Confusing headlines and other trips down the garden path
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Just saw a headline that read "Michele Bachmann asked to drop out of race," which could either mean [in newspaperspeak] that she herself asked to drop out of the race, or that someone asked her to.
On closer inspection, you would conclude it's the latter, since if she herself asked to drop out of the race, the headline would read "Michele Bachmann asks" in the present tense, unless they were reporting on a race that occurred years ago. But I do find the dropping of the passive auxiliary quite funny, since with weak verbs, it just looks like active past tense.
On closer inspection, you would conclude it's the latter, since if she herself asked to drop out of the race, the headline would read "Michele Bachmann asks" in the present tense, unless they were reporting on a race that occurred years ago. But I do find the dropping of the passive auxiliary quite funny, since with weak verbs, it just looks like active past tense.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Lesbian vampire killer set to be released from jail
This was especially confusing after I clicked the link I saw the extended headline: Lesbian vampire killer who 'lured a man with promise of sex' before killing him....
Is she a lesbian who killed a guy who she thought was a vampire?
Is she a lesbian vampire who killed a guy (in which case, how is she lesbian if she killed him via promising sex)?
Is she a killer who kills lesbian vampires? (but... she killed a man, not a woman)
I had this same problem with the movie "Lesbian Vampire Killers". And believe me, that movie would have been 100 times better if it were lesbians who killed vampires rather than men who killed lesbian vampires.
This was especially confusing after I clicked the link I saw the extended headline: Lesbian vampire killer who 'lured a man with promise of sex' before killing him....
Is she a lesbian who killed a guy who she thought was a vampire?
Is she a lesbian vampire who killed a guy (in which case, how is she lesbian if she killed him via promising sex)?
Is she a killer who kills lesbian vampires? (but... she killed a man, not a woman)
I had this same problem with the movie "Lesbian Vampire Killers". And believe me, that movie would have been 100 times better if it were lesbians who killed vampires rather than men who killed lesbian vampires.
[quote="Xephyr"]Kitties: little happy factories.[/quote]
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Goldman Stunned by Op-Ed Loses $2.2 Billion for Shareholders
It looks to me like the editor changed his mind in mid-headline and then didn't go back and fix the beginning.
It looks to me like the editor changed his mind in mid-headline and then didn't go back and fix the beginning.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Who uses G after a number? Don't most people say 10K for $10,000. What K stands for I have no idea.bulbaquil wrote:Every time I read an article on fracking, I think along these lines.Bob Johnson wrote:Report on Wyoming water doesn't end fracking debate
just end the fracking debate already
Romney: $10G Bet is 'Outrageous' Sum for 'Outrageous' Claim." (yes, it's Fox News.)
Misinterpreted the G as meaning "giga-" rather than "grand", and was like "Well, yeah, a $10 billion bet is a bit outrageous - the only people with that kind of money are the 1% of the 1%, and probably another iteration or two beyond that."
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
kiloViktor77 wrote:Who uses G after a number? Don't most people say 10K for $10,000. What K stands for I have no idea.
Viktor, meet the metric system; metric system, Viktor.
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- Avisaru
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Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Viktor’s next vacation needs to be in his neighbours to the north, or in his case, east.linguoboy wrote:Viktor, meet the metric system; metric system, Viktor.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Viktor has a creepy avatar.
I saw this today on someone's jacket: "World police & fire games", which I first thought was like "[World police] & [fire games]", though it was supposed to be "World [police & fire] games". (I hope I've used the brackets right.)
I saw this today on someone's jacket: "World police & fire games", which I first thought was like "[World police] & [fire games]", though it was supposed to be "World [police & fire] games". (I hope I've used the brackets right.)
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
The actual headline was:
"Strawberry" Leopard Discovered—A First
However, on Fark.com, the headline was posted as:
Strawberry leopards forever
I was wondering how on earth a stawberry can 'leopard' something, until I realized that the structure was ADJ-NOUN-ADV and not NOUN-VERB-ADV
"Strawberry" Leopard Discovered—A First
However, on Fark.com, the headline was posted as:
Strawberry leopards forever
I was wondering how on earth a stawberry can 'leopard' something, until I realized that the structure was ADJ-NOUN-ADV and not NOUN-VERB-ADV
[quote="Xephyr"]Kitties: little happy factories.[/quote]
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Hey, I'm going to Banff so you can't say anything.Shm Jay wrote:Viktor’s next vacation needs to be in his neighbours to the north, or in his case, east.linguoboy wrote:Viktor, meet the metric system; metric system, Viktor.
