Can “Christmas” be used as an adjective in “Christmas-colored”?
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
I was just wondering whether I can write:
Christmas-colored stockings
I know that Christmas can be a modifier as in Christmas gift, but can
it be used as an adjective in Christmas-colored?
adjectives parts-of-speech modifiers christmas
edited 5 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290463
asked Dec 14 '15 at 22:05
Curiousstudent
54611125
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
I was just wondering whether I can write:
Christmas-colored stockings
I know that Christmas can be a modifier as in Christmas gift, but can
it be used as an adjective in Christmas-colored?
adjectives parts-of-speech modifiers christmas
edited 5 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290463
asked Dec 14 '15 at 22:05
Curiousstudent
54611125
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
– tchrist♦
8 mins ago
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
I was just wondering whether I can write:
Christmas-colored stockings
I know that Christmas can be a modifier as in Christmas gift, but can
it be used as an adjective in Christmas-colored?
adjectives parts-of-speech modifiers christmas
edited 5 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290463
asked Dec 14 '15 at 22:05
Curiousstudent
54611125
I was just wondering whether I can write:
Christmas-colored stockings
I know that Christmas can be a modifier as in Christmas gift, but can
it be used as an adjective in Christmas-colored?
adjectives parts-of-speech modifiers christmas
adjectives parts-of-speech modifiers christmas
edited 5 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290463
asked Dec 14 '15 at 22:05
Curiousstudent
54611125
edited 5 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290463
asked Dec 14 '15 at 22:05
Curiousstudent
54611125
edited 5 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290463
edited 5 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290463
edited 5 mins ago
tchrist♦
108k28290463
108k28290463
asked Dec 14 '15 at 22:05
Curiousstudent
54611125
asked Dec 14 '15 at 22:05
Curiousstudent
54611125
asked Dec 14 '15 at 22:05
Curiousstudent
54611125
54611125
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
– tchrist♦
8 mins ago
add a comment |
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
– tchrist♦
8 mins ago
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
– tchrist♦
8 mins ago
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
– tchrist♦
8 mins ago
add a comment |
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
up vote
5
down vote
accepted
Christmas colors are red and green, I believe, throughout the West, with white, silver, or gold often accompanying them, and in modern times other colors as well. Christmas-colored would be understood as such, hence you can find Christmas-colored flames, and so on. But I wouldn't recommend it in general.
Most things described as X-colored are tinted in a single color—
- brick-coloured ribbons
- cherry-colored scarf
- mud-coloured streets
- sky-colored bra
- rose-colored glasses
— or in a handful of very similar colors, e.g. desert-coloured animals. If multiple colors of a single X are intended, they tend to be specified— red, white, and blue-colored cocktails.
You can certainly invoke other imagery in narrative, referencing the appearance of a set of colors: kaleidoscope-coloured ornaments, confetti-colored lumber. In literary writing, I would take no issue with the appearance of Christmas-colored stockings. But in more general communication, I would prefer stockings in Christmas colors, and would name the specific colors in business and other communication where precision is preferable, especially in cross-cultural settings.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38
Community♦
1
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:26
choster
36.2k1482133
Can't we refer to a design palette of colors in a one word singular name, and refer to objects that use those colors as "palettename colored"? I am reminded of this: forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ljli/…
– user662852
Dec 15 '15 at 2:15
Since those are direct quotes, do the rules on referencing require source attribution of the author's name in plain text? Or are they so short that it doesn't matter in this case?
– ErikE
Dec 15 '15 at 4:55
The color gold is often associated with Christmas too.
– Mari-Lou A
Dec 15 '15 at 14:08
add a comment |
up vote
7
down vote
Yes (but you do have to know what you are meaning!)
Some examples ...
'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale;
'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer
The poor man's heart through half the year.
~Walter Scott
I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. ~Harlan Miller
Christmas cheer.
Christmas Shopping.
Christmas TV special.
