NelsonYou overhear the phrase "crab goblin", with no further context. What does it mean to you?
Goblin who loves crabs (maybe obsessed)
Goblin who looks like a crab
Goblin made out of crabs
Something else (please explain)
Poll ended at .
Icarosity@skyfaller A crab that has goblin-like characteristics I guess?
But then again if everything eventually evolves into crabs maybe goblins do too
@nancywisser It's been well-established at least in superhero fiction that Spider-Man is a man with spider themes, while the less famous Man-Bat is a bat with humanoid characteristics. The first word is usually considered an adjective modifying the second word. So a "crab goblin" would be some sort of goblin, following that convention, not a crab.
That said, no one is in charge of English and no one can stop you from bucking the trend!
@skyfaller Okay, now I'm inventing a world where every kind of being has its own constellation of forms based on the original so that there are for example cat elves, cat fairies, cat gnomes, cat goblins and cat wraiths etc, and the same for everything including crabs. 🤔
I mean if Pratchett can have a Death of Rats with a little scythe
(In other words I concede your point.)