Awkward ambiguity
Language Log 2017-11-20
From David Morris:
The Sydney Morning Herald website is currently showing a headline – "How to not accidentally harass someone at the office party".
(So, how to deliberately harass someone …?)
There are lots of possible parses — the one that bothers David is
[How [to [[not accidentally] [sexually harrass someone at the office party]]]]
…or any of the other possibilities where not is tightly bound to accidentally.