Whose heart doth hold the Christmas glow
Hath little need of Mistletoe;
Who bears a smiling grace of mien
Need waste no time on wreaths of green;
Whose lips have words of comfort spread
Needs not the holly-berries red—
His very presence scatters wide
The spirit of the Christmastide.
~John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922)
Christmas lists for gifts and cards.
The Christmas season has come to mean the period when the public plays Santa Claus to the merchants. ~John Andrew Holmes
The Christmas bells from hill to hill
Answer each other in the mist.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?
~Author Unknown
Christmas gift suggestions...
answered Dec 14 '15 at 22:44
Dan
14.8k32157
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
If you mean whether the noun Christmas can be the first element of a compound noun see Oald Christmas; especially the box "All matches".
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/christmas?q=Christmas
answered Dec 17 '15 at 14:27
rogermue
11.7k41647
add a comment |
up vote
-1
down vote
No. Christmas is a noun. Your example "Christmas colored stockings" has a compound adjective "Christmas colored", made up of the noun "Christmas" and the adjective "colored" (or perhaps it's a participle). Like any ordinary adjective, this compound adjective is equivalent to a relative clause: "which are Christmas colored". "To be Christmas colored", in turn, means to have the colors of Christmas.
I see no reason anywhere in this derivation to make "Christmas" anything other than a noun.
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:17
Greg Lee
14.1k2829
It bugs me that this, the right answer, has been grossly under-appreciated by our community. You're spot on identifying this as having started out life as a reduced clause. Indeed a great many compound adjectives ending in a “participle-looking” word (Penn Treebank's VBN or VBG) were originally relative clauses of some sort, their connecting words whittled away and a shiny hyphen added, so that they could then be conveniently used as adjectives. Christmas-hating grinches, cherry-colored cheeks, hand-colored orbs, hand-written letters.
– tchrist♦
10 mins ago
add a comment |
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4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
5
down vote
accepted
Christmas colors are red and green, I believe, throughout the West, with white, silver, or gold often accompanying them, and in modern times other colors as well. Christmas-colored would be understood as such, hence you can find Christmas-colored flames, and so on. But I wouldn't recommend it in general.
Most things described as X-colored are tinted in a single color—
- brick-coloured ribbons
- cherry-colored scarf
- mud-coloured streets
- sky-colored bra
- rose-colored glasses
— or in a handful of very similar colors, e.g. desert-coloured animals. If multiple colors of a single X are intended, they tend to be specified— red, white, and blue-colored cocktails.
You can certainly invoke other imagery in narrative, referencing the appearance of a set of colors: kaleidoscope-coloured ornaments, confetti-colored lumber. In literary writing, I would take no issue with the appearance of Christmas-colored stockings. But in more general communication, I would prefer stockings in Christmas colors, and would name the specific colors in business and other communication where precision is preferable, especially in cross-cultural settings.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38
Community♦
1
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:26
choster
36.2k1482133
Can't we refer to a design palette of colors in a one word singular name, and refer to objects that use those colors as "palettename colored"? I am reminded of this: forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ljli/…
– user662852
Dec 15 '15 at 2:15
Since those are direct quotes, do the rules on referencing require source attribution of the author's name in plain text? Or are they so short that it doesn't matter in this case?
– ErikE
Dec 15 '15 at 4:55
The color gold is often associated with Christmas too.
– Mari-Lou A
Dec 15 '15 at 14:08
add a comment |
up vote
5
down vote
accepted
Christmas colors are red and green, I believe, throughout the West, with white, silver, or gold often accompanying them, and in modern times other colors as well. Christmas-colored would be understood as such, hence you can find Christmas-colored flames, and so on. But I wouldn't recommend it in general.
Most things described as X-colored are tinted in a single color—
- brick-coloured ribbons
- cherry-colored scarf
- mud-coloured streets
- sky-colored bra
- rose-colored glasses
— or in a handful of very similar colors, e.g. desert-coloured animals. If multiple colors of a single X are intended, they tend to be specified— red, white, and blue-colored cocktails.
