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EditorMark commented on the word crash blossom
Crash blossom has been defined by Language Log as an "infelicitously worded headline that leads the reader down the garden path." Its etymology dates to a discussion on the Testy Copy Editors discussion board (http://www.testycopyeditors.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=11134), inspired by this confusing headline: Violinist linked to JAL crash blossoms. Another excellent example from Language Log (from an AP-written headline):McDonald's fries the holy grail for potato farmers.
September 25, 2009
sionnach commented on the word crash blossom
as seen here
“McDonald’s fries the holy grail for potato farmers"
October 18, 2009
bilby commented on the word crash blossom
Excellent. VO will be pleased.
October 18, 2009
vanishedone commented on the word crash blossom
It's worrying to see so many examples in that article where the writers had quite a bit more space to play with than the BBC's headline writers, and still produced mangled results.
October 18, 2009
reesetee commented on the word crash blossom
New article on this phenomenon here.
February 5, 2010
kawy commented on the word crash blossom
Defining crash blossom.
March 7, 2011