Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 3 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
By JAMES J. KILPATRICK
This was the lead on a story in The Washington Post a year ago: "The secret is finally out: American homeowners have a lot more arguments — and less frequent sex — with their spouses than people who rent apartments or houses do with their spouses.”
That is the kind of sentence that is known in the writing trade as a "bljnker." We read it with fleeting comprehension, go on to the next paragraph, and come to a halt. How's that again? What did the man say? Can you "do" an argument? We have just blinked.
Negative constructions* turn into blinders all the time. The Chicago Tribune remarked in an editorial last October that right-wing Republicans feared the candidacy of Colin Powell. If the retired general were nominated, it would signal the end of the party's fierce opposition to abortion. What the righti wingers are unable to accept, said the
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