-like

[Victor Steinbok]

I tend to be fascinated by expressions that others may find perfectly
ordinary. Fortunately, at least some of these do turn out to be
interesting to others. So, I am going to try again.

When I see "-like" attached to a word, I usually assume that the item in
question will be somewhat like the affected object. I am using a broad
definition of "object" here--if the "object" in question is a noun, than
the final result will resemble something that is represented by that
noun (grape-like). If it is an adjective, I expect the item modified by
this "-like" word to share some qualities with those described by the
adjective but perhaps not all (human-like). So, when I see
"watermelon-like", I expect the described object to be somewhat like a
watermelon. A "watermelon-like seed" would have to be a large, globular
object that happens to be a seed.

http://bit.ly/9mA3kS
> The fruit of the strangler figs is a favorite of rainforest monkeys,
> who swallow the small watermelon-like seeds. Later, they defecate a
> pile of seed-containing dung that becomes trapped in a corner between
> two branches of another tree high up in the forest. The warm dung acts
> as potent fertilizer and the seed germinates into a rootless vine with
> appendages that slowly crawl up and down along the trunk and branches.

Somehow, despite the exotic context, I don't think the monkeys would be
capable of swallowing large watermelon-size seeds whole, only to excrete
them later for sprouting--not that I expect the seeds to be large,
globular objects. Of course, size and shape are not the only properties
of the watermelon that may come to mind when describing something as
"watermelon-like". But, what's the point of identifying something as
"-like" with second-register properties? Maybe the seeds are not large,
but striped green (and still round). Whatever... There is another
possibility.

OED has two subentries--one for nouns and one for adjectives, each
further subdivided into those turning the expression into an adverb and
those that don't. Either way, as I mentioned above, the resemblance is
meant to be attached to whatever is modified by "-like". Not so here.

"Watermelon-like seed", in this case, is a seed that resembles that of a
watermelon. Given the choice of expressing the "seedness" twice or
contorting the expression, the author appears to have chosen the
latter--treating "watermelon" as an adjective. No, really, this is the
only possibility I see here.

     VS-)

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