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ETAOIN SHRDLU

 - 2 dictionary results

et⋅a⋅oin shrd⋅lu

  [et-ee-oin shurd-loo, -oh-in, ee-tee-]
Use ETAOIN SHRDLU in a Sentence
–noun
the letters produced by running the finger down the first two vertical rows of keys at the left of the keyboard of a Linotype machine: used as a temporary marking slug or to indicate that an earlier mistake in the line necessitates resetting, but sometimes inadvertently cast and printed.
Origin:
1955–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

etaoin shrdlu 
1931, journalism slang, the sequence of characters you get if you sweep your finger down the two left-hand columns of Linotype keys, which is what typesetters did when they messed up a line and had to start it over. A signal to cut out the sentence, it nonetheless sometimes slipped past harried compositors and ended up in print.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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