[Ads-l] hypercorrect pluralization of attributives

[Jonathan Lighter]

A few days ago CNN reported on a new AI program that provides lonely guys
with hot-looking imaginary babe companions for all their parasocial needs.

One described herself/itself as a "twenty-five-years-old photographer."

Somehow that seems especially egregious. No second date for her.

JL

On Mon, Oct 31, 2016 at 10:59 AM MULLINS, WILLIAM D (Bill) CIV USARMY
RDECOM AMRDEC (US) <william.d.mullins18.civ at mail.mil> wrote:

> >
> > We'd like to hire her, but there's the two-body problem.
> > (Actually, I've heard both "the two-body problem" and "the two-bodies
> problem" to refer to the spousal/partner hiring dilemma in
> > academia, as opposed to the physics problem it's a pun on.)
> >
>
> In planetary dynamics, the "two-body" problem isn't a problem -- there
> exist closed-form solutions for two bodies.  It's the three-body problem
> that is really a problem, in that it is not solvable (and is often
> chaotic).
>
> Extend the parallel to partners/spouses as you see fit.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org