It's a demented puppy.Qwynegold wrote:Viktor has a creepy avatar.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Am I the only one who finds this headline particularly difficult to read?
Analysis: China currency move nails hard landing risk coffin.
Analysis: China currency move nails hard landing risk coffin.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
We can relax now that the hard landing risk coffin has been nailed.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
I saw an add for some extermination service depicting an oversized insect with the caption "He can eat more than your 16-year-old." However, instead of "He can eat more than your 16-year-old [can eat]", my first thought was "He can more things in addition to eating your 16-year-old." I was quite impressed with this bug until I figured out my mistake.
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
–Herm Albright
Even better than a proto-conlang, it's the *kondn̥ǵʰwéh₂s
–Herm Albright
Even better than a proto-conlang, it's the *kondn̥ǵʰwéh₂s
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
I thought that too.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Asian markets drop on Spain ratings cut
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
I have that problem with a German TV series whose precise German name I can't think of but is something like: "Name und ihre Moerder", which always makes me feel as though the person in the title is the murderer.Jashan wrote:I had this same problem with the movie "Lesbian Vampire Killers". And believe me, that movie would have been 100 times better if it were lesbians who killed vampires rather than men who killed lesbian vampires.
[quote]Great wit and madness near abide, and fine a line their bounds divide.[/quote]
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- Lebom
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Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Adelheid. I've always had the same problem.Declan wrote:I have that problem with a German TV series whose precise German name I can't think of but is something like: "Name und ihre Moerder", which always makes me feel as though the person in the title is the murderer.Jashan wrote:I had this same problem with the movie "Lesbian Vampire Killers". And believe me, that movie would have been 100 times better if it were lesbians who killed vampires rather than men who killed lesbian vampires.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Funny, that doesn't look right. I even looked it up beforehand in Google and found that, but didn't believe myself. Must be that then!Avo wrote:Adelheid. I've always had the same problem.
[quote]Great wit and madness near abide, and fine a line their bounds divide.[/quote]
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Yesterday I saw a "Men raped more than women in the US". I actually don't know whether they meant that men are more often rape victims than women, or that rapists are more often men than women.
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Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
"Men raped more than women in the US"
What I saw first was... "Men (have) raped more than (just) women in the US".
What I saw first was... "Men (have) raped more than (just) women in the US".
It was about time I changed this.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
I assumed it was "Men (are) raped more than women (are) in the US" because "Men (have) raped more than (just) women in the US" just don't seem surprising enough to be newsworthy.treegod wrote:"Men raped more than women in the US"
What I saw first was... "Men (have) raped more than (just) women in the US".
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Sincerely, gutter mind that I am, I parsed it initially asclawgrip wrote:I assumed it was "Men (are) raped more than women (are) in the US" because "Men (have) raped more than (just) women in the US" just don't seem surprising enough to be newsworthy.treegod wrote:"Men raped more than women in the US"
What I saw first was... "Men (have) raped more than (just) women in the US".
Men rapped more than women in the US
as in
men did rap more than women in the US
so there was an unusually low number of female rap singers over there.
Oh, also
The set of a lesbian who killed vampires will be released.Lesbian vampire killer set to be released from jail
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Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
Tut, deplorable.Torco wrote:so there was an unusually low number of female rap singers over there.
Or "Lesbian vampire killer [collection] to be released from jail."Lesbian vampire killer set to be released from jail
I hear that Lesbian vampire killer sets are very lucrative on the black market.
It was about time I changed this.
Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
oh, right, the kind used to kill vampire lesbians
- ol bofosh
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Re: Confusing headlines, and other trips down the garden pat
No, that's the Lesbian vampire killer stake, I'm talking about the Lesbian Vampire Killer Doll-Set.
It was about time I changed this.