Re: off topic: Grammer Question

["Patricia M. Godfrey" PriscaMG@xxxxxxxx]

Caballero wrote:
> There are some English phrases that leave so much unclear that the
> translator simply needs to know more than the bare words can deliver
> (e.g., "invariable false calculation trap routine").
Ah, yes. I once was editing some prose that contained the phrase "a
calibrated tungsten filament lamp." Wishing to know how to hyphenate
it, I queried the subject editor thus:
Is this
a lamp with a filament of calibrated tungsten?
a calibrated lamp with a tungsten filament?
a filament lamp (whatever that might be) made of calibrated tungsten?
He was not amused. Nor did he answer my question. Not in any way
printable, at least.
Patricia M. Godfrey