The Wrong Word Entirely, # 64

A confusing proposition from The Independent:

Link: The Independent, ‘Man banned from entering park on his own because of paedophile fears’

While the headline is clear, the report’s opening sentence suggests that the entry criteria are based on marital and parental status rather than immediate circumstances. In fact, the man who was denied entry is a parent (another piece of mangled English: ‘The grandfather and father of three grown up children’), which sets up a contradiction with the opening statement since he is likely to be married, divorced or widowed rather than ‘single’. Presumably the writer meant lone men or women unaccompanied by a child.

banning single men or women without children