Misplaced modifier of the...well, end of the decade

[Laurence Horn]

At 12:01 AM -0500 1/1/10, Mark Mandel wrote:
>As a parent of two now-grown offspring, I can certify that absorbent
>diapers, whether old-fashioned cloth or modern constructs like Pampers, can
>contribute materially to a parent's sleep.

Well, I was wondering whether that might have been intended (parent
sleeps well because tot's wearing Pampers), but that's not the
reading I got.   YMMV.

LH

>On Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 11:42 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
>
>>  (Courtesy of my wife, who was startled to read this on the back of
>>  the Cheerios box this morning)
>>
>>  "...Pampers and Cheerios are working together to bring you bright
>>  mornings.  After a good night's sleep with the help of Pampers, treat
>>  your tot to a bright morning with Cheerios."
>  >
>  > Presumably it's the tot who was helped by the Pampers. (The addressee
>>  may have been wearing Depends, but probably not Pampers...)
>>
>>  LH
>>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org