...if I don't tell my friend that her tattoo is spelt wrong?

[Nessalina]

Just that really!
A friend has posted a picture on Facebook of her new tattoo and there is a word spelt wrong! I won't say what for fear of outing, but it's got two extra letter in by accident
No one has noticed that's posted on Facebook, and I've checked that it's not a prank (no google images of the same picture) so I think it's an honest mistake.
But... I can't see that me telling her would be helpful, I mean, it's permanent! There isn't a pretty way to fix it, and surely someone else will notice and tell her? Right?
I'm such a coward

hobnob?

Squoosh up and pass a hobnob?

You need to tell her.

Yum, thank you!

?

Interesting point about why she has put the tattoo there - is it designed to be seen by the world? Or just by her and her intimates? Is it a declaration, or a quotation? OP I think we need to know the whole phrase!

Say nothing. Someone else will then you can say you never noticed and reassure her

You have to tell her!

And encourage her to go back to the tattoo 'artist' to demand money back or some attempt to cover it up.

She's spent money on something that is wrong. If it was anything else she'd go back for a refund.

I'd have to tell her, very gently.

I know nothing about tattoos (not really keen on them) but given that a wiser person upthread said that the earlier she knows, the easier it is to amend/remove I would def tell her privately.

Ohh I'm in two minds about this one, part of me thinks you have to tell her, if for no other reason you can tell her gently and she can remove the photo, before someone makes a comment on the photo about it that won't be so kind.

But that said I can also see the benefit in playing dumb and if she asks if you saw it you can say no. If she then shows it to you you could tell her then. Or not..

The mind is boggling about what she's had tattooed - I know you don't want to post it incase you out her but any hints you can give? Is it a quote or a well known saying?

Sorry it's realised I've zero help to you there lol!

I can see the point of tattoo pictures if you're into that sort of thing, but long slogans that you can't even spell so obviously aren't that familiar with sound mad. It won't even look pretty.
What I'd do depends on how close a friend she was. If a close friend I'd pm her, if a casual acquaintance i'd leave it for a close friend. If none of her close friends notice then she hasn't really got a problem.
I know a couple of dyslexic tattoo artists, they go into it because they are good at art, not because they are good at spelling. If you want to wear a slogan get a tshirt printed.

I'd tell her. You need to triple check a tattoo spelling yourself but a good artist has a dictionary to hand as well (I confused the hell out of my tattooist by going for Elvish, I knew it was right but it made him itch that he couldn't check it)

Our local football team has the motto 'Vis Unita Fortior'. I followed a woman around TK Maxx once who had 'Vis UnitaS Fortior' across the back of her neck. I often wondered if anyone had told her.

Tell her. If the poster who says it is easier to get it fixed sooner rather than later is right, then the sooner she knows, the easier it will be to fix. And if she spelled it right on FB, it's reasonable to assume she probably spelled it right for the tattoo artist, and it is his mistake not hers - so he should fix it or pay to get it fixed.

please tell her. it would be rotten for her to find out from someone else. she is bound to then ask you if you noticed. what are you going to do then? Lie? if it were me I would always sooner hear it from someone I knew then I could sort it out. please tell her, this is what friends are for isn't it?

Say if you were about to go into a job interview and you had a bit of food stuck on your tooth, would you want someone to tell you or would you want them to not say? Whose face are you saving?

OP... The only sensible thing to do is to tell her and at the same time, brandish a draft letter to the Oxford Dictionary people, requesting that this new word be included in the next print. Far less painful and messy and your friendship will be saved... disaster averted.

I would tell her.

Loki! I have Elvish on my shoulder!!! my tattoo artist didn't care about checking the spelling, or checking Id lol as I was sixteen when I did it ;-)

Arg. It's just that knowing will be painful on so many levels. She'll feel like a muppet and she'll have to try to get it fixed which will be literally painful. She only got it yesterday.
Shit. I might speak to a mutual friend and see what she thinks. Said friend sees her every day, so will know if she's found out already, and might be in a better position to tell her kindly face to face I'm such a wimp

YES! I would have a gossip confer with a mutual friend about it too and decide from there...

Nessalina... Don't you think she might actually know about it? I mean, if you pay for a tattoo, go through that pain, are you not gazing admiringly at it once it's in place? She must know the word - and the correct spelling of it - since she posted it correctly on FB?

She might just be terribly embarrassed and hoping that nobody else will notice...

Has it been written in italics? If she's spelt it correctly, it could be the tattoo artists fault maybe? Too many swirls on the "ur"'s.

If it was me, I'd want to be told.

If she knew and was horribly embarrassed, why would she post it on Facebook?!