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gmw · 10-31-2015, 09:18 AM

King Kong, you big old alpha male bloke. Here, have some bananas.
King Kong - you big old alpha male bloke - here, have some bananas.

And I'm wondering about all those adjectives. Should there be commas? You big, old, alpha, male, bloke. (There's a rule about when such adjectives do not require commas that I can't bring to mind right now - anyone else remember it?) Or, indeed, whether it should be "alpha-male" rather than "alpha male" or "alpha, male" in this context? Then there's the question of whether the tautology of "male bloke" is acceptable? I'd be inclined to use "you misbegotten alpha male ape".

There, doesn't that help just soooo much?!

First Officer in Charge of Confusion.

10-31-2015, 09:18 AM	#15
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	King Kong, you big old alpha male bloke. Here, have some bananas. King Kong - you big old alpha male bloke - here, have some bananas. And I'm wondering about all those adjectives. Should there be commas? You big, old, alpha, male, bloke. (There's a rule about when such adjectives do not require commas that I can't bring to mind right now - anyone else remember it?) Or, indeed, whether it should be "alpha-male" rather than "alpha male" or "alpha, male" in this context? Then there's the question of whether the tautology of "male bloke" is acceptable? I'd be inclined to use "you misbegotten alpha male ape". There, doesn't that help just soooo much?! First Officer in Charge of Confusion. Last edited by gmw; 10-31-2015 at 09:22 AM.