adjective pileup

   Many journalists, in an otherwise commendable attempt to pack as much information as possible into a confined space, often resort to the practice of piling adjectives in front of the subject, as in this London Times headline: "Police rape claim woman in court." Apart from questions of inelegance, such headlines can be confusing, to say the least. A hurried reader, expecting a normal subject-verb-object construction, could at first conclude that the police have raped a claim-woman in court before the implausibility of that notion makes him go back and read the headline again. Readers should never be required to retrace their steps, however short the journey. Although the practice is most common in headlines, it sometimes crops up in text, as here:

   ◘ "The new carburetor could result in an up to 35 percent improvement in gas mileage" (Des Moines Register).

   The ungainliness here could instantly be eliminated by making it "an improvement in mileage of up to 35 percent."