Chi-Tonw. You read that right. Want a tattoo?
April 11, 2007 4:16 PM Subscribe
Two years ago, a mistake was made: The tattoo read "Chi-Tonw" instead of "Chi-Town." Now, in an act of solidarity, more people are getting tattos spelled Chi-Tonw on purpose. This fellow had it spelled that way on his neck. Chicago Tribune news and blog coverage, and audio on NPR.
PLS TAG: batshitinsane
Everyone went wrong here. The tattoo artist messed up the spelling, the tattooee messed up by not checking the art going onto his body. Who knows how the court will rule on this.
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 4:32 PM on April 11, 2007
Everyone went wrong here. The tattoo artist messed up the spelling, the tattooee messed up by not checking the art going onto his body. Who knows how the court will rule on this.
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 4:32 PM on April 11, 2007
That tattoo artist messed up pretty badly. I'm surprised he didn't lose all his business. It would have been more or less just. Though the client wasn't alert (or literate?) enough to notice the error during the tattooing or even at all until "My wife said - she just saw it and she said you spelled it wrong," he was still a "gentleman in the summer" and deserved better.
Perhaps he deserves a more literate lawyer, as well. All of the lawyer's comments in that article are mispunctuated to the point of losing meaning. I wonder if that's the reporter's fault. Poor Mr. Duplessis is surrounded by them. Good thing he's got his wife in his corner.
posted by lostburner at 4:37 PM on April 11, 2007
Perhaps he deserves a more literate lawyer, as well. All of the lawyer's comments in that article are mispunctuated to the point of losing meaning. I wonder if that's the reporter's fault. Poor Mr. Duplessis is surrounded by them. Good thing he's got his wife in his corner.
posted by lostburner at 4:37 PM on April 11, 2007
Teh internets ruin everyone's spelling eventually.
Yes, we noticed. ;-)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:45 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Yes, we noticed. ;-)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:45 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
I ask you: When will he be whole?!!!!
I dunno $6 million...maybe $7 million. I think that oughta do it.
(thank god i didn't get a law degree so that I'm not associated with the dipshit lawyer in that article)
posted by django_z at 4:53 PM on April 11, 2007
I dunno $6 million...maybe $7 million. I think that oughta do it.
(thank god i didn't get a law degree so that I'm not associated with the dipshit lawyer in that article)
posted by django_z at 4:53 PM on April 11, 2007
I have a number of friends who are tattoo artists. EVERY time they do lettering they make the person getting tattooed check it multiple times to make sure it is spelled properly. I'm guessing this guy approved it before it went on his chest. It's his own damn fault.
posted by m@L at 4:58 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by m@L at 4:58 PM on April 11, 2007
Yeah, I fault the guy not the tattooist. His job is to fill in the lines with great precision, not spell-check.
Though I love hearing stories like this, I remember years ago being told about a boyfriend of someone's sister or something, who was trying to do his own version of Phil Anselmo's tattoo. Basically he wanted "Scarred", Unfortunately he didn't make himself clear to the tattooist and he got "Scared".
Which I always thought was about the best thing ever.
posted by quin at 5:10 PM on April 11, 2007
Though I love hearing stories like this, I remember years ago being told about a boyfriend of someone's sister or something, who was trying to do his own version of Phil Anselmo's tattoo. Basically he wanted "Scarred", Unfortunately he didn't make himself clear to the tattooist and he got "Scared".
Which I always thought was about the best thing ever.
posted by quin at 5:10 PM on April 11, 2007
It's been seen before, but hey - it's appropriate!!
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe.
posted by matty at 5:18 PM on April 11, 2007
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe.
posted by matty at 5:18 PM on April 11, 2007
Mornos.
posted by rob511 at 5:20 PM on April 11, 2007 [6 favorites]
posted by rob511 at 5:20 PM on April 11, 2007 [6 favorites]
Personally, I can't stand the phrase 'Chi-town'. It's annoyed me for as long as I've lived here.
posted by ninjew at 5:26 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by ninjew at 5:26 PM on April 11, 2007
Someone once told me about a guy who had "Dicipline" on his stomach.
posted by davebush at 5:27 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by davebush at 5:27 PM on April 11, 2007
huh. and I thought it was a good thing that I saved my friend from getting his last name tattooed with the last letter missing. Too bad this guy didn't bring his wife with him.
posted by nerdcore at 5:28 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by nerdcore at 5:28 PM on April 11, 2007
After the Chicago Tribune wrote several stories on what some jokingly call "Chi-Tonw-gate,
That must be difficult to talk about at the watercooler because I'm not sure how to pronounce this. Ki-tawn-whu? Shy-toe-nuwa?
They want it spelled C-H-I-T-O-N-W."
Without the hyphan, it makes me think of some mutant insect.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:37 PM on April 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
That must be difficult to talk about at the watercooler because I'm not sure how to pronounce this. Ki-tawn-whu? Shy-toe-nuwa?
They want it spelled C-H-I-T-O-N-W."
