Sunday, June 6, 2010

Pencil headline



What is this I see in the San Francisco Examiner? The stirring tale of a civic-minded soul, one “Park,” telling Gavin Newsom about the many fine qualities of the humblest of writing instruments?

No, that is not it at all.

My daughter Rachel probably knows the exact name for the type of ambiguity this sentence exhibits. I know it only as “some.”

comments: 2

Rachel said...

I had to read this sentence 40 times before I got the point! (Pencil point?)

I believe it's a garden path sentence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_path_sentence

Michael Leddy said...

That’s it — the garden path. Thank you, Rachel! You’re pretty sharp.