Harcourt interpolation

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The Harcourt interpolation was a minor scandal of Victorian London. The issue of The Times for 23 January 1882 included a report of a speech made at Burton upon Trent by Sir William Harcourt, then Attorney General. Into this speech (on p. 7, column 4) an unknown prankster, somewhere in the printing office, inserted a few extraneous words to the effect that a person mentioned by Harcourt "felt like a bit of fucking". The interpolation was not noticed until after the newspaper had been circulated. A revised copy was printed for subscribers, and an apology appeared in the issue for 27 January 1882.

The incident was reported by the Portuguese writer, journalist and diplomat Eça de Queiroz in an article which now forms part of his book Cartas de Inglaterra. The culprit was perhaps not immediately identified, because a similar addition was made to an advertisement for the book Everyday Life in Our Public Schools in the issue of The Times for 12 June 1882. This book was said to include "a glossary of some words used by Henry Irving in his disquisitions upon fucking, which is in common use in these schools".