etaoin shrdlu

• etaoin, etaoin shrdlu cmfwyp, shrdlu, shrdlu etaoin, etaoinshrdlu

From the arrangement of letters on the keyboard of a Linotype machine—typesetters would mark errors by running their fingers across the keys, and the results would sometimes accidentally find their way into print.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛtiɔɪn ˈʃɜːrdluː/, /ˈeɪtɑːn ʃrədˈluː/

etaoin shrdlu (plural etaoin shrdlus)

1. Nonsense, filler text, or an example of accidental typing.
   • 1989, Alex Brown, In print: text and type‎, page 137:

     You can see why compositors reflexively filled lines to be corrected with etaoin shrdlus.

• asdfghjkl
• asdfghjkl;
• lorem ipsum

• “etaoin shrdlu”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

• outlandisher