Alert reader Tami Morrison sent me the following picture from her iPhone.
Now, there are several things wrong with this picture:
1. Despite what the sign says, this milk is in a box, not a can.
2. When milk is dry, nonfat, and instant (when I think "wet" at least is an essential characteristic), when does it cease to be milk?
3. If this "milk" were in a can, you still would never call it "can milk."
You see, "can milk" is either just two nouns sitting side by side, with little or nothing to do with each other, or it is a partial question: "Can milk?" (And if you're President Obama, your answer to that question would be "YES Milk Can!") I'm not sure what Alberson's was thinking, but they need a stern talking to. Maybe Obama could take care of that one, while he's at it.
This discussion brings up another pair of nouns that is commonly misused in the scrapbooking world: "pattern paper." The correct term is "patterned paper." Why? Because the "-ed" plays the vital role of turning the noun "pattern" into an adjective that describes "paper." Likewise, you say "striped sweater" instead of "stripe sweater" and "bearded lady" instead of "beard lady."
A Sample Conversation
Obama: I need an inanimate object to do a favor for me.
Angie: Can milk?
Obama: Yes, milk can!
Not Okay
can milk
beard lady
stripe sweater
pattern paper
Okay
canned milk
bearded lady
striped sweater
patterned paper
