Dear Geist,
When there’s more than one adjective before a noun, does it matter what order they’re in? Someone just told me it does matter, but I’ve been writing for ten years and I never heard of it.
—Anthea, Cyberspace
Dear Anthea,
It does matter. But unless the adjective-order imperative goes viral, as it has a couple of times in the last year or so, most experienced English speakers/writers get it right by instinct. We don’t often hear someone say “I just adopted a grey fuzzy adorable kitten,” or “The red big old house on the corner is up for sale.” Most authorities recommend some version of the following order, shown here with examples in parentheses:
determiner (your)
opinion/value (threadbare)
size (little)
shape (round)
age (ancient)
colour (fuchsia)
origin (Canadian)
material (lace)
purpose/qualifier (“hiking,” as in “hiking boots”)
There are exceptions, of course: “the big bad wolf,” for instance, and any phrase that sounds right. And we’ll take this opportunity to remind you and all writers that when it comes to adjectives and adverbs, less is more.
—The Editors