Caveat lector
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caveat lector is a Latin phrase meaning "Let the reader beware."
The phrase is used in written English in two distinct ways:
- it warns the reader that a passage may be erroneous in its details, but not in the general idea. The writer is at pains here to ensure the reader knows the possibility of mistakes in the work
- it warns the reader that a passage may be problematic in the general idea, e.g. misleading, rather than in the written details themselves
[edit] Examples
- (first meaning) "XYZ store, at 1600 Main Street, said in the newspaper they are selling scooters for only $9.99. Caveat lector—the print was smudged and I may have got the address details wrong."
- (second meaning) "XYZ store said in the newspaper they're selling scooters for only $9.99. Caveat lector—they don't mention that you have to pay extra for the wheels."
[edit] Other Uses
Caveat Lector is also the name of a blog by University of Wisconsin librarian Dorothea Salo. The blog, which frequently discusses institutional repository issues, was shortlisted for the Edublog awards in 2005 in the library/librarian blog category.
Caveat Lector is also the title of literary and arts magazine, founded in San Francisco in 1989 and available online at www.caveat-lector.org. Caveat Lector was founded by Christopher Bernard, Gordon Phipps, James Bybee and Andrew Towne. The magazine appears twice a year, in print and online formats. Its online version includes, with the literary material in the print issue, audio and video and rotating galleries of artwork, including photographs, reproductions of paintings, drawings and prints, and original online art. Its current editors and publishers are Christopher Bernard and Ho Lin.
