# English grammar question--adjective following noun **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813 "2009-08-09T04:35:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/21 "2009-08-09T21:18:18Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > But you could never say “He has galore talent.” Or worse: “Galore Pussy.” ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/22 "2009-08-09T22:34:06Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Or worse: “Galore Pussy.” I wasn’t going to bring that up, but since you did… I wonder whether today’s educational system has resulted in the average high school graduate not being familiar with the word _galore_. And whether the significance of the Bond girl’s name in **Goldfinger** is lost on them. If memory serves me right after more than 50 years, the scene went like this: Bond meets a beautiful woman coming out of the ocean. She:“Hi, I’m Pussy Galore.” Bond: “Of course you are.” ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/23 "2009-08-09T22:39:45Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > I wasn’t going to bring that up, but since you did… I wonder whether today’s educational system has resulted in the average high school graduate not being familiar with the word _galore_. And whether the significance of the Bond girl’s name in **Goldfinger** is lost on them. Ummm, how can high school prevent you from learning common words? I don’t remember doing vocab lists after 5th or 6th grade. I learn words by reading, the way I presume most people do. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/24 "2009-08-09T23:44:45Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Ummm, how can high school prevent you from learning common words? I don’t remember doing vocab lists after 5th or 6th grade. I learn words by reading, the way I presume most people do. I’m not sure than in the US most high school students are assigned readings in which words like _galore_ occur. And for the most part they certainly don’t read such books on their own. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/25 "2009-08-10T00:13:44Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > I’m not sure than in the US most high school students are assigned readings in which words like _galore_ occur. And for the most part they certainly don’t read such books on their own. I think you’re greatly underestimating how common a word galore is. And if a kid doesn’t read, I think it’s at least as much the parents’ fault as the school system’s, if not more. Probably more. I wasn’t assigned a single book in high school and I’m a voracious reader. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/26 "2009-08-10T01:10:11Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever heard akimbo not in postposition, though due to the etymology I see for it (in kenebow from Mid English) it may not count. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/27 "2009-08-10T03:31:59Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > If memory serves me right after more than 50 years, the scene went like this: > > Bond meets a beautiful woman coming out of the ocean. > > She:“Hi, I’m Pussy Galore.” > > Bond: “Of course you are.” 1. Coming out of the ocean: Honey Ryder in “Dr. No.” 2. To “Hi, I’m Pussy Galore,” Bond replies “I must be dreaming!” 3. In “Diamonds Are Forever,” Plenty O’Toole says “Hi, I’m Plenty.” Bond says “But of course you are.” 4. “Goldfinger” was released in 1965. Other than that, you got it exactly right. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/28 "2009-08-10T08:19:26Z")
The wiki page cited above lists 4 titles with **General** used post-positively: Attorney General, Postmaster General, Surgeon General, and Governor General. There are a number of others: Inspector General Solicitor General Quartermaster General Adjutant General Secretary General Judge Advocate General I think there may be one or two more, but can’t remember them off-hand. But note that the military ranks Lieutenant General, Major General, and Brigadier General are not among them. BTW, the etymology of a word makes no difference to this question. It doesn’t matter if the word started off as a prepositional phrase or other non-adjective. If it’s currently an adjective in English that always appears post-positively, then it’s an answer to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![JonathanTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@JonathanTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JonathanTheRed)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813/29 "2009-08-10T13:22:22Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > A pretty common version is in the naming of lakes: Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Champlain, Lake George, etc. The name – though technically a proper noun – acts as a modifier of “lake.” Bullcrap, like saying that _John Smith_ is an adjective in the expression _Mr. John Smith_. Clearly the modifier in _Lake Erie_ is _Lake_, not _Erie_. Which one is meaningful on its own? You might hear someone say he climbed Everest; would anyone say he climbed Mount? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-grammar-question-adjective-following-noun/505813.md?page=1)