kind of a vs type of a

[Alexey86]

a) - What's this?
- This is a kind of fruit (= a type of fruit).

b) - What's this?
- This is a kind of a fruit (= It shares some features of a fruit. I think it's a fruit, but I can't say for sure).


1) Have I drawn a distinction between kind of and kind of a correctly?
2) Can I use type of a in b)?

 

[emsr2d2]

a) is correct.
b) is not. I think you're looking for "This is kind of a fruit" (no article before "kind of"). That's a way of saying "This is, in a way, a fruit".

 

[GoesStation]

No.

 

[Alexey86]

b) is not. I think you're looking for "This is kind of a fruit" (no article before "kind of"). That's a way of saying "This is, in a way, a fruit".

TheFreeDictionary provides the following explanation (https://www.thefreedictionary.com/kind+of):
In conversation and in less formal writing, people use sort of or kind of in front of a noun to say that something could be described as being a particular thing.

It's a sort of dictionary of dictionaries.
I'm a kind of anarchist, I suppose.

Does I'm a kind of anarchist, I suppose mean the same as I'm kind of an anarchist?


I've also found some confusing examples. Does a kind of a mean sort of/in a way or a type of?

1) She’s really suckered them into thinking she knows something. That’s what’s so funny. It becomes a kind of a joke.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/clint-eastwood-and-pauline-kael/amp

2) ''Methadone has been around a long time and diversion has been around a long time,'' said Dr. Shinderman, who also operates clinics in Chicago. ''It's a kind of a puzzle. People should be somewhat sophisticated about methadone.''
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/09/...-way-out-suddenly-grows-as-a-killer-drug.html

3) "If you would put, for example, archival material, photos or film, you lose the contact with the person who is talking," Mr. Hübner said by phone from Witten, Germany. "Then he is only a kind of a witness".
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/movies/talking-head-solo-films-at-anthology-film-archives.html

4) I played music, and I tried to do that, but I didn't really have the fire. There was just this feeling that I can do this.
And unfortunately, I had a kind of a dispositional stubbornness.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jan/12/george-saunders-interview-tenth-of-december

 

[GoesStation]

The initial articles are sometimes used in casual speech. They don't change the phrase's meaning.

 

[jutfrank]

I want to say that all those examples using the article before kind are wrong.

As emsr2d2 points out in post #2, the phrase is kind of, not a kind of.