Newspaper headlines such as "Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years" may strike us as funny.From the perspective of language,this is because the phrase or headline
A)lacks subject-verb agreement.
B)has no literal interpretation.
C)has ambiguous syntax.
D)is impossible to interpret.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The headline has ambiguous syntax, as it could be interpreted as the killer being sentenced to die for the second time in 10 years, or the killer being sentenced to die for the second time, and the first time was 10 years ago. The lack of clarity in the syntax makes the headline amusing.

Newspaper Headlines Such as "Killer Sentenced to Die for Second