What's strange about this headline?
Actually, it wasn't a headline, it was one of those sub-headline things. Maybe they have a special name. And it wasn't really the headline of an article, it was on the cover of a magazine. And what follows isn't the ipsissima verba of the (sub)headline, though the oddity is present in it: "Born-Again Bordeaux: Châteaus to watch". (I am open to the suggestion that there is nothing odd there.)
Comments
on 2005-06-09 18:50:09.0, Adam Kotsko commented:
I acknowledge the existence of an oddity in the headline-like sequence of words that you have produced here.
I note that the S and X keys are located very close together.
and, further, on 2005-06-09 19:50:22.0, ben wolfson commented:
But this was a professional-type magazine. I trust a simple typo wouldn't have made it to the cover page.
and, further, on 2005-06-09 19:55:41.0, apostropher commented:
No, they did indeed use the totally wrong word for hats.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 7:26:03.0, Matt Weiner commented:
If 'watch' isn't capitalized, 'again' shouldn't be either.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 7:43:10.0, tammy commented:
Mm, not necessarily.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 7:48:37.0, Matt Weiner commented:
Tammy's all up in my grill!
(More on topic: It may be that in English the plural of 'Bordeau' is 'Bordeaux' and the plural of 'chateau' can be 'chateaus', but then there shouldn't be a circumflex on 'chateau'. I think.)
and, further, on 2005-06-10 7:51:26.0, ben wolfson commented:
Matt, that was exactly my thinking. (About circumflexes, etc. I can't recall what the capitalization was in the original. I'm down with the capitalization as it is.)
and, further, on 2005-06-10 8:20:21.0, Matt Weiner commented:
Now I'm scared.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 9:29:44.0, tammy commented:
Please, let me lay any uncertainty to rest.
Bordeaux = a region of France. Technically plural, maybe, but historically singular. A wine from Bordeaux is a Bordeaux. If you want to pluralize it it is also Bordeaux. Château, on the other hand (with or without the accent, as you like; M-W would have it with), ought to be pluralized in the usual English way, being fully an English word. (I will not argue on this point.) The circumflex doesn't necessarily make it a French word; it is part of the spelling that happens, apparently, to have been borrowed into English.
As for the capitaliazation, I could see a stylesheet, especially for a magazine, calling for titles to be capitalized headline style and subtitles capitalized sentence style.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 9:32:23.0, ben wolfson commented:
At least we can still get 'em on self-consistency grounds.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 9:35:38.0, Matt Weiner commented:
Circumflex in English? Sheesh.
Well, I think that settles the question, and my ignorance of the singularity of 'Bordeaux' is quite culpable. It's only irredeemable pettiness that leads me to point out that you said 'capitaliazation'.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 9:36:04.0, Matt Weiner commented:
(Or, trying to save Ben from getting in trouble by pointing out the same thing.)
and, further, on 2005-06-10 10:39:15.0, Adam Kotsko commented:
Count me as part of the Wolfson-Weiner coalition! Pluralize it with an X if you're going to do the circumflex.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 10:49:55.0, Matt Weiner commented:
Pluralize it with an X If you have the circumflex Pluralize it with an S If on Friday you confess Pluralize it with a Z If perverse is what you be Pluralize it with a smile If you think it's worth your while
and, further, on 2005-06-10 10:52:00.0, ben wolfson commented:
I got MUCH châteauz.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 10:57:16.0, tammy commented:
Here's the thing though, if you spell it "châteaux," do you pronounce the [z] sound at the end? I think it would be ridiculous not to. You have to, because it's English! Likewise you have to pluralize with an s, because it's English. If a little accent is going to lead you astray, leave it out.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 11:04:16.0, apostropher commented:
Haiku only has three lines, Matt.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 11:20:47.0, Matt Weiner commented:
Bridgeplate appreciates me!
and, further, on 2005-06-10 0:21:08.0, Standpipe Bridgeplate commented:
Matt roulx.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 14:20:40.0, dave zacuto commented:
Haiku only HAVE three lines.
and, further, on 2005-06-10 16:34:24.0, rone commented:
three lines hath haiku, a seasonal reference, and five-seven-five
and, further, on 2005-06-13 21:32:15.0, apostropher commented:
Haiku, the poetic form, only has three lines.