There's a Hilariously Embarrassing Error in Lord & Taylor's Latest Ad

A good copy editor is a beautiful thing -- especially in the realm of foreign languages.

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By Geoff Weiss

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With Hanukkah upon us, storied retailer Lord & Taylor has chosen to commemorate the holiday in rather confounding fashion.

In last Sunday's New York Times, the nation's oldest luxury department store ran a print ad that said "Happy Hanukkah. Wishing you a year of light and love" with the words "Happy Hanukkah" written above in Hebrew -- or so it thought.

Image credit: Lord and Taylor

A slight misspelling, as first spotted by Tablet magazine's Liora Halperin, completely altered the meaning of the Hebrew phrase to "The tag of her earlobe that died" -- which, if you ask us, doesn't have quite the same festive ring.

Lord & Taylor's heart may have been in the right place, but the epic copy-editing fail reveals the way in which thoughtful outreach -- in clumsy hands -- can suddenly turn into a glaring slight.

Related: Dr. Dre Inspires Amazing Hanukkah Gift: The Dr. Dreidel

Geoff Weiss

Former Staff Writer

Geoff Weiss is a former staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

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