Confusing headlines

[bradrn]

Not a headline, but an extract from the ATP 3-21.8 Infantry Platoon and Squad field manual (2016), quoted in https://acoup.blog/2021/12/31/collectio ... firepower/:

… preparations in-depth continues, even as the close fight behinds.

[KathTheDragon]

That's completely unparsable to me.

[Man in Space]

In-depth preparations continue even as the close fight ends and becomes a part of the past, is how I read it.

[bradrn]

That's completely unparsable to me.

Me also. I interpret it the same as Man in Space, but it’s not actually English as such.

[Raphael]

I wonder how much more sense it makes to people with military experience in the country where it was published.

[Linguoboy]

Texas synagogue siege: Teens held in UK as Briton named as hostage-taker (BBC)

I simply could not parse this until I read the first line of the article.

[Linguoboy]

Not a headline, just a garden-path sentence posted by a friend:

I would like everyone know that I found a meme so offensive that it had to get taken down from my offensive memes group, and I feel like I’ve finally won.

[Man in Space]

That seems pretty straightforward to me. Dude found a meme so offensive that people who like offensive memes couldn't handle it and therefore he feels a huge sense of pride and accomplishment.

[Linguoboy]

That seems pretty straightforward to me. Dude found a meme so offensive that people who like offensive memes couldn't handle it and therefore he feels a huge sense of pride and accomplishment.

Except that "find offensive" also means "regard as offensive". That's why it's a garden path.

[Man in Space]

Except that "find offensive" also means "regard as offensive". That's why it's a garden path.

I see now—thank you for explaining it! That reading would likely never have occurred to me.

[bradrn]

Another confusing sentence:

Ms Dalton has accused the Shooters party of removing her as administrator of her party Facebook page, and have deleted it, meaning she’ll have to create a new account to communicate with constituents.

Who deleted the page? Coordination suggests Ms Dalton, but agreement suggests the party. In context, I’m inclined to go with the latter, but really people need to learn that there are limits to pretending English is Latin.

[hwhatting]

Another confusing sentence:

Ms Dalton has accused the Shooters party of removing her as administrator of her party Facebook page, and have deleted it, meaning she’ll have to create a new account to communicate with constituents.

Who deleted the page? Coordination suggests Ms Dalton, but agreement suggests the party. In context, I’m inclined to go with the latter, but really people need to learn that there are limits to pretending English is Latin.

Isn't the sentence simply grammatically wrong? If Mrs. Dalton deleted it, the agreement is wrong, as you point out, but if it's the party, then it should be "and having deleted it" or maybe "and that they have deleted it".

[bradrn]

Isn't the sentence simply grammatically wrong?

Yes indeed, either way it is entirely ungrammatical. Of course, ‘ungrammatical’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘incomprehensible’ — though it does in this case.

[Man in Space]

From our friends at the BBC:

Transgender children: Texas plan to probe parents halted

[fusijui]

I start to think any headline with a colon automatically ratchets up the garden-pathing/confusion potential. Maybe that's genius, maybe it's cheating, I'm not sure what to think.

[Travis B.]

From our friends at the BBC:

Transgender children: Texas plan to probe parents halted

I originally read this the normal way, but recognized that it could be read is alleging a plan on the part of the state of Texas to probe, in the alien abductee sense, the parents of transgender children, which has happened to have been halted. However, I just read it yet another way, that it is alleging a conspiracy on the part of transgender children in Texas to probe, in the alien abductee sense, their own parents, which has happened to have been foiled.

[Linguoboy]

Deceased Knott County resident Theodore Combs refused entry to the producers after they wanted shots of an old water-well that was in his front yard.

I am really curious now how he communicated his refusal to said producers.

[Travis B.]

Deceased Knott County resident Theodore Combs refused entry to the producers after they wanted shots of an old water-well that was in his front yard.

I am really curious now how he communicated his refusal to said producers.

On one hand he could have written down his intentions in his will. On the other hand he could have risen from the grave and menaced said producers as one of the undead.

[fusijui]

From our friends at the BBC:

Transgender children: Texas plan to probe parents halted

I originally read this the normal way, but recognized that it could be read is alleging a plan on the part of the state of Texas to probe, in the alien abductee sense, the parents of transgender children, which has happened to have been halted. However, I just read it yet another way, that it is alleging a conspiracy on the part of transgender children in Texas to probe, in the alien abductee sense, their own parents, which has happened to have been foiled.

FWIW, my off-base reading would have been: "Transgender children report the following: 'We have halted our plans in Texas to probe the parents.'" Ambiguous as to whose parents, maybe. That's where the genius of the colon-ized construction lies; in headlinese it can introduce a topic, or a source/speaker!

[Richard W]

Caption on a photograph: "A view of the northern part of Mariupol port taken on 23 March".

At first I read it as implying that the Russians had taken part of the port, but on checking other information it became clear that it was the photograph that was taken on 23 March.