“Smear shots”

[A New York Times headline, July 12, 2021.]

For a moment I thought that Fox News was hosting smear shots — people taking potshots and smearing the idea of vaccination. Which of course is what they do.

The headline is a garden-path sentence, and as it’s a headline, it’s also known as a crash blossom.

Other garden paths
“Cultured klepto” : “Father of off-duty cop” : “Virtually everything”