You can certainly invoke other imagery in narrative, referencing the appearance of a set of colors: kaleidoscope-coloured ornaments, confetti-colored lumber. In literary writing, I would take no issue with the appearance of Christmas-colored stockings. But in more general communication, I would prefer stockings in Christmas colors, and would name the specific colors in business and other communication where precision is preferable, especially in cross-cultural settings.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38
Community♦
1
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:26
choster
36.2k1482133
Can't we refer to a design palette of colors in a one word singular name, and refer to objects that use those colors as "palettename colored"? I am reminded of this: forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ljli/…
– user662852
Dec 15 '15 at 2:15
Since those are direct quotes, do the rules on referencing require source attribution of the author's name in plain text? Or are they so short that it doesn't matter in this case?
– ErikE
Dec 15 '15 at 4:55
The color gold is often associated with Christmas too.
– Mari-Lou A
Dec 15 '15 at 14:08
add a comment |
up vote
5
down vote
accepted
up vote
5
down vote
accepted
Christmas colors are red and green, I believe, throughout the West, with white, silver, or gold often accompanying them, and in modern times other colors as well. Christmas-colored would be understood as such, hence you can find Christmas-colored flames, and so on. But I wouldn't recommend it in general.
Most things described as X-colored are tinted in a single color—
- brick-coloured ribbons
- cherry-colored scarf
- mud-coloured streets
- sky-colored bra
- rose-colored glasses
— or in a handful of very similar colors, e.g. desert-coloured animals. If multiple colors of a single X are intended, they tend to be specified— red, white, and blue-colored cocktails.
You can certainly invoke other imagery in narrative, referencing the appearance of a set of colors: kaleidoscope-coloured ornaments, confetti-colored lumber. In literary writing, I would take no issue with the appearance of Christmas-colored stockings. But in more general communication, I would prefer stockings in Christmas colors, and would name the specific colors in business and other communication where precision is preferable, especially in cross-cultural settings.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38
Community♦
1
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:26
choster
36.2k1482133
Christmas colors are red and green, I believe, throughout the West, with white, silver, or gold often accompanying them, and in modern times other colors as well. Christmas-colored would be understood as such, hence you can find Christmas-colored flames, and so on. But I wouldn't recommend it in general.
Most things described as X-colored are tinted in a single color—
- brick-coloured ribbons
- cherry-colored scarf
- mud-coloured streets
- sky-colored bra
- rose-colored glasses
— or in a handful of very similar colors, e.g. desert-coloured animals. If multiple colors of a single X are intended, they tend to be specified— red, white, and blue-colored cocktails.
You can certainly invoke other imagery in narrative, referencing the appearance of a set of colors: kaleidoscope-coloured ornaments, confetti-colored lumber. In literary writing, I would take no issue with the appearance of Christmas-colored stockings. But in more general communication, I would prefer stockings in Christmas colors, and would name the specific colors in business and other communication where precision is preferable, especially in cross-cultural settings.
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38
Community♦
1
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:26
choster
36.2k1482133
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38
Community♦
1
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38
Community♦
1
edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:38
Community♦
1
1
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:26
choster
36.2k1482133
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:26
choster
36.2k1482133
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:26
choster
36.2k1482133
36.2k1482133
Can't we refer to a design palette of colors in a one word singular name, and refer to objects that use those colors as "palettename colored"? I am reminded of this: forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ljli/…
– user662852
Dec 15 '15 at 2:15
Since those are direct quotes, do the rules on referencing require source attribution of the author's name in plain text? Or are they so short that it doesn't matter in this case?
– ErikE
Dec 15 '15 at 4:55
The color gold is often associated with Christmas too.
