garden-path sentence; easily misunderstood sentence
Linguistic term for a sentence that leads the reader to an initial misinterpretation, requiring reanalysis. The literal gloss 'cul-de-sac sentence' is a direct translation of the Japanese term but is not standard in English linguistics.
"The police officer chased the thief ran away" is an example of a garden-path sentence.
A garden-path sentence is one where the reader misinterprets the structure partway through.
Means 'dead end' or 'blind alley'; 袋小路文 literally 'dead-end sentence' is a compound using this word.
Compound of 袋小路 (ふくろこうじ, 'dead end') + 文 (ぶん, 'sentence'), calque of English 'garden-path sentence'.