"New device may have prevented tragedies"

[Alice Faber]

On Monday, January 28, 2002, at 03:49  PM, sagehen wrote:

> "New device may have prevented tragedies"
>
> This is a beautiful example of  may/might confusion that produces a very
> bad result. We read the headline & think, "Whew!  tragedy averted; glad to
> hear it," and move on to the next item.
>
> In the case of  "Colts Want This One? >So Don't the Pats,"at least  the
> ambiguity (if not opacity) leads us to check the text to see what's meant.
> A. Murie
>
I think Larry's point (if I may be so bold as to speak for him) was that
in large chunks of New England "so Don't the Pats" isn't at all ambiguous.
  It's just in a stylistic level one wouldn't expect to find in a headline,
  even in Boston.
--
Alice Faber
Haskins Laboratories                                    Tel: (203) 865-6163
270 Crown St                                            FAX: (203) 865-8163
New Haven, CT 06511 USA                              faber at haskins.yale.edu