– Mari-Lou A
Dec 15 '15 at 14:08
add a comment |
Can't we refer to a design palette of colors in a one word singular name, and refer to objects that use those colors as "palettename colored"? I am reminded of this: forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ljli/…
– user662852
Dec 15 '15 at 2:15
Since those are direct quotes, do the rules on referencing require source attribution of the author's name in plain text? Or are they so short that it doesn't matter in this case?
– ErikE
Dec 15 '15 at 4:55
The color gold is often associated with Christmas too.
– Mari-Lou A
Dec 15 '15 at 14:08
Can't we refer to a design palette of colors in a one word singular name, and refer to objects that use those colors as "palettename colored"? I am reminded of this: forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ljli/…
– user662852
Dec 15 '15 at 2:15
Can't we refer to a design palette of colors in a one word singular name, and refer to objects that use those colors as "palettename colored"? I am reminded of this: forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ljli/…
– user662852
Dec 15 '15 at 2:15
Since those are direct quotes, do the rules on referencing require source attribution of the author's name in plain text? Or are they so short that it doesn't matter in this case?
– ErikE
Dec 15 '15 at 4:55
Since those are direct quotes, do the rules on referencing require source attribution of the author's name in plain text? Or are they so short that it doesn't matter in this case?
– ErikE
Dec 15 '15 at 4:55
The color gold is often associated with Christmas too.
– Mari-Lou A
Dec 15 '15 at 14:08
The color gold is often associated with Christmas too.
– Mari-Lou A
Dec 15 '15 at 14:08
add a comment |
up vote
7
down vote
Yes (but you do have to know what you are meaning!)
Some examples ...
'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale;
'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer
The poor man's heart through half the year.
~Walter Scott
I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. ~Harlan Miller
Christmas cheer.
Christmas Shopping.
Christmas TV special.
Whose heart doth hold the Christmas glow
Hath little need of Mistletoe;
Who bears a smiling grace of mien
Need waste no time on wreaths of green;
Whose lips have words of comfort spread
Needs not the holly-berries red—
His very presence scatters wide
The spirit of the Christmastide.
~John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922)
Christmas lists for gifts and cards.
The Christmas season has come to mean the period when the public plays Santa Claus to the merchants. ~John Andrew Holmes
The Christmas bells from hill to hill
Answer each other in the mist.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?
~Author Unknown
Christmas gift suggestions...
answered Dec 14 '15 at 22:44
Dan
14.8k32157
add a comment |
up vote
7
down vote
Yes (but you do have to know what you are meaning!)
Some examples ...
'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale;
'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer
The poor man's heart through half the year.
~Walter Scott
I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. ~Harlan Miller
Christmas cheer.
Christmas Shopping.
Christmas TV special.
Whose heart doth hold the Christmas glow
Hath little need of Mistletoe;
Who bears a smiling grace of mien
Need waste no time on wreaths of green;
Whose lips have words of comfort spread
Needs not the holly-berries red—
His very presence scatters wide
The spirit of the Christmastide.
~John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922)
Christmas lists for gifts and cards.
The Christmas season has come to mean the period when the public plays Santa Claus to the merchants. ~John Andrew Holmes
The Christmas bells from hill to hill
Answer each other in the mist.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?
~Author Unknown
Christmas gift suggestions...
answered Dec 14 '15 at 22:44
Dan
14.8k32157
add a comment |
up vote
7
down vote
up vote
7
down vote
Yes (but you do have to know what you are meaning!)
Some examples ...
'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale;
'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer
The poor man's heart through half the year.
~Walter Scott
I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. ~Harlan Miller
Christmas cheer.
Christmas Shopping.
Christmas TV special.
Whose heart doth hold the Christmas glow
Hath little need of Mistletoe;
Who bears a smiling grace of mien
Need waste no time on wreaths of green;
Whose lips have words of comfort spread
Needs not the holly-berries red—
His very presence scatters wide
The spirit of the Christmastide.
~John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922)
Christmas lists for gifts and cards.
