Beyond the pattern: noun + of + noun: noun + of + adj.: the category of worthwhile but underpaid

[GoodTaste]

One conventional framework for thinking about meaningful work is to look for the intersection between what you are good at, what you love, what you can be paid for and what the world needs. Unfortunately, few careers land neatly in the middle of this Venn diagram, says Michaelson, with laboratory work probably falling into the category of worthwhile but underpaid.

Source: Nature

The pattern noun + of + noun is very common (See Cambridge). Here we encounter a new pattern in Nature: noun + of + adjective.

Is it correct? The impression that Cambridge gives me is that it is unusual and to most of people it is probably not correct. Cambridge doesn't explicitly say.

What is your opinion?

 

[5jj]

The impression that Cambridge gives me is that it is unusual and to most of people it is probably not correct.

I don't get that impression.

 

[Tarheel]

I don't consider it a new pattern at all. Maybe I don't see it every day, but how would I know if it's not the kind of thing I look for?

 

[jutfrank]

Here we encounter a new pattern in Nature: noun + of + adjective.

This is not the pattern that is being used in the sentence. In fact, it doesn't exist at all as a pattern in English. The sentence has led you to think that there is such a pattern because of the way it has been written. It would be better written like this:

the category of 'worthwhile but underpaid'

I've put the offending phrase in inverted commas to show that it is being used as a label for a particular category. Imagine the Venn diagram:

Set A: jobs that are worthwhile
Set B: jobs that are well paid

The job of lab technician falls within Set A but outside of Set B, and hence constitutes it's own category, which can be labelled as 'worthwhile but underpaid'. See? It's like saying 'the category of [jobs that are both] worthwhile and underpaid'.

 

[teechar]

It would better written like this:

hmm.

 

[jutfrank]

hmm.

You don't agree? I wonder why. How about this, with double marks?:

the category of "worthwhile but underpaid"

Or do you mean that punctuation is not necessary to show that this denotes a label?

 

[teechar]

You don't agree?

I didn't say that at all. I was just pointing out that, yet again, a verb is missing from your sentence.

 

[jutfrank]

I didn't say that at all. I was just pointing out that, yet again, a verb is missing from your sentence.

Oh, dear. I'm so sorry. I hope it's just one of those days and not something I do all the time. Thanks for the correction.

 

[teechar]

I'll let you make the correction as you see fit.