Fascinating. I guess my reaction is more idiosyncratic than I realized.
--gary
--- On Thu, 10/30/08, Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...> wrote:
> The article doesn't affect the meaning that way for me.
> I still read
> the cream pie as what the clown hit with. The article
> solely
> distinguishes between an unspecified/previously unmentioned
> pie or a
> particular/established one.
> > Here's an odd role for the definite vs indefinite
> article:
> >
> > The clown hit the man with A cream pie.
> > The clown hit the man with THE cream pie.
> >
> > In the first it is clear that the cream pie was the
> weapon used against the
> > man, while in the second case it seems that the clown
> hit, with some unknown
> > weapon, the man who was holding the cream pie.