ARTICLE SUMMARY: There are a lot of phrases that we have used over the years that most people do not realize or know that their origins are in typography and the printing industry.

Ralf Herrmann in his article “WORDS AND PHRASES IN COMMON USE WHICH ORIGINATED IN THE FIELD OF TYPOGRAPHY” is a look at some of the obvious and not so obvious words we use almost on a daily basis, words like

  • Stereotype
  • Being “out of sorts”
  • Cliché

Along with some others that may surprise you. It is interesting to look at words and phrases and their origins. Ralf Herrmann has also included a link to “TYPOGRAPHY TERMS – GLOSSARY AND DICTIONARY” that will help you understand how some of these phrases came about.

Maybe you have some not mentioned here, let us know what you think in the comments.