The Christmas season has come to mean the period when the public plays Santa Claus to the merchants. ~John Andrew Holmes
The Christmas bells from hill to hill
Answer each other in the mist.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?
~Author Unknown
Christmas gift suggestions...
answered Dec 14 '15 at 22:44
Dan
14.8k32157
Yes (but you do have to know what you are meaning!)
Some examples ...
'Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale;
'Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer
The poor man's heart through half the year.
~Walter Scott
I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month. ~Harlan Miller
Christmas cheer.
Christmas Shopping.
Christmas TV special.
Whose heart doth hold the Christmas glow
Hath little need of Mistletoe;
Who bears a smiling grace of mien
Need waste no time on wreaths of green;
Whose lips have words of comfort spread
Needs not the holly-berries red—
His very presence scatters wide
The spirit of the Christmastide.
~John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922)
Christmas lists for gifts and cards.
The Christmas season has come to mean the period when the public plays Santa Claus to the merchants. ~John Andrew Holmes
The Christmas bells from hill to hill
Answer each other in the mist.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?
~Author Unknown
Christmas gift suggestions...
answered Dec 14 '15 at 22:44
Dan
14.8k32157
answered Dec 14 '15 at 22:44
Dan
14.8k32157
answered Dec 14 '15 at 22:44
Dan
14.8k32157
answered Dec 14 '15 at 22:44
Dan
14.8k32157
14.8k32157
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
If you mean whether the noun Christmas can be the first element of a compound noun see Oald Christmas; especially the box "All matches".
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/christmas?q=Christmas
answered Dec 17 '15 at 14:27
rogermue
11.7k41647
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
If you mean whether the noun Christmas can be the first element of a compound noun see Oald Christmas; especially the box "All matches".
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/christmas?q=Christmas
answered Dec 17 '15 at 14:27
rogermue
11.7k41647
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
If you mean whether the noun Christmas can be the first element of a compound noun see Oald Christmas; especially the box "All matches".
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/christmas?q=Christmas
answered Dec 17 '15 at 14:27
rogermue
11.7k41647
If you mean whether the noun Christmas can be the first element of a compound noun see Oald Christmas; especially the box "All matches".
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/christmas?q=Christmas
answered Dec 17 '15 at 14:27
rogermue
11.7k41647
answered Dec 17 '15 at 14:27
rogermue
11.7k41647
answered Dec 17 '15 at 14:27
rogermue
11.7k41647
answered Dec 17 '15 at 14:27
rogermue
11.7k41647
11.7k41647
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
-1
down vote
No. Christmas is a noun. Your example "Christmas colored stockings" has a compound adjective "Christmas colored", made up of the noun "Christmas" and the adjective "colored" (or perhaps it's a participle). Like any ordinary adjective, this compound adjective is equivalent to a relative clause: "which are Christmas colored". "To be Christmas colored", in turn, means to have the colors of Christmas.
I see no reason anywhere in this derivation to make "Christmas" anything other than a noun.
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:17
Greg Lee
14.1k2829
It bugs me that this, the right answer, has been grossly under-appreciated by our community. You're spot on identifying this as having started out life as a reduced clause. Indeed a great many compound adjectives ending in a “participle-looking” word (Penn Treebank's VBN or VBG) were originally relative clauses of some sort, their connecting words whittled away and a shiny hyphen added, so that they could then be conveniently used as adjectives. Christmas-hating grinches, cherry-colored cheeks, hand-colored orbs, hand-written letters.
– tchrist♦
10 mins ago
add a comment |
up vote
-1
down vote
No. Christmas is a noun. Your example "Christmas colored stockings" has a compound adjective "Christmas colored", made up of the noun "Christmas" and the adjective "colored" (or perhaps it's a participle). Like any ordinary adjective, this compound adjective is equivalent to a relative clause: "which are Christmas colored". "To be Christmas colored", in turn, means to have the colors of Christmas.
