cave-painters/wall-painters/movie-goers

[navi tasan]

Would you say the expression 'cave-painters' means people who painted caves or people who painted in or on caves?\
Would you say the expression 'wall-painters' means people who paint walls or people who paint on walls?

I'd like to know how one would parse those expressions. Are 'cave' and 'wall' the direct objects of 'paint' or not?

In the movie "The Big Lebowski", the main character uses the expression 'the rug p*ssers' for the men who urinated on his rug. Obviously, here 'rug' is not the direct object. But he is just making up a word to get the idea across fast. I don't know if that coinage is legitimate.

the rug p*ssers (Google search)

I haven't been able to come up with many examples of this kind and that is why I am quoting that movie (which is very funny and very R-rated).

We have 'movie-goers' and suchlike, but 'go' cannot be a transitive verb.

 

[SoothingDave]

"Rug" is acting as an adjective, describing the "p*ssers" he is talking about.

Your examples are all like that. They aren't verbs. They're nouns. Painters. Those who paint. Cave painters are those who paint caves.

In English we can take a noun and use it as an adjective. A "car door," for example. "Car" is a noun acting as an adjective, describing the door.

 

[Tarheel]

I don't know what the difference is between somebody who paints a wall and somebody who paints on a wall.

 

[SoothingDave]

Think putting a fresh coat on vs painting a mural.

 

[Tarheel]

OK

 

[Skrej]

While there have been many prehistoric wall paintings in caves, nobody has painted the entire cave! Logically, 'cave painters' are people who paint on the walls.

Granted, sometimes the art does cover much of the walls and sometimes even the ceilings, but it's not a coating over the entire interior surface of the cave.