OK, so compare “BLUE-CAR person” with “CLOWN-car person”. They still seem different to me. (I didn’t downvote, though I wouldn’t blame people if they downvoted this entire sub-conversation for pedantry.)
I would note that the original point was specifically about the use of the hyphen; there is no need for an example to match the case of interest in every aspect in order to be illustrative of the relevant aspect(s).
though I wouldn’t blame people if they downvoted this entire sub-conversation for pedantry
I don’t think that’s a fair characterization. No one was correcting anyone’s grammar. This sub-conversation began with an inquiry by Alicorn about a particular individual’s usage habits. If your implication is that the details of language are somehow not as “worthy” a subject for discussion on LW as many other similarly “esoteric” subjects discussed here, I protest.
OK, so compare “BLUE-CAR person” with “CLOWN-car person”. They still seem different to me. (I didn’t downvote, though I wouldn’t blame people if they downvoted this entire sub-conversation for pedantry.)
I would note that the original point was specifically about the use of the hyphen; there is no need for an example to match the case of interest in every aspect in order to be illustrative of the relevant aspect(s).
I don’t think that’s a fair characterization. No one was correcting anyone’s grammar. This sub-conversation began with an inquiry by Alicorn about a particular individual’s usage habits. If your implication is that the details of language are somehow not as “worthy” a subject for discussion on LW as many other similarly “esoteric” subjects discussed here, I protest.