https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d Share examples of ambiguous newspaper headlines you've seen/read. Try to focus on structural ambiguity, where it's not about a word having multiple meanings but about unclarity in which words group together (see Sherlock Holmes example in 7.1). You could also share a joke that relies on structural ambiguity. en-us 2016-11-04 18:25:00 UTC 2025-09-26 06:21:54 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Lightdecrease.png https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/294578963 I don't know if this counts as a "joke", but it's my favorite thing to share with students when we talk about the importance of word order. 
Take the following sentence: "She told him she loved him" and insert the word "only" in different places in the sentence. It creates a whole new meaning in each place. "Only she told him she loved him," "She only told him she loved him," "She told only him she loved him," etc. ]]> 2018-10-18 19:18:47 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/294578963 jkotula01 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/294757935 The headline is supposed to mean that the Queen Mother tried to help a girl who was being abused. However, in the way that the words are placed it seems as if the Queen Mother is actually contributing to the cause of abusing the girl. I think it would have been more clear if they had added the past tense suffix to "abuse."  Source: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?cat=118 ]]> 2018-10-19 11:23:05 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/294757935 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295119944 “McDonald’s Fries the Holy Grail for Potato Farmers.” 

I'm not convinced that there is a problem here with syntax, as some would have it. The word "fries", if used as a verb, makes the sentence anti-religious, which is not what the writer intended. I say that it might not technically be a problem having to do with syntax because if a simple colon is inserted immediately after the word "Fries", the sentence makes total sense. So as I see it, the problem here is one of faulty punctuation]]> 2018-10-20 21:47:25 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295119944 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295191444 I think this one is more about the structural ambiguity than the meaning of the word "dies," but not completely sure. You could read it as a farmer named Bill dies in a house, or as a piece of legislation that does not pass in the House of Representatives.]]> 2018-10-21 15:34:02 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295191444 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295717666
I think there are a few ways this could be interpreted. Was there an attack during the Ebola outbreak, that stalled work? Was there a successful attack on "Ebola outbreak stalls?" Of course the correct meaning is that there was an attack on a center for Ebola patients, which stalled work.]]> 2018-10-22 22:21:26 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295717666 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295735980 I love this one. It could mean more lies (verb) ahead regarding the budget, or more lies (e.g, untruths) ahead.

Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
This could mean the chef literally threw his own heart into the food to feed the needy or he figuratively became very involved with the cause.

Joke:
Q: What type of sickness is common to catch in airports?
A: A terminal illness
(and yes, I made this one up. :-)
--Caroline]]> 2018-10-23 00:17:40 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295735980 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295749479 This could be read to mean that the two individuals physically entered (walked into) the Country Music Hall of Fame. Rather, it is intended to mean that they two musicians were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.]]> 2018-10-23 01:21:40 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/295749479 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/296077285 A School of Education lecture? Or a kid helping out her elder?]]> 2018-10-23 17:05:39 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/296077285 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/296268033 I still remember the time my high school boyfriend labeled some leftovers in the refrigerator (his father was allergic to seafood.)  He could have labeled the leftovers: "Shrimp -- don't eat, Dad" meaning, watch out, Dad, these leftovers contain shrimp. However, without any punctuation, I couldn't help thinking he was telling the shrimp not to eat his father: "Shrimp, don't eat Dad!" ]]> 2018-10-24 03:00:04 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/296268033 https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/296714192 The article is supposed to reflect the police helping a victim who was bit by a dog, however it could also mean that the police helped a dog to bite a victim.]]> 2018-10-24 23:03:38 UTC https://padlet.com/berg1207/gqit8cf9sf1d/wish/296714192