You're misreading (< i x) as "is smaller than i x". < means the "the list is in ascending order", and > means "the list is in descending order". i < x is using

You're misreading (< i x) as "is smaller than i x". < means the "the list is in ascending order", and > means "the list is in descending order". i < x is using a binary infix operator but (< a b c) is calling a variadic function. I think trying to mangle the natural language description of the former to describe the latter is a mistake. I also think that comparing programming language grammar to natural language grammar isn't helpful at all. Fluency is moving beyond the point of having to translate everything to your native language in your head on the fly.