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:
Why yes, it’s nearly five years after the fact...
Date: 27/05/2022 04:55 am (UTC)