amphibology
Aug. 26th, 2017 06:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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wotdamphibology
a phrase or sentence that is grammatically ambiguous (also amphiboly)
Amphibology, also known as "syntactic ambiguity," is a situation where a sentence may be interpreted in more than one way due to ambiguous sentence structure. A "globally ambiguous" sentence can be interpreted in more than one way; a sentence that is "locally ambiguous" is temporarily confusing, but becomes clear once read in its entirety.
The need for brevity often leads to amphibology in newspaper headlines. "The Lower Case" column of the Columbia Journalism Review publishes reader-submitted examples in a feature called Headlines editors probably wish they could take back.
For your consideration:
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Date: 26/08/2017 11:41 pm (UTC)*sporfle*
I'm still giggling over the man who refused to hate Thursday.
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Date: 27/08/2017 12:02 am (UTC)Also, why are we keeping poles in a vault and why is it so dangerous?
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Date: 27/08/2017 07:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 28/08/2017 10:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 27/08/2017 12:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 27/08/2017 11:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 27/08/2017 04:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 27/08/2017 12:59 am (UTC)Was she dead before they shot her, or did they shoot her dead? The world may never know! Except, uh, by clicking and reading the article, which is a thing most don't actually do.
(It wouldn't be so egregious, but this error was committed by Snopes of all things.)
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Date: 27/08/2017 11:56 am (UTC)The link to the CJR archive--I must have been in there for half an hour, there were so many good ones. There was one that read "Patrick Steward surprises fan with deadly disease!"
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Date: 27/08/2017 07:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 27/08/2017 08:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 27/09/2017 07:24 pm (UTC)http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/saudi-woman-who-fought-for-right-to-drive-eyes-next-battle/ar-AAswCTn
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Date: 27/09/2017 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 28/09/2017 10:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 14/02/2018 09:17 pm (UTC)That's good to hear, because I just happened upon this beauty; I'm still not sure whether this website on pet nutrition was deliberately laying clickbait or just catastrophically tone-deaf:
http://rawprey.com/why-feeding-raw-human-meat-is-not-enough/
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Date: 18/02/2018 02:18 pm (UTC)In other news--hi! It's nice to hear from you. I've been away from DW for a while. I've been working on a project for some relatives that involves way too much online time, so I tend to stay away from the screen in my down hours. But I've been meaning to come post something. How's your life in these early months of 2018?
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Date: 20/02/2018 11:00 pm (UTC)My 2018 so far has been spent largely in alternating bouts of frantic errand-chaining when the weather relents (today we had a high of 79!) and burrowing into a fortress of covers when the sidewalks turn to buttered glass.
(This past week, I learned the answer to a question I'd been holding for most of my life, against the time when it would finally apply to me personally: H.J. Heinz used to do free 57th birthday care packages, but have long since discontinued the practice.)
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Date: 22/02/2018 02:07 pm (UTC)Yes, the weather. (I think we're not that far from each other.) We've had great dumps of snow followed by rapid melts. (One of these ripped off our eaves trough when the snow slid off the roof en masse.) Then sudden freezes (creating your beautifully described buttered glass) and now our across-the-road-neighbours have a lake in their front yard after two days of rain before the ground's had a chance to thaw. GOOD TIMES.
Your link was delightful. I always wondered about the "57" and though I'm disappointed to know it doesn't mean anything, I'm happy to finally KNOW. Also, "euchred pickles." Who knew?
Why yes, it’s nearly five years after the fact...
Date: 27/05/2022 04:55 am (UTC)