. KIRO claims the highest library fine ever recorded in this country was $345.20. You might even be able to buy most of Danielle Steele’s potboilers for that. (But, um, who’d want to?)

- Hats Off: Chattanooga Free Press’ outstanding editorial cartoonist Clay Bennett drew a gem the other day: A red MAGA-like hat but with the inscription “Make The Same Mistake Again.” Hey, I’d buy one of those.

-The Eyes of Texas Upon Us.: I met a nice couple visiting from rural Texas the other day while volunteering here at the Visitor’s Center. They were looking for Fort Worden, and I told them to turn left at the light across from the Co-Op.

They looked at each other quizzically, and the woman said, “What’s a Co-Op?”

True story. And again, a big difference were you to remove THAT hyphen.

-Street Typography: I suspect I’m not the only one to notice this:

There are yellow campaign signs all over town for City Council candidate Monica MickHager.

The “MickHager” part is below Monica and is in smaller type. But every time I approach one of those signs, I could swear it says, “Mick Jagger” until I get close. Et tu?

-More Newspaper Wordplay: The Washington Post runs a contest every year in which readers submit clever new meanings for words. One recent winner came up with a funny new definition of “oysters”: A group of Jewish women.

-Follow the Yellow Goldbrick Road: Comedian Jodie Hamilton, Carol Burnett’s daughter, had a clever, memorable observation on Stephanie Miller’s national radio show the other day:

“Trump,” she said, “reminds me of Dorothy’s three friends in ‘The Wizard of Oz’:

“He has no brain, no heart and he’s a coward.”

(PT humorist Bill Mann awaits your feedback at Newsmann9@gmail.com )