word

[puzzle]

--the skin so prized by Southen women and so carefully guarded with bonnets, veils and mittens against hot Georgia suns.

:?:Why is "suns", not "sun" here? Please.

 

[puzzle]

Any help?

 

[2006]

--the skin so prized by Southen women and so carefully guarded with bonnets, veils and mittens against hot Georgia suns.

:?:Why is "suns", not "sun" here? Please.

I don't know why "suns" was used. Normally we would say 'the hot Georgia sun'.

 

[puzzle]

Is it possible the writer made a mistake?! :shock:

 

[TheParser]

--the skin so prized by Southen women and so carefully guarded with bonnets, veils and mittens against hot Georgia suns.

:?:Why is "suns", not "sun" here? Please.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Good morning, Puzzle.

(1) What an interesting thread.

(2) Yes, it could be a mistake by the writer, but I do not think so.

(3) I think it is far more charming to say "against hot Georgia suns" than "the hot Georgia sun."

(4) Sadly, I am not intelligent enough to explain why.

(5) I get the feeling that the author is trying in a very artistic way to

say this: against the hot sun that shines every day in Georgia."

In other words, s/he is trying to give a plural sense. If s/he had

written "against the hot Georgia sun," that would sound so static. But

maybe (a big MAYBE), s/he wanted to give the sentence a more dynamic

sense.

(6) Hopefully, a professional writer can explain this to you and me.

Have a nice day!

*****

P. S. Another (wrong?) thought just arrived:

During the day, doesn't the sun change its intensity? Weaker and stronger

at certain times of the day (and month and year). So in a sense, there

are "sunS."

 

[2006]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

P. S. Another (wrong?) thought just arrived:

During the day, doesn't the sun change its intensity? Weaker and stronger

at certain times of the day (and month and year). So in a sense, there

are "sunS."

Yes, but in that context one could say that the women only need protection against the hot Georgia sun, not the other suns.

Anyway, the writer is probably just trying to be 'cute' or "artistic".

 

[Raymott]

--the skin so prized by Southen women and so carefully guarded with bonnets, veils and mittens against hot Georgia suns.

:?:Why is "suns", not "sun" here? Please.

I think this use is defensible.
For example, we can say, "I like riding my horse under a full moon" - "a moon", despite their being only one moon. But the moon is not always full.

There is only one sun, but it is not always "hot" (at least subjectively), and the sun is only "a Georgia sun" in Georgia. So, if you can have a specific hot Georgia sun, you can presumably have more than one, ie. "hot Georgia suns". So the southern women protect themselves against hot Georgia suns, but not against cooler Carolina suns.

The same logic applies to such constructions as: "The Australian sun is hotter than the Canadian sun" - which would normally require two suns to make sense.