Of ostriches’ heads
02 July 2008
Over the last few days, Howard Bashman and Judge Richard Posner have debated a singular-versus-plural question. It started with this sentence in a Posner opinion:
The reference of course is to the legend that ostriches when frightened bury their head in the sand.
Howard questioned Judge Posner’s use of the singular head:
And while we are debunking canards (which, by contrast, are birds that can fly), allow me to question the use of the singular “head” in the following sentence from Judge Posner's opinion: “The reference of course is to the legend that ostriches when frightened bury their head in the sand.”
To which Judge Posner replied:
Dear Prof. Bashman, to say “ostriches hide their heads in the sand” would imply that each ostrich had more than one head.
Richard Posner
P.S. And yes, canards fly—glad you caught the pun.
Who has the better end of this debate? According to linguistics professor Mark Liberman, Howard does. In a lengthy post on Language Log, he catalogs hundreds of years’ usage of head versus heads, and finds that heads heads head by more than 91:9.
As for myself, I agree with Howard: When in doubt, write around the problem. “The reference of course is to the legend that an ostrich when frightened buries its head in the sand.”