Without the hyphan, it makes me think of some mutant insect.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:37 PM on April 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
Personally, I can't stand the phrase 'Chi-town'. It's annoyed me for as long as I've lived here.
That's because it isn't hyphenated, downstater.
posted by eriko at 5:38 PM on April 11, 2007
That's because it isn't hyphenated, downstater.
posted by eriko at 5:38 PM on April 11, 2007
The specific tattoo was on the chest of Michael Duplessis, and it was spelled C-H-I-T-O-N-W, which has no actual meaning.
I'm glad the article emphasised this point. I wouldn't have realised, otherwise.
posted by Infinite Jest at 5:49 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
I'm glad the article emphasised this point. I wouldn't have realised, otherwise.
posted by Infinite Jest at 5:49 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
is lionizing stupidity one of the signs of the end of days? or just the fall of rome?
posted by 1-2punch at 6:09 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by 1-2punch at 6:09 PM on April 11, 2007
The fuck: "It doesn't represent the vision of the permanent tattoo he wanted on his chest for the rest of his life," he said. "So he is not a person who is whole."
posted by ddf at 6:16 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by ddf at 6:16 PM on April 11, 2007
Reminds me of the jailhouse tat I saw in the ED on a guy that took up his entire midsection, and looked like a dustcloud of errant ink, below which was "Ma ass buhlongs on a harley".
This is great.
posted by docpops at 6:16 PM on April 11, 2007
This is great.
posted by docpops at 6:16 PM on April 11, 2007
One thing puzzles me about this.
Chicago is pronounced "Shikkago", right? Doesn't that make "Chi-town" a homonym of shit-town? Or is that part of the joke?
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:56 PM on April 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
Chicago is pronounced "Shikkago", right? Doesn't that make "Chi-town" a homonym of shit-town? Or is that part of the joke?
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:56 PM on April 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
He should be grateful it wasn't spelled Chil-ton. I can only imagine all his friends pestering him to fix their cars.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:19 PM on April 11, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:19 PM on April 11, 2007 [3 favorites]
It's not always the customer's fault.
I knew two brothers who were terrific artists, and they decided to open a tatoo parlor together, both being fans of the ink. Now, one was fond of drugs but could handle them. The other lacked his brother's fortitude.
Now, one day a biker comes in and asks to have "Harley Forever" tatooed across his back. Brother #2 is on the floor that day, and, while I'm sure the tatoo was a piece of pure artistry, he forgot a letter.
The letter L.
Chi-Tonw is a little better than "Harey Forever."
posted by lekvar at 7:33 PM on April 11, 2007
I knew two brothers who were terrific artists, and they decided to open a tatoo parlor together, both being fans of the ink. Now, one was fond of drugs but could handle them. The other lacked his brother's fortitude.
Now, one day a biker comes in and asks to have "Harley Forever" tatooed across his back. Brother #2 is on the floor that day, and, while I'm sure the tatoo was a piece of pure artistry, he forgot a letter.
The letter L.
Chi-Tonw is a little better than "Harey Forever."
posted by lekvar at 7:33 PM on April 11, 2007
Chicago is pronounced "Shikkago", right? Doesn't that make "Chi-town" a homonym of shit-town?
It's "chai-town," or sometimes "shy-town."
In Italian, "Chee-ka-go" (as it's usually mispronounced) is a homonym of "Ci cago," or "I shit there."
posted by hydrophonic at 7:36 PM on April 11, 2007
It's "chai-town," or sometimes "shy-town."
In Italian, "Chee-ka-go" (as it's usually mispronounced) is a homonym of "Ci cago," or "I shit there."
posted by hydrophonic at 7:36 PM on April 11, 2007
self-deleted post with sarcastic overuse of the "Z"
posted by longsleeves at 7:36 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by longsleeves at 7:36 PM on April 11, 2007
Only in America...where every mistake is a chance to secure you have a feather bed...until you get evicted for non-payment of your new bedframe and the room it sits in.
Hey, it's Metafilter! Bring on the new comforters! (No bedspreads allowed).
posted by Penny Wise at 8:11 PM on April 11, 2007
Hey, it's Metafilter! Bring on the new comforters! (No bedspreads allowed).
posted by Penny Wise at 8:11 PM on April 11, 2007
My kind of tonw, Chicago is
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 8:31 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 8:31 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Honestly. Kids these days... with their mispelled tattoos and their graffiti bicycles and their misogynistic gore porn....
posted by LordSludge at 9:12 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by LordSludge at 9:12 PM on April 11, 2007
He should be grateful it wasn't spelled Chil-ton. I can only imagine all his friends pestering him to fix their cars.
If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
posted by joe lisboa at 9:40 PM on April 11, 2007
If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
posted by joe lisboa at 9:40 PM on April 11, 2007
This is indeed one of the best things in the Blue in some time. Thanks, Mo, and God bless America.
