Bless you, Mark (oder Marcus)! First, slice and dice: Mekka muselmannen massen menchen moerder mohren mutter marmor monumenten macher Mecca muslims mass humans murder Moor mother marble monuments maker(s ) Now, when I originally read this, I had not studied any German (despite a fully German pedigree -- funny how unpopular the language became in the late '40s and the '50s...). Now, I am reasonably fluent in it, and the dratted word does not really parse grammatically. It's hard to say what's modifying (or trying to modify) what. It COULD be a gang of marble-monument makers from Mecca who 1. are muslims and 2. are mass murderers of Moorish mothers. Or, it COULD be a gang of Moorish mothers who 1. are marble-monument makers and 2. are muslims who are also 3. mass murderers Or.... I'll ask a native speaker and see if HE can postulate a hierarchy of modifiers... --Thanks again, Guy Haas