I want to talk about multiple people, each of whom is an actor's actor, i.e., an actor well-respected by other actors.
Two plausible pluralizations seem to be:
Which way makes more sense?
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1The former will do it nicely. Don– rhetoricianCommented Jul 28, 2016 at 4:14
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What is the plural of Adam's apple?– FærdCommented Jul 28, 2016 at 4:15
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@Faerd -- Adam's apples, but because there was only one Adam after which our throat knobs are called.– KWinkerCommented Jul 28, 2016 at 4:18
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2 Answers
The plural possessive is the more likely because the figurative "actor's" actor is not likely to be the same figurative person for two such actors. It also is more easily read correctly, because with two plurals one expects a plural possessive.
I would change the construction to be honest and add they.
Like this:
They are an actor's actor.
The most common term in English similar to the effect you are trying to convey is:
man's man cambridge dictionary
Google is showing over half a million hits for "they are a man's man"
