Some grammar-checking programs will highlight something and warn you that you have a “squinting modifier.” Squeeze your eyes almost closed and you can see why it’s called that. Take a sentence like ...

misplaced modifier - a word or phrase apparently modifying an unintended word because of its placement in a sentence: e.g., `when young' in `when young, circuses appeal to all of us' ...

In fact, the culprit is none other than Misplaced Modifier. Disguised as a mild-mannered reporter for a large metropolitan newspaper, Misplaced stalks our city’s headlines, news stories and ...