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"Show & Shine and Dyno" VS "Show Shine and Dyno"

English Language & Usage Asked by ImThatFluffy on July 22, 2021

I am in need to settle a grammatical argument at my workplace. We are holding a car show/dyno testing event.

Part of the name I was given is "Show & Shine and Dyno"
Show & Shine is often used as a Noun in the community much like the word "Fair". But from what I understand when you add the word "Dyno"; as in Dyno Testing, "Show & Shine" can no longer be treated as a singular noun and instead becomes to separate verbs. Making the statement grammatically incorrect, As it then reads "Show and Shine and Dyno". The other argument is arguing that "Show & Shine" stays as a noun.

One Answer

Conjoined nouns which are interpreted as singular can use an additional conjunction, i.e., Show and Shine and Dyno would be accepted by people who perceive "Show and Shine" as a unit. In addition, in advertising (including signage) less formal grammar is expected for brevity or impact.

Formality considerations conflict somewhat when different media and audiences are targeted. For example, in an article, even when targeting an audience familiar with the specialized use, a more formal and general phrasing would be appropriate, but keeping names recognizably the same reduces confusion. Targeting broader audiences typically encourages more ruled expression, facilitating understanding of unfamiliar usage.

As Ted Wrigley's comment notes, hyphenating the conjoined nouns clarifies the singularity. Your use of an ampersand has a similar, though less strong, function. In an informal (or playful) context, using "Show 'n Shine" would similarly hint that the two nouns form a singular entity.

Placing the singular conjoined nouns at the end can also push them together, i.e., "Dyno Testing and Show and Shine" more clearly merges "Show and Shine" than "Show and Shine and Dyno Testing".

"Show and Shine with Dyno" (if "Dyno" is an addition rather than an equal part), "Show and Shine/Dyno" (in signage such might be presented with a short horizontal rule vertically separating the two; this presents a sense of co-residence, for a greater sense of parallelism one would probably use "Dyno Test"), and "Show and Shine, featuring Dyno Testing" (which includes dyno testing under show-and-shine) — these are other ways of avoiding confusion.

Answered by Paul A. Clayton on July 22, 2021

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