[“Tourist Posing With 200-Year-Old Sculpture Breaks Her Toes.” The New York Times, August 7, 2020.]
Granted, the referent must be sculpture. And granted, the text that follows clears things up. But I’d rewrite this headline: “Tourist Accidentally Breaks Toes of 200-Year-Old Sculpture.” “Sculpture’s toes” sounds too awkward to me, or a little too much like (so-called) language-poetry.
Here’s the article. Step carefully.
Friday, August 7, 2020
Whose toes?
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comments: 3
Sounded like a female tourist broke her toes. Can a sculpture have gender? Even if of a female figure, I’d say “its toes.” Then I’d edit to avoid.
This reminds me of something I saw some years ago in Italy. Two boys were playing around in an art museum when one of them accidentally hit the frame of a very old painting chipping it. There was a gendarme instantly to grab them and ask to speak to their parents. Although I can't speak Italian it was quite clear what the gendarmes were saying.
Kirsten
We got yelled at many years ago because our daughter (young enough to be carried) had a tiny toy in her hand. I think we ended up leaving the museum.
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