I had a discussion with some friends yesterday about whether the term "ice cream cone" describes:
- Simply the cone itself or
- The cone plus the ice cream
Upon looking in several online dictionaries, I found out that both are acceptable definitions. Is there any sort of rule in English that describes this sort of behavior?
For example, a soup bowl may be described as a bowl intended for holding soup. If you take a soup bowl and instead put candy in it, which of the following is it?
- Soup bowl with candy in it
- Bowl with candy in it
- Candy bowl
Surely there are other examples besides "ice cream cone" and "soup bowl". I'm just curious at what point the term leaves noun-adjunct + noun
territory and becomes its own accepted noun?
Best Answer
yes, the cone is an ice cream cone because it is a cone that can hold ice cream.
And it is a Soup Bowl with candy in it. You are describing the bowl to differentiate it from other bowls.