A frozen microwave meal has a grammar error in the instructions. After initial microwaving it says to:
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://criticalfallibilism.com/food-packaging-grammar-error/
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://criticalfallibilism.com/food-packaging-grammar-error/
I couldn’t spot the grammar error. I was primed to read the sentence for errors so I didn’t look at the meaning much. But I also didn’t think the instructions were giving “stir” as a step. I read it as saying “peel back so that you have the option to stir”.
I tend to try and fill in the blanks as to what I think things should mean if something looks weird to me. That contributes to my challenges in trying to read stuff literally.
From article:
By the way, I don’t actually have a clear answer for whether “enough to stir” modifies “peel” or “back”. Is it telling you how far to peel or how far back?
My intuition is that “enough to stir” modifies “back”. Saying “peel enough to stir” sounds like it could also mean you’re peeling stuff to put into something that you’re going to stir. In this context, “back” seems like an important modifier for “peel” because by adding “back” the already makes it clear that you’re not peeling something all the way off. “Peel the lid” by itself sounds ambiguous to me. I don’t know whether to peel completely off or just peel it partially. Since “back” clarifies that I’m doing something partial, it also cues me to think that the “enough” is specifying the degree of a partial action.