Sure, Padre, you can say what is right and what is wrong, but I don't have to believe you or heed you. I, too, am free to say what is right and what is wrong, and you, too, are free to ignore me. Got that? Good.
I said that hyphens would not resolve the ambiguity which I pointed out earlier in this thread. They won't you know and quoting me out of context doesn't help your case. Quoting Fowler didn't help either. But let me repeat myself: hyphens will not resolve any of the ambiguities I pointed out in the two phrases earlier in this thread. Capisce? Bene.
I own both the first and the second editions of Fowlers. I like the first one better on account of its style. You like the second better because that's what you were exposed to at high school. Many disparage the second for reasons other than its style. I am not one of those critics. In another thread on AWADtalk, ipse dixit and argumentum ad verecundiam were brought up, and I thought I'd just take a little verbal jab at you and Fowler being hyphen authorities to be heeded. Sorry it went awry. I apologize to you and everybody here for any bruised feelings that I may have caused.
