Grammatically Correct: The writer's essential guide to punctuation ...

Consider the following sets of words:
deadly viral infection
large urban center
rude civil servant
PUNCTUATION
The words deadly, large and rude are clearly adjectives, while
injection, center and servant are clearly nouns. What about the
words in the middle, though? They are also adjectives-but each
one is combining with the noun that follows it to create a compound
noun, which expresses a single concept. The reader understands
that the first word modifies the next two: Deadly modifies the
compound noun viral injection, large modifies urban center, and
rude modifies civil servant.
civil rights leader
major league player
mad cow disease
Here again the first words are adjectives and the third ones are
nouns, but now the middle word in each string is a noun that combines
with the adjective that precedes it to create a compound
adjective. The reader understands that the reference is to a leader
in civil rights, not to a "rights leader" with good manners. Similarly,
it is the league that is major, not the player, and the cow that is
mad, not the disease itself.
long red braids
grumpy old man
sturdy little boy
Here, two adjectives in a row each independently modify the noun
that follows. (For an explanation of why these phrases do not take
commas, see page 82.) The reader understands that the reference
is to braids that are long and red, a man who is grumpy and old,
and a boy who is sturdy and little.
None of the above combinations of words should present any
confusion or be interpreted as meaning anything other than what
they do. But how about the following?
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