Caption on a nature site: "Ruby-_Throat_ Hummingbird"

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Jul 8, 2012, at 9:27 AM, Wilson Gray wrote:

> On Sun, Jul 8, 2012 at 10:18 AM, Arnold Zwicky <zwicky at stanford.edu> wrote:
>> one-arm man
>
> Amazing! This ought to be nonsense...
>
> Well, if -ed adds nothing to the meaning for you, why would you bother with it?

a classic case of brevity vs, clarity.  in general, the range of interpretations for N1-ed composites is narrower than the range for N1 composites (cf. "flowered shirt" and "flower shirt"), but the N1 composites are briefer.

The N1 composites are briefer, but can require more interpretive work -- *but* these composites are interpreted in context, not in vacuo, and context, shared knowledge, etc. can make interpretation a snap. (interpretation is easier for N1s that are themselves composites, since the range of interpretation is narrowed by the constraints of the real world.)

arnold

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