Hello:
Is it "lit" a cigarette, or "lighted" a cigarette?
excon
“She was in the aisle seat across from mine, nodding away half asleep with a cheap dime-store romance novel in her lap, a lopsided wig trying to escape her dome, and a lit cigarette dangling from her lips, which themselves were smeared with waxy lipstick that was two tones too bright for her ashen, pale complexion.”
“The first two detectives who arrived on the scene reported that a lit cigarette was found smoldering in an ashtray, and a fried egg was burning in a skillet; all indications that the suspect must have been tipped off or at least had last-minute knowledge of their presence.”
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Wow, you’re absolutely right! I’ll change it immediately, thanks for pointing it out. On rereading his question, it is definitely the verb form.
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Au contraire, mon amii! you may be assuming facts that have not yet been presented into evidence. I misread the original question, which is why I posted my original answer as if the words were adjectives as opposed to being verbs. Therefore, my albeit incorrect base of knowledge when I answered the first time (adjectives) led me to believe I was on the right path. I had no reason to suspect or believe or expect my answer would be disqualified. Through no one else’s fault but my own, I gave an answer based on verbs instead of basing it on adjectives: no grounds for anticipated disqualification. Once you accurately and straightforwardly pointed it out to me that my answer was wrong, which I graciously acknowledged, that is the point in time that it became knowledge on my part, and I became aware of disqualification.
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Ok, I’ll own that.
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“She was in the aisle seat across from mine, nodding away half asleep with a cheap dime-store romance novel in her lap, a lopsided wig trying to escape her dome, and an unlit cigarette dangling from her lips, which themselves were smeared with waxy lipstick that was two tones too bright for her ashen, pale complexion. I wondered why she hadn’t lit it, but it was probably the realization that if she drifted off completely to sleep, she’d be in danger of burning herself or her surroundings.”
“The first two detectives who arrived on the scene reported that a lit cigarette was found smoldering in an ashtray, and a fried egg was burning in a skillet; all indications that the suspect must have been tipped off or at least had last-minute knowledge of their presence. Due to the small amount of burnt ash on the cigarette, it must have been lit merely a moment or two before it was discovered.”
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Element 99 