Confusing headlines

[Linguoboy]

Turkey fire: Dozens killed as hotel engulfed by flames in ski resort of Bolu (BBC)

First thing I thought of was all those deep-fried turkey fail videos that circulate around Thanksgiving. (Perhaps not a locus for most English readers.)

[Travis B.]

Turkey fire: Dozens killed as hotel engulfed by flames in ski resort of Bolu (BBC)

First thing I thought of was all those deep-fried turkey fail videos that circulate around Thanksgiving. (Perhaps not a locus for most English readers.)

From that particular title I get the same immediate impression. Maybe someone started the ski resort on fire by trying to deep-fry a turkey...

[Zju]

Croatian who wants to be a millionaire only gives 150000€

[Linguoboy]

Courtesy of the Grauniad: Ten thousand Kroger-owned grocery store workers strike in Colorado

[Man in Space]

Ten thousand [Kroger-owned grocery store] workers strike in Colorado – 10 kiloëmployees go on strike OR sack Denver OR find gold in them thar Rockies OR knocked down all the bowling pins
Ten thousand Kroger-owned [grocery store workers] strike in Colorado – Kroger has never heard of the Thirteenth Amendment OR Kroger hacked into their systems
Ten [thousand Kroger-owned grocery store] workers strike in Colorado – These ten dudes who have worked at one thousand Kroger establishments have finally had ENOUGH

[bradrn]

Calls for antisemitic taskforce

[bradrn]

Architect to rich trials fast, low-cost Sydney housing

[Raphael]

Not a headline, and I'm probably the only person on this board who has the right combination of interests to find this somewhat funny, but it is about possible double meanings of written letters, so I'll post it here.

TV caption/chyron showing the score in a Gaelic football game, or circa 1989 post from a Star Trek-focused Usenet group?

kw.png (216.79 KiB) Viewed 2651 times

[Man in Space]

More like “Confusing AskReddit questions”, but courtesy of /u/Ill_Cover_4841:

Night owls of Reddit, what time do you wake up and go to bed?

When I read this first I defaulted to “and” being in the sense of “then”, i.e. that you woke up just so you would then immediately turn around and go to bed.

[Raphael]

More like “Confusing AskReddit questions”, but courtesy of /u/Ill_Cover_4841:

Night owls of Reddit, what time do you wake up and go to bed?

When I read this first I defaulted to “and” being in the sense of “then”, i.e. that you woke up just so you would then immediately turn around and go to bed.

Well, I guess if you fall asleep on the couch in the evening, you might eventually wake up and go to bed.

[Raphael]

From one of the latest posts in the AI thread:

Imagine, for instance, an automated lab assistant which can handle dangerous chemicals as well as humans.

[bradrn]

From one of the latest posts in the AI thread:

Imagine, for instance, an automated lab assistant which can handle dangerous chemicals as well as humans.

Oh, I didn’t notice that!

[Man in Space]

From one of the latest posts in the AI thread:

Imagine, for instance, an automated lab assistant which can handle dangerous chemicals as well as humans.

It can contain dangerous chemicals to the same standards as it handles humans, it can plain old handle such chemicals and humans also, imagine a lab assistant fitting the description and think up several humans while you do so, or imagine a lab assistant whose skill with dangerous chemicals is comparable to that of humans.

[zompist]

Title for a post over at Metafilter:

A Toronto Will Lawyer for Simple People

(From context, the poster was asking for a lawyer who does wills.)

[Raphael]

Title for a post over at Metafilter:

A Toronto Will Lawyer for Simple People

(From context, the poster was asking for a lawyer who does wills.)

So the poster called people like themselves "Simple People"? That's interesting. Without that context, I'd have guessed that it's a rather condescending way to refer to other people.

[Raholeun]

So the poster called people like themselves "Simple People"? That's interesting. Without that context, I'd have guessed that it's a rather condescending way to refer to other people.

In Russian, простой человек is considered a compliment.

[Raphael]

In Russian, простой человек is considered a compliment.

Thank you, interesting. I guess "simple people" isn't that different from "regular people", which is a perfectly friendly term in English, too.

[Travis B.]

In English "simple people" is a euphemism for intellectually-disabled people, whereas "regular people" is a perfectly normal way to refer to ordinary people.

[jcb]

Title for a post over at Metafilter:

A Toronto Will Lawyer for Simple People

(From context, the poster was asking for a lawyer who does wills.)

So the poster called people like themselves "Simple People"? That's interesting. Without that context, I'd have guessed that it's a rather condescending way to refer to other people.

Less literate/well-read anglophones are unlikely to know that the second meaning/connotation of "simple" is "intellectually-disabled", much less the word "simpleton".

[Man in Space]

Title for a post over at Metafilter:

A Toronto Will Lawyer for Simple People

(From context, the poster was asking for a lawyer who does wills.)

I don’t know what’s more impressive: That there’s more than one Toronto, or that an entire city is willing to represent people in court.