Muslims in NYC make a statement. (Photo)

[Igel]

4. Compare these two sentences.

"Muslims in NYC make statement."

"Muslims in Libya kill ambassador."

Quick--how many Muslims are implicated?

In the second, there's the temptation to say that what the writer must have meant was somehow all, and then to launch into a diatribe about how this is an over-generalization and perhaps only a score or two were involved. How dare we use a bare plural in a way that might be misleading.

Okay, we don't say things like "bare plural," but the outrage is the same. Not that the writer implied "all" or even "most."

Then we read the exact same construction and are told that "Muslims"--in this case, the smallest number necessary to use the plural--are making a statement. We insist on a different construction, however. Certainly we might misinterpret it to mean "all," but if we do, well, that's okay.

Numbers are good, and don't take up much room in titles. They also avoid confusion--unless we're saying there are just two Muslims in NYC.