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Did this headline make anyone else feel like they forgot how to read English overnight?
by DiggyJohnson 3y ago
Did this headline make anyone else feel like they forgot how to read English overnight?
- bemusedthrow75 3y agoNo, but I'm British. It doesn't help that the hyphen in "block-book" disappeared somewhere along the line in submission. That is somewhat idiomatic British english. And there's another British idiom here ("learner drivers"). But this (problem X as pattern Y) is a common British newspaper headline construction (pattern Y is suggested to be responsible for the context in which problem X is occurring). It is at least a mostly full sentence, though (if in note-form). US headline constructions often feel weird to us because they aren't. I imagine the US form of this headline might read something like: "Brokers dominate driving test bookings, applicants driven to black market"
- dfawcus 3y agoEnglish, by the English, for the English, as it is supposed to be used?
- YeGoblynQueenne 3y ago>> It doesn't help that the hyphen in "block-book" disappeared somewhere along the line in submission. Sorry, that was my edit of the title to make it fit exactly in the space allowed. The full title is: ‘An absolute mess’: learner drivers forced to buy tests on black market as companies block-book slots If I understand correctly, British newspapers are famous for their head-turning titles. Famous with the British public anyway.