Command of the Queen's English?

Command of the Queen's English?

BBC headline...

"Israelis shoot dead armed woman"

Isn't it poor taste to shoot someone who's already dead ?:-)

...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
| Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jim Thompson
Loading thread data ...

=A0 =A0 ...Jim Thompson

=A0 | =A0 =A0mens =A0 =A0 |

=A0 | =A0 =A0 et =A0 =A0 =A0|

=A0|

=A0 =A0 =A0 |

Headline in Conservation Quarterly:

Armed Panda Enters Restaurant, Eats Shoots and Leaves.

Reply to
gearhead

In fact Pandas, armed or not, do eat shoots and leaves. However, it would be news if said panda eats, shoots, and leaves.

Reply to
krw

Well, as I foreigner I would be interested in the correction.

I got the potential ambiguities, but not how to write it correctly.

Passive voice of this sentence seems less ambiguous.

"Armed woman was shot dead by Israelis"

but what's the correct active voice for this?

bye

N

Jim Thomps> Command of the Queen's English?

Reply to
News123

Probably

"Israelis shoot and kill an armed woman"

but it's longer than

"Israelis shoot dead armed woman"

and headlines have to be short.

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

Reply to
bill.sloman

So why not:

"Israelis shoot armed woman dead"

Exactly same character count.

--
"Electricity is of two kinds, positive and negative. The difference
is, I presume, that one comes a little more expensive, but is more
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Fred Abse

Seems fine to me - it does split the infinitive, but ony pedants worry about that.

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

Reply to
bill.sloman

How about "Israelis kill armed woman". Says everything important; saves six characters.

Reply to
krw

I can just see the headline now:

Lisping Chef Shoots, Serves Pedant Under Glath

Sorry :)

--- Joe

Reply to
Joe

:On Apr 4, 3:37 pm, Jim Thompson wrote: :> Command of the Queen's English? :>

:> BBC headline... :>

:> "Israelis shoot dead armed woman" :>

:> Isn't it poor taste to shoot someone who's already dead ?:-) :>

:>                                         ...Jim Thompson :> -- :> | James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     | :> | Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      | :> | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | :> | Phoenix, Arizona  85048    Skype: Contacts Only  |             | :> | Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | :> | E-mail Icon at

formatting link
|    1962     | :>

:> If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research... :>                     -- Albert Einstein : :Headline in Conservation Quarterly: : :Armed Panda Enters Restaurant, Eats Shoots and Leaves.

In Aus the definition of a bloke referred to as a WOMBAT is someone who Eats, Roots, Shoots and Leaves.

formatting link

Reply to
Ross Herbert

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.