"Pope can't pray with wrist in cast" - uh, not quite

Sunday, July 19, 2009

That's the headline from a Huffington Post article here, about how Pope Benedict XVI has broken his wrist. The headline seems to be manufactured to create discussion though, because the claim isn't that he can't pray without a healthy wrist, but rather that the Pope can't "clasp his hands in prayer". It's the difference between not being able to study and not being able to study at one's favourite desk due to a hip injury.

The headline could actually be read in two different ways in English:

Pope can't - pray with wrist in cast (i.e. he can pray in other ways)
Pope can't pray - with (i.e. because) wrist in cast

Not as bad as one of those "eye drops off shelf" or "enraged cow injures farmer with axe" headlines, but still too vague.

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