Blogger and Posner Differ Over Grammar Question, Agree on Pun

Blogger Howard Bashman and Judge Richard Posner of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are debating an issue, but it doesn’t involve a weighty legal question. Instead, it concerns a grammar question.

Now a linguistics professor is weighing in on the dispute, and he’s supporting Bashman’s view, Bashman writes on his blog How Appealing.

The dispute concerns this passage from a Posner opinion about whether an “ostrich” jury instruction was appropriate: “The reference of course is to the legend that ostriches when frightened bury their head in the sand. It is pure legend and a canard on a very distinguished bird.” Is the correct word “head” or “heads”?

Bashman politely questioned the use of the singular “head” in a post on June 25. Posner noticed, and sent an equally polite e-mail, saying, “Dear Prof. Bashman, to say ‘ostriches hide their heads in the sand’ would imply that each ostrich had more than one head.”

Now Bashman notes a blog entry on Language Log by linguistics professor Mark Liberman of the University of Pennsylvania. Liberman concludes that the plural “heads” is more widely used and clearer. Another jurist who used the plural construction is Justice Antonin Scalia, Liberman writes. In Lee v. Weisman, Scalia referred to President Bush’s request that those attending his inauguration “bow their heads” and pray.

Posner later posted a comment to this entry, which starts out: "I admit to being shaken, primarily by the awful thought of those poor ostriches sharing a single head among them. And here I was trying to enhance the ostriches' image. But seriously I don't think there's actually a rule, in English at any rate, or at least a simple either-or rule, to govern the choice between the singular and the plural."

Bashman and Posner agree on another issue: Posner’s reference to the “canard” about ostriches burying their heads is a humorous play on the word, which is derived from the French word for "duck." Posner added a P.S. in his note to Bashman, saying, “And yes, canards fly—glad you caught the pun.”

Updated at 4:28 p.m. to include Posner's additional comment.