I wonder whether can we call someone a genius boy? I've been using this term to describe my cousin until someone told me that the correct usage should be boy genius.
The question is: Can we say Aaron is a genius boy? Is it wrong?
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7 Answers
Both are technically correct, but the idiomatic usage is "boy genius".
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1It emphasizes the trait of genius being seen in the boy at an early age. Commented Jan 31, 2011 at 22:40
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Like "Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman astronaut." Commented Mar 8, 2011 at 18:59
"Genius Boy" sounds sarcastic to me: "Everything was going great until Genius Boy here turned out the lights."
I would say that the word "genius" in this context is being used as an adjective, which it is not - the adjective form is "ingenious". "Boy genius" is idiomatically preferable, as indicated elsewhere.
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Yet another bizarre, wrongheaded answer not only upvoted but accepted - "boy" is a noun as is "genius".– deleteCommented Aug 19, 2010 at 3:00
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He says that "genius" is not an adjective and that "boy genius" is "idiomatically preferable," not that it's necessarily correct. Commented Aug 19, 2010 at 13:44
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2I don't see much wrong with this answer. It is fine, as are several others. Commented Feb 28, 2011 at 4:02
You can say genius boy in the same way you say, for example, ninja boy (ninja is a noun that modifies a noun); the correct expression you are asking for is boy genius, though.
answered Aug 18, 2010 at 16:46
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Do you mean "cast iron"? Either way, "cast" here is being used as an adjective, being the (irregular) past participle of the verb "to cast". Commented Aug 21, 2010 at 10:51
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@Steve: Whoops; I was sure it was iron cast. I should find a case of
<noun as adjective> <noun>. Commented Aug 21, 2010 at 17:26
Yes, you mean "boy genius" unless you are trying to create your own term.
I've never heard "genius boy", and "boy genius" is a standard term for "whiz kid": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_genius
answered Aug 18, 2010 at 15:43
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No, it's not wrong. It's obvious what you mean. It's just a new term. Commented Aug 18, 2010 at 15:46
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New term! Ah, I don't want to reinvent new terms. I'll just stick to boy genius then– GravitonCommented Aug 18, 2010 at 15:50
I wouldn't think of it being a formal term, but perfectly usable. The emphasis changes depending on the word order. "Boy genius" is talking about a genius who is a boy. "Genius boy" is talking about a boy who is a genius.
"Genius" and "boy" are both nouns. (Note that the adjective "ingenious" in present English usage is not at all related to the word "genius".) Take some examples:
Genius scientist
is wrong.
Instead we prefer
scientific genius
However, both
boy wonder
and
wonder boy
are acceptable, so it seems that "boy" can be used either as a noun modifier (noun-as-adjective) or as a noun.
I don't know if this generalizes to other words in similar categories or not, but I am 100% sure that the accepted and upvoted answer is wrong and thoroughly misguided.
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3Nothing's wrong with your answer that I can see, but once again you point out that lotsoffreetime's answer is wrong. You don't mention why, though, which seems a touch discourteous, in addition to ineffective. Would you mind explaining, please? Commented Aug 19, 2010 at 13:48
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1This answer is wrong, pure and simple. Genius is both a noun and an adjective (“That’s an absolutely genius idea!” works fine), while boy is only a noun (“What a completely boy thing to do” does not work at all). There’s nothing ‘wrong’ about genius scientist or genius boy; it’s just that boy genius and boy wonder (both using boy as a noun adjunct) are idiomatic expressions, while genius boy and wonder boy are not. Commented Dec 24, 2014 at 12:50