Incidentally, from here:
The indigenous Potawatomi tribe called the marshes on which Chicago was later built "Checagou," which translates to "wild onion" or "garlic" (also referred to as "skunk cabbage")....Before Chicago's founding, the name of the river was spelled several ways, such as "Chetagu" or "Shikago."
Others say the word meant “strong” or “great.” Chicago = strong garlic?
posted by LeLiLo at 9:47 PM on April 11, 2007
Incidentally, from here:
The indigenous Potawatomi tribe called the marshes on which Chicago was later built "Checagou," which translates to "wild onion" or "garlic" (also referred to as "skunk cabbage")....Before Chicago's founding, the name of the river was spelled several ways, such as "Chetagu" or "Shikago."
Others say the word meant “strong” or “great.” Chicago = strong garlic?
posted by LeLiLo at 9:47 PM on April 11, 2007
I hope this takes off. I can't wait to get my Tornoto tattoo!
posted by antifuse at 2:36 AM on April 12, 2007
posted by antifuse at 2:36 AM on April 12, 2007
In Italian, "Chee-ka-go" (as it's usually mispronounced) is a homonym of "Ci cago," or "I shit there."
Really? As it is spelled, I would think the mispronounciation would be "Kee-ka-go" as
Chi = "kee" = Who (which ruins the homonym, as 'who' + the first person singular of cagare makes no sense)
Ci = "chee" = us, ourselves
posted by romakimmy at 3:22 AM on April 12, 2007
Really? As it is spelled, I would think the mispronounciation would be "Kee-ka-go" as
Chi = "kee" = Who (which ruins the homonym, as 'who' + the first person singular of cagare makes no sense)
Ci = "chee" = us, ourselves
posted by romakimmy at 3:22 AM on April 12, 2007
That's kinda cool. And let's face it, there are worse tattoos you can have.
posted by kisch mokusch at 3:24 AM on April 12, 2007
posted by kisch mokusch at 3:24 AM on April 12, 2007
...wild onion" or "garlic" (also referred to as "skunk cabbage")....
Someone needs to tell all those experts that skunk cabbage is very different from wild onions.
At least his tattoo wasn't done while looking at a mirror.
posted by TedW at 5:37 AM on April 12, 2007
Someone needs to tell all those experts that skunk cabbage is very different from wild onions.
At least his tattoo wasn't done while looking at a mirror.
posted by TedW at 5:37 AM on April 12, 2007
^I was just kidding there, some of my favorite people are Cubs fans.^
posted by drezdn at 6:19 AM on April 12, 2007
posted by drezdn at 6:19 AM on April 12, 2007
Really? As it is spelled, I would think the mispronounciation would be "Kee-ka-go"
A lot of Italians are familiar with basic English pronunciation, so they don't say "Kee-ka-go." But the "Shee" part is a subtlety a lot of people miss. (Including, I might add, many people who've lived in Chicago for years--notably the host of a latin music program on public radio.)
"Ci cago" isn't very good grammar. "Cago là" is what one'd normally say (although my Italian has gotten rusty.) But it makes enough sense for the joke. And when I was in Italy, people sured loved to tell me that joke.
posted by hydrophonic at 7:15 AM on April 12, 2007
A lot of Italians are familiar with basic English pronunciation, so they don't say "Kee-ka-go." But the "Shee" part is a subtlety a lot of people miss. (Including, I might add, many people who've lived in Chicago for years--notably the host of a latin music program on public radio.)
"Ci cago" isn't very good grammar. "Cago là" is what one'd normally say (although my Italian has gotten rusty.) But it makes enough sense for the joke. And when I was in Italy, people sured loved to tell me that joke.
posted by hydrophonic at 7:15 AM on April 12, 2007
I'm beginning to think my Metafiler tattoo isn't so bad after all.
posted by googly at 10:59 AM on April 12, 2007
posted by googly at 10:59 AM on April 12, 2007
I'm beginning to think my Metafiler tattoo isn't so bad after all.
pics plz
posted by Dr-Baa at 1:06 PM on April 12, 2007
pics plz
posted by Dr-Baa at 1:06 PM on April 12, 2007
“I'm not sure how to pronounce this. Ki-tawn-whu? Shy-toe-nuwa?”
I think that’s part of the beauty of it. In fact it kinda looks like a pidgen native american language some Hollywood “Indian” would speak.
Chief: “Mmm. We Chi-Tonw. Many moons.”
Brave: “Ungh. Chi-Tonw.”
Cheif: “Heap big Chi-Tonw.”
Cowboy enters: “How, Chief.”
Chief: “Scrambled”
posted by Smedleyman at 2:21 PM on April 12, 2007
I think that’s part of the beauty of it. In fact it kinda looks like a pidgen native american language some Hollywood “Indian” would speak.
Chief: “Mmm. We Chi-Tonw. Many moons.”
Brave: “Ungh. Chi-Tonw.”
Cheif: “Heap big Chi-Tonw.”
Cowboy enters: “How, Chief.”
Chief: “Scrambled”
posted by Smedleyman at 2:21 PM on April 12, 2007
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