stupid fault

Question

Odd position for a modifier?'It's your own stupid fault that she left!'

Rover_KE · Accepted Answer

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It's commonly heard and sounds fine to me.

Anonymous · Answer

But what does it modify?

Rover_KE · Answer

'Stupid' modifies 'fault'.

Anonymous · Answer

How can a fault be stupid?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousHow can a fault be stupid?

It's syntactically stupid — not literally semantically stupid.

I'm sick of working on this stupid computer. I'm going to get a new one.
This stupid switch doesn't work. I can't get the light to go on.
We can't hire him. He makes too many stupid mistakes.

So a fault can be stupid in the same way that a joke can be sick.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

It's the doer that stupid, not the fault.

Anonymous · Answer

A teacher friend has just emailed me to say that the adjective modifies the addressee. It seem right, but an odd placement of the modifier.

Rover_KE · Answer

`
I'd call 'stupid fault' a transferred epithet.

Anonymous · Answer

Rover_KE`I'd call 'stupid fault' a transferred epithet.

But what is transferred?

Rover_KE · Answer

'Stupid' is transferred from 'you' to 'fault'.

stupid fault

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