I see no reason anywhere in this derivation to make "Christmas" anything other than a noun.
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:17
Greg Lee
14.1k2829
It bugs me that this, the right answer, has been grossly under-appreciated by our community. You're spot on identifying this as having started out life as a reduced clause. Indeed a great many compound adjectives ending in a “participle-looking” word (Penn Treebank's VBN or VBG) were originally relative clauses of some sort, their connecting words whittled away and a shiny hyphen added, so that they could then be conveniently used as adjectives. Christmas-hating grinches, cherry-colored cheeks, hand-colored orbs, hand-written letters.
– tchrist♦
10 mins ago
add a comment |
up vote
-1
down vote
up vote
-1
down vote
No. Christmas is a noun. Your example "Christmas colored stockings" has a compound adjective "Christmas colored", made up of the noun "Christmas" and the adjective "colored" (or perhaps it's a participle). Like any ordinary adjective, this compound adjective is equivalent to a relative clause: "which are Christmas colored". "To be Christmas colored", in turn, means to have the colors of Christmas.
I see no reason anywhere in this derivation to make "Christmas" anything other than a noun.
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:17
Greg Lee
14.1k2829
No. Christmas is a noun. Your example "Christmas colored stockings" has a compound adjective "Christmas colored", made up of the noun "Christmas" and the adjective "colored" (or perhaps it's a participle). Like any ordinary adjective, this compound adjective is equivalent to a relative clause: "which are Christmas colored". "To be Christmas colored", in turn, means to have the colors of Christmas.
I see no reason anywhere in this derivation to make "Christmas" anything other than a noun.
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:17
Greg Lee
14.1k2829
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:17
Greg Lee
14.1k2829
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:17
Greg Lee
14.1k2829
answered Dec 14 '15 at 23:17
Greg Lee
14.1k2829
14.1k2829
It bugs me that this, the right answer, has been grossly under-appreciated by our community. You're spot on identifying this as having started out life as a reduced clause. Indeed a great many compound adjectives ending in a “participle-looking” word (Penn Treebank's VBN or VBG) were originally relative clauses of some sort, their connecting words whittled away and a shiny hyphen added, so that they could then be conveniently used as adjectives. Christmas-hating grinches, cherry-colored cheeks, hand-colored orbs, hand-written letters.
– tchrist♦
10 mins ago
add a comment |
It bugs me that this, the right answer, has been grossly under-appreciated by our community. You're spot on identifying this as having started out life as a reduced clause. Indeed a great many compound adjectives ending in a “participle-looking” word (Penn Treebank's VBN or VBG) were originally relative clauses of some sort, their connecting words whittled away and a shiny hyphen added, so that they could then be conveniently used as adjectives. Christmas-hating grinches, cherry-colored cheeks, hand-colored orbs, hand-written letters.
– tchrist♦
10 mins ago
It bugs me that this, the right answer, has been grossly under-appreciated by our community. You're spot on identifying this as having started out life as a reduced clause. Indeed a great many compound adjectives ending in a “participle-looking” word (Penn Treebank's VBN or VBG) were originally relative clauses of some sort, their connecting words whittled away and a shiny hyphen added, so that they could then be conveniently used as adjectives. Christmas-hating grinches, cherry-colored cheeks, hand-colored orbs, hand-written letters.
– tchrist♦
10 mins ago
It bugs me that this, the right answer, has been grossly under-appreciated by our community. You're spot on identifying this as having started out life as a reduced clause. Indeed a great many compound adjectives ending in a “participle-looking” word (Penn Treebank's VBN or VBG) were originally relative clauses of some sort, their connecting words whittled away and a shiny hyphen added, so that they could then be conveniently used as adjectives. Christmas-hating grinches, cherry-colored cheeks, hand-colored orbs, hand-written letters.
– tchrist♦
10 mins ago
add a comment |
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– tchrist♦
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