space writer
- noun
- Literature
:
escritor por espacio
- The space writer quickly learned to avoid unnecessary words to make the most of each inch.
Examples
-
Many newspapers once relied on space writers before switching to fixed salaries.
-
As a space writer, he always tried to submit longer articles to maximize his earnings.
-
The space writer submitted her article yesterday.
-
Many space writers struggle to meet tight deadlines.
-
As a space writer, he learned how to use every word carefully to increase his income.
-
Many newspapers employed space writers who were paid based on the length of their articles.
-
To earn more as a space writer, she focused on writing concise yet informative pieces.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although the form 'space + writer' follows a transparent modifier+noun pattern, the intended sense (a journalist paid according to the amount of printed space their copy occupies) relies on specialized journalistic usage of 'space' as a unit of payment rather than the everyday meaning of 'space'. A B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer 'a writer about/related to space' or something spatial, so the precise payment-related sense is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Space writer comes from old newspapers where a writer was paid for how much space on the page their words used, measured in inches. So, a space writer is a writer who was 'paid by the space